Hello everyone.
It’s time to get your thinking caps on – entries for the 2027 Community Rail Awards are now open!
We’re delighted to announce that next year’s Awards will take place on Thursday 4 March 2027 at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, with Northern and TransPennine Express joining us as joint headline partners.
The Awards are always a brilliant opportunity to celebrate the people, partnerships and projects that make community rail such a special part of the railway, and we’d love to see as many of you as possible getting involved.
Whether you’re thinking about entering for the first time or are a seasoned Awards veteran, the Awards Hub is the best place to start. You’ll find all the information you need about the categories, guidance on putting together an entry, and inspiration from previous winners to help you showcase the difference your work is making.
Entries close at 5pm on Wednesday 30 September, so there’s plenty of time to gather your stories and give your achievements the recognition they deserve.
Elsewhere, we were pleased to join more than 50 organisations from across the transport, climate, health and community sectors as a co-signatory to the Campaign for Better Transport’s call for urgent UK Government action on transport and the climate emergency.
The coalition’s joint statement, published exclusively in The Guardian, highlights the urgent need for a sustained shift towards public transport, shared transport, walking, wheeling and cycling, alongside action to make our transport networks more resilient to extreme weather. As a movement focused on connecting communities with sustainable, inclusive transport, it’s important that the voice of community rail is part of this conversation.
Finally, a reminder that applications for our Director of Membership Experience role close at the end of this week. We’re looking for a compassionate, collaborative and creative leader to head up our work with members, ensuring that what we do is driven by what members need now, and in the future, to develop, grow and thrive.
As part of our senior leadership team, the successful candidate will also play a key role in helping grow investment in our work and enhance the difference we make for our members and the communities they serve.
If you know someone who could be a great fit, please do encourage them to take a look.
Best wishes
Bill and Jeremy
The following training, networking and development sessions are online and members only unless stated otherwise.
- Trails and walking routes skill-share: Tuesday 15 September, 2-3:30pm. This session will explore case studies and practical learning across aspects such as co-design, scaling up walking activities, accessibility and inclusive design and project outcomes. Register here.
- Education Network: Wednesday 16 September, 10-11:30am. This webinar-style session will explore how community rail can seize further opportunities when rail safety becomes mandatory on the PSHE National Curriculum in September. Open to all. Register here.
- ‘On Track for inclusive train travel’: Thursday 17 September, 12-1pm. Join this webinar to hear about the key learnings from the ‘On Track’ project, as well as potential opportunities and next steps for community rail partnerships and groups interested in making rail travel more accessible and inclusive for disabled people. Open to all. Register here.
- Co-production working day: Monday 21 September, 9:45am-3:30pm, Birmingham. This full-day session will share learning from the Travelling with Confidence programme, aiming to identify success factors, tips and practicalities, offer peer support, spark ideas and generate enthusiasm for the co-production approach across community rail. Register here.
- Integrated Sustainable Transport discussion group: Thursday 1 October, 10:30am-12pm. Hear more from Northern and Great Western Railway about their active travel work and integrated transport strategies. Open to all. Details here.
Your next bulletin is on 16 September. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X. Send your stories to news@communityrail.org.uk.
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- England’s largest festival of history and culture returns this September
- Contribute to a greener West Midlands with Youth Climate Action Funding
- ‘The Railway Children’ is coming to the East Riding Theatre this festive period