Community Rail Awards 2025 now open for Entries! Click here to read more.

Community Rail News – 1 October 2025

We hope, as always, that this bulletin finds you well. Our team are looking forward to seeing many of you next week at our Community Rail Conference in Nottingham.

Party Conference season

As autumn arrives, so does the Party Conference season, a key time for political announcements and policy direction. We’ll be monitoring developments across all major conferences for any announcements or new policy that could affect community rail.

Members’ survey – deadline extension

We appreciate that this is a very busy time of year, which is why we have extended the deadline to respond to this year’s members’ survey. You now have until 5pm this Friday, 3 October, to submit your views, which should take no more than 15-20 minutes. The survey link was sent again by email on Friday 26 September. If you have any queries or trouble accessing the survey, please contact Rob.

Railway 200 celebrations on 27 September 2025

The Railway 200 celebrations, marking the bicentenary of the modern railway on 27 September 1825, have already been a triumph, with the community rail movement playing a central and inspiring role throughout the year. We are still seeing members deliver creative and exciting initiatives to connect communities with their local railways and stations. To commemorate the big day on Saturday, we compiled a selection of members’ brilliant Railway 200-themed work, honouring rail’s remarkable past, its role today, and its importance for a sustainable future. Watch this space to find out how to get involved with the end of the celebrations.

AGM and board elections

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Wednesday 5 November, 2-3.30pm, via Zoom. Book your place. We are currently inviting applications for board directors to play a role in shaping the future direction of the organisation and community rail more broadly. See our board elections information pack and download the nomination form for further details. All applications must be received no later than midday on Wednesday 15 October 2025.

Partnership with Grand Central Rail

As of 1 September, Community Rail Network has partnered with Grand Central Rail to support their Station Ambassador programme. This exciting collaboration is all about creating new opportunities in Bradford, from building inclusivity and youth engagement to boosting rail confidence and employability skills, all whilst bringing Grand Central Rail closer to the community rail movement. If you have any questions, contact Karen.

Code of Conduct

Community rail is constantly striving to be inclusive, positive and collaborative, enabling everyone and anyone to play their part and thrive. To reflect these values, we have refreshed our Code of Conduct. It’s available via the footer on every page of our website, and we encourage all members to review it and ensure their activities align with its principles. For further guidance, please speak to your usual support & development team contact.

Send your stories to our Comms team and see our guidance on submitting stories.

Your next bulletin is on 15 October. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X.

Best wishes,
Jeremy and Jools

Green Hub are thrilled to have adopted Witley Station, taking over the station house as their new charity HQ, where they can continue supporting teenagers aged 10-18 who are facing social, emotional and mental health challenges. To prepare for the grand opening on 5 September, a team of 15 volunteers got stuck in with clearing the overgrown brambles in preparation for creating the station Wellbeing Garden – a project supported by Community Rail Network and South Western Railway. The team plan to keep developing the space over the coming months, with more planting, wildflower beds and station art projects. Check out this fantastic video to see what the team has achieved so far and learn more about the project here.
Kent CRP has teamed up with Southeastern to repurpose and rehome abandoned bikes. Nearly 30 bikes were recently collected from storage at Maidstone West Station and received a basic safety check. 15 were donated to Make a Difference Maidstone to be sold, raising funds to support their project work. 10 will be refurbished by the Maidstone Climate Action Network at the Maidstone Repair Café, providing the opportunity for visitors to learn bike maintenance skills.

The aim is to create a virtuous cycle (pun intended!) where Kent CRP, Southeastern and their local community partners can continue to help unloved bikes find new homes at affordable prices, enabling more people to make sustainable travel choices for their everyday journeys.