Community Rail News – 12 July 2023

July 12, 2023

Hello everyone. We hope, as always, that this newsletter finds you well.

Ticket office consultations

Consultations have opened on proposed changes to how ticket offices operate at railway stations across England. Given community rail’s role in providing a voice for communities, we are encouraging community rail partnerships and station groups to study proposals and consider what they mean to communities and passengers in your area, feed in your comments, and support people in your area to do so directly. See details here on how to engage with train operators and feed in views by Wednesday 26 July.

While we recommend you engage directly with your train operator(s)’ consultations, please get in touch with your support & development team contact if you have any queries or concerns. We suggest reviewing the national commitments that have been made – such as around not de-staffing stations, not compromising assistance for people with additional accessibility needs, and supporting better face-to-face interactions with passengers – and considering how these are being applied at local level.

Community Rail Network is also engaging with DfT, Transport Focus and RDG to ensure community rail’s views and voices are heard and understood at a strategic level, and we will put in a written response ourselves. We will update further on any additional opportunities to help you feed in views.

Funding opportunities

We sent a communication to members last week highlighting the First of a Kind rail competition, now open to applications for projects to attract and retain rail passengers. Community rail has been successful in the past bidding into this scheme for the Window Seater Audio Guides project. To discuss a potential bid, get in touch with your support & development team contact in the next few days.

Another funding opportunity for gardening projects is the Network Rail and Tree Council fund. There is £1m on offer for projects with strong community engagement (ideally with children and/or young people) that involve tree, hedge or orchard planting. Find out more.

Community (rail) mentions in Network Rail’s CP7 plans

We have produced a briefing paper summarising references and relevance to community rail in Network Rail’s draft strategic business plans for the five-year period starting 1 April 2024 (Control Period 7, or CP7). We hope this is helpful in considering how community rail can work with Network Rail going forward, supporting your local goals and their key priorities. This follows on from Community Rail Network feeding into the strategic planning process, including via challenge panels, aiming to ensure community rail is recognised for the role it plays and engaged effectively.

‘How to submit an outstanding Awards entry’ webinar

It’s your last chance to register for this online session, 10-11.45am on 18 July, offering insights from our experienced Awards judges so you can prepare an entry that stands out and highlights the vital importance of your work. Book your place.

It’s Your Station drop-in session

We are running an ‘It’s Your Station’ drop-in support session with category judges Mark Barker and Paul Bigland from 10.30am-12.00pm on Wednesday 2 August. More details will be sent to all our station group members. In the meantime, download the guidance here.

If you have any news stories, please email our communications team on news@communityrail.org.uk. See here for guidance on submitting stories.

Your next bulletin is on 26 July. Keep up-to-date in between on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Best wishes,
Jeremy and Jools