Hello everyone. We hope, as always, that this bulletin finds you well.
Community Rail Week: 19-25 May
There are only four weeks to go until the launch of Community Rail Week, sponsored by Rail Delivery Group and focusing on the theme of Railway 200. Thank you to everyone who has shared their activity plans with us – it’s been great to see some of the brilliant events members have planned. Don’t forget that if you’re planning an event, activity or online promotion, please share the details with our comms team so it can be added to our interactive map.
To help members get the most from the campaign and link in with our national messages, we’ve developed a digital toolkit that includes social media example posts, graphics to post online, a press release template and more. Download the toolkit here.
Railways Bill
The UK Government’s consultation on ‘a railway fit for Britain’s future’ closed yesterday. You can find our submission drawing on insights from across community rail and a workshop with our board here. If you have any questions or want to share your own submission, please do not hesitate to reach out to Rob.
Profile-raising
Last Thursday, Bill attended the Department for Transport’s Ministerial Reception at the National Railway Museum in York, which was a valuable opportunity to meet the Ministerial team, senior officials and colleagues from across the industry and sub-regional government bodies. You can read the Secretary of State’s speech on her vision for a transport system that works for everyone here.
The March edition of Rail Director magazine features an article exploring how our grassroots movement is playing an increasingly important role in revitalising station environments for the benefit of communities and railways alike. Read the piece here, from pages 24-26.
Tourism strategy
Working alongside our tourism network and key non-rail partners, we have developed a tourism and leisure strategy. Focusing on five key aims, the strategy provides a focus to Community Rail Network’s tourism and leisure work over the next three years (April 2025 to March 2028). Please do explore the document, and if you have any questions or thoughts contact Alice.
Team updates
We’re delighted to welcome Ali Miller to the team as inclusion and engagement manager for our On Track programme, funded by the Motability Foundation, a two-year research, scoping and pilot project to make rail travel more accessible for disabled people. We’re sure you’ll all join us in wishing Ali a warm welcome as she gets stuck into the new role.
Upcoming webinars – provisional dates for your diary
We have two online sessions coming up for members, aimed at both CRPs and station groups. These are sustainable gardening and biodiversity (2-4pm, Wednesday 11 June) and tackling anti-social behaviour (10am-12pm, Wednesday 16 July). More details and outline agendas will be available soon, but for now please make a note of the provisional dates in your diaries and registration will open in the coming weeks.
Send your stories to news@communityrail.org.uk and see our guidance on submitting stories.
Your next bulletin is on 30 April. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X.
Best wishes,
Jeremy and Bill
- How community rail can raise awareness of rail safety across dedicated week
- Railway Heritage Trust celebrates 40th anniversary with travelling exhibition
- Railway 200 launches podcast bringing tales from the rails to life
- Greater Anglia publishes 2024-25 social value report
- Submit your entries to the National Transport Awards
- Transport Planning Society webinar looks at travel behaviour and decarbonisation
- RIA publishes discussion paper exploring stations as ‘engines of communities’
- Apply now for community investment funding from Chiltern Railways
- East Midlands Railway community fund now open for applications
- Transform local community spaces with Asda Foundation funding
- CRPs in North East celebrate success of awards fringe events programme
- ‘Wild Rails’ bug hotel opens for business at Lapworth Station
- Swansea celebrates historic Swansea & Mumbles Railway as part of Railway 200
- Self-watering planters installed to boost wildlife at St Margarets Station
- Southeast CRP ensures durability of students’ artwork at Horsham Station
- Gloucestershire CRP seeks passengers to share insights on travel and accessibility
- Town-wide initiative sees community herb garden installed at Felixstowe Station
- Local MP and town mayor pay tribute to local young artists at Dronfield Station
- Railway 200 photo competition to showcase Penistone Line viaducts
- Kettering Civic Society awarded funding for ‘Origins, Heritage and Home’ art project
- Railway 200 exhibition features personal collection of SCRP volunteer director
- Kents Bank Station Library publishes book celebrating rail heritage in the North
Carl Thomas, chair of Barton Cleethorpes CRP, said: “The children had an exceptional learning experience and were able to see first-hand how signal boxes have changed over the decades.”
