Hello everyone. We hope you are all keeping well.
Share your Community Rail Week activities
If you haven’t already, please send the details of your Community Rail Week (20-26 May) activities to our comms & policy team, ideally by end of this week, to help us gain maximum coverage. The theme of this year’s campaign, sponsored by Rail Delivery Group, is ‘More Than a Railway’, showcasing the importance of our railways to communities and the inspiring work CRPs and station groups deliver. See our briefing sheet on how to get involved.
Support and development team restructure
Following the arrival of our new director of member support & development, Rob Hattersley, we have reviewed our S&D team structure to improve efficiency and focus.
Paul Webster is now Regions Support Manager, leading a location-based team of support officers, the first point of contact for CRPs and station groups. We are currently recruiting for a new support officer for England South and Midlands and we’re aiming to start recruiting for Scotland soon, following the departure of Caroline Thompson-Noble (Scottish support requests should go to Paul in the interim). Support in Wales continues from Rhiannon-Jane Raftery and for North of England Ian Davis. Paul also supports CRPs in East Midlands and Greater Anglia, and Martin Clarke will support CRPs working with Southeastern and GTR.
Martin now leads a thematically focussed team as Programmes Development Manager, covering topics such as education, training, integrated travel and stations. This is the subject specialist team whose expertise and support members can tap into. The team will also be working to develop these areas at a national level.
If your support officer has changed, your new contact will be in touch with you shortly. Contact details and roles are also available on our website.
Railway 200
Following last month’s webinar, we will be holding bi-monthly online sessions with Railway 200’s project manager Emma Robertson for members to ask questions and share plans: we will provide details in due course. In the meantime, submit your Railway 200 stories for a chance to have them featured on the website, and contact our comms & policy team for planning support.
Climate change consultation
The DfT has published a consultation on adapting the UK’s transport system to the impacts of climate change. The deadline is 31 May, and we are currently reviewing to consider a response.
Transport in Wales
The Institute of Welsh Affairs has published a report setting out the next steps for transport in Wales. Recommendations include widespread investment in behaviour change initiatives and the creation of stronger targets to direct transport policy. Read 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 1 May. Keep up-to-date in between on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.
Best wishes,
Jeremy and Jools
- Rail Minister marks completion of £150m Hope Valley Railway Upgrade
- Get involved in a week-long celebration of sustainable transport
- Submit your station restoration projects for National Railway Heritage Awards
- Station group secure funding to create community centre at Mytholmroyd
- Walk in the footsteps of The Railway Children with Strines Station rail trails
- Community Rail Cumbria promotes accessible travel ‘Beyond the Home’
- ‘You Are Here’: station art exhibition explores community life in Glossop
- Settle-Carlisle CRP facilitates first ever train trip for primary school children
- New host for Conwy Valley & North Wales Coast CRP
- Booklet encourages visitors to make a beeline for the Peak District by train
- SCRP supports community’s connection to the railway as ‘A Town Explores a Book’
- Yorkshire Coast CRP’s ‘try the train’ trip opens up opportunities for children
- All Aboarders create sensory garden at Welwyn Garden City Station
- Refurbished Crediton Station tea rooms officially opened
- Devonport Station and the Royal Dockyard: a lasting relationship
- Men’s Sheds volunteers & station adopters create unique planter at Essex station
