Community Rail Awards 2025 now open for Entries! Click here to read more.
Entries in this category will be grouped for judging according to the size/type of the group/organisation making the submission. The judges will be comparing projects more equally in terms of resources available to each group and what they achieved accordingly:
There will be one winner at each of these levels with no runners-up, so effectively there are 3 winners for the category and each will come up on stage to receive a trophy and certificate.
This category recognises creative initiatives that have had a transformative, empowering effect on the people involved and their local environment or station, connecting people to their railway, station and wider community, and making the railway a welcoming place.
Projects involving all forms of creative expression are eligible (art, music, spoken word, writing, storytelling, photography, interpretation panels or sculpture), creating a sense of pride and community, and promoting connections between communities and railways. We are especially keen to see projects that promoted inclusion and positivity and drew on local input and creativity in innovative ways.
We invite entries from community rail partnerships, station adoption or friends’ groups, or other community groups and representatives. Rail industry partners can submit entries where a project was undertaken in partnership with a community rail partnership or community group, but the entry must clearly demonstrate this partnership working, be agreed with the community partner(s), and their contact details provided. Note: This type of partnership entry will automatically be judged within the large groups level.
Essential requirements: Please include photographs, images or clips with your entry where relevant, showing/linking to the artwork or finished piece(s).
You must also state clearly whether your group comes under the small, medium or large group and you must describe the structure of your organisation to support this. Failing to provide this information will result in automatic disqualification as the judges will not be able to equally assess your entry.
To allow for this explanation and in this category only, you are allowed to submit 750 words in the ‘Full Entry Description’.
'Community Creative Projects and Station Arts' is sponsored by Avanti West Coast.
After a chance meeting with youth worker Stevie Westgarth in a pop-up art space in Carlisle, the idea for the Queer Rail Art Trail was born. Tyne Valley CRP, with the help of their neighbours the Cumbrian Coast CRP, were keen to help more young people from different communities travel by train, as well as establish stations as vibrant and inclusive spaces.
Working closely with Northern and Queer Cumbria, the CRPs commissioned artwork from young LGBTQ+ artists to be displayed at the 23 stations between Whitehaven and Newcastle, officially unveiling the panels at an event with over 200 people during Pride Month. Not only did the project provide a voice for diverse communities and an opportunity for them to exhibit their work, but it also enabled the CRPs to learn more about perceived barriers to rail travel, in turn providing a source of help and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
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With the North East gearing up to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, Bishop Line CRP recognised something needed to be done about the anti-social behaviour Shildon Station often experienced. The partnership engaged 200 13–14-year-old students with street artist Dan Walls to create a piece of artwork that would improve the experience of using Shildon Station footbridge and enable passengers to feel safer and more welcome at the station.
To tackle the anti-social behaviour in a peer-to-peer way, student ‘ambassadors’ were identified to be involved in the project, not only to develop the design but also to be equipped with the tools to speak up if other young people tried to graffiti the bridge. The student artists explored the themes of rail safety and pride of place, sharing their feelings of using the footbridge in its current state and how they would like it to feel as a result of the project. These ideas were turned into inspiring words and images that represented Shildon, and the students worked with Dan to learn street art techniques and apply the design themselves to the bridge.
The change in sentiment from the local community was visible throughout the whole process, as comments changed from “you’re wasting your time, the graffiti will appear again” when the team were cleaning and preparing the bridge, to “this is so colourful, what a fantastic project” once the artwork was complete.
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The Camberwell Society had several goals in mind when embarking on their project at Denmark Hill Station: improve the daily experience of rail users, make the station an interesting place to visit, and promote curiosity among young people.
The group began enhancing the station environment in late 2020, clearing rubbish and weeds and undertaking gardening tasks. They were then granted funding by Govia Thameslink Railway to build a display plinth, provide power and water supplies, create planters, and contribute towards display installations. Since the start of the project, over 18 different installations have greeted passengers walking to the station, including gardening displays, creative art pieces and a host of mechanical curiosities produced from found objects.
The hard work and dedication of the volunteers has transformed Denmark Hill Station into a space that is a source of inspiration for the whole community, with it’s ranking as runner-up in Rail Delivery Group’s 2023 World Cup of Stations award proving just that. Looking to the future, the Camberwell Society will be developing the station vineyard and encouraging wider local community participation in station activities.
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Check out previous 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of this category from 2017-2022.
The submission window for our 2026 Awards will be open from Monday 1 September - Tuesday 30 September 2025.
Check back then for the link to submit your entry!
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