We want you to get creative! We want to see light-hearted, inventive images that capture the essence of community rail. These can be in any setting, provided the connection to rail/community rail is immediately obvious.

Only open to current (paid/subscribed) Community Rail Network members, including community rail partnerships (CRPs), station adoption/friends' groups, and community station groups.

In this category, the judges' role is to select a shortlist of entries, using the criteria below. The shortlist will then be published online for a public vote, open for one month from 9 December 2026. The outcome of the public vote will determine the final rankings.

• Captures ‘community rail in 2025/2026’
• Impactful, eye-catching and good quality – credit will be given to photos that are suitable for using online and/or in promotional materials, to help raise the profile of community rail
• Inclusive, positive and people-orientated – the content of the photo, and/or the way it was taken or produced, helps to get across the ‘community’ aspect of community rail, and might encourage more people to get involved.

Essential requirements

• A maximum of four photos per entry
• Digital photos must be in JPEG format ONLY (high res)
• Please supply a brief, one-line title or caption for each photo in a Word document, to be uploaded in the ‘Full entry description’ section of the entry form
• Any photographs that show health and safety contraventions on the railway or station will be disqualified, see the health and safety guide.

In submitting photos you confirm that:

• All people within the photos have provided consent for their photos to be used in publicity including print, online and all social media channels. If the photos contain images of children under the age of 18, written consent must be secured from the parent or guardian, either directly or via their school/college.
• You are the owner of the image(s) and agree to it/them being used in publicity. Or, the image(s) is/are not your own but you have the relevant permissions/consent to submit on behalf of the owner, and they agree to them being used in publicity. In this case, you must state within the 200-word summary section who you are submitting on behalf of.

The Photography Competition is sponsored by Porterbrook.

View our 2026 photography competition winners here.

View our 2025 photography competition winners here.

View our 2024 photography competition winners here.

Check out previous 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of this category from 2017-2022.

Entries for our 2027 Awards open at 9am on Tuesday 1 September and close at 5pm on Wednesday 30 September 2026.

Check back then to submit your entry!