Hi everyone. We hope you’re well. This week we’re reporting on the Community Rail Conference, reminding of our upcoming PR campaigns, and introducing our new main contact at the DfT.
As always, scroll down for members and partners’ stories. Send your items for future bulletins to Nik.
Lockdown easing guidelines
As reported in our last bulletin, our Covid guidance for community rail partnerships and station groups has been updated to align with the government’s roadmap on easing restrictions. As we emphasised last time, it remains crucial to ensure you’re in sync with your local train operator’s guidance and messaging, and follow official rules. If you have queries about what’s possible and appropriate where you are, speak to your support & development team contact, or train operator’s communities manager.
Community Rail Conference
Thank you to all community rail partnerships, industry partners, and other speakers who joined and contributed to the Community Rail Conference, our partnership event with the Department for Transport. We heard a brilliant range of presentations, including:
- Third sector partners, English Football League Trust, Totally Locally, Good Things Foundation discussing youth engagement, supporting local businesses, and digital inclusion;
- Industry and government input including Network Rail’s social impact approach, rail reform updates, and information from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee;
- A range of brilliant community rail case studies from the Community Rail Education Network, South West Wales Connected, Tyne Valley CRP, Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, and Three Rivers CRP.
You can see all the presentations, complete with links to further information and resources, here. For those who attended, don’t forget to complete your feedback form emailed to you afterwards.
Make use of our PR campaigns
A reminder that we’re encouraging members and partners to make use of our regional/national media campaigns, highlighting the work going on in community rail and how this contributes to recovery:
- 24 March: North, Central & Scotland;
- 31 March: South East, South West & Wales.
All our member CRPs and station groups will be sent a template release for your region, which you can fill in and issue to your local media, helping to create a splash on these dates. We only ask that you: (a) make sure to issue the release on the exact day of the campaign in your region; and (b) only send to local papers/radio, not regional media. Do also look for and engage with the campaign on social media, including sharing our regional briefings.
New DfT community rail lead
We’re pleased to introduce you to Ade Ayoola, who has just joined the DfT’s stations and community rail team as the new community rail lead, replacing Kul Bassi.
Your next bulletin is on 31 March. Keep up-to-date in between on Twitter and Facebook.
Best wishes,
Jools and Richard
News from our partners
News from our members
- Eco-friendly water solution at Essex rail stations
- Friends of Goostrey Station highlight plastic pollution
- Refuge for wildlife as rail station platforms transformed into garderns by volunteers
- A sign of older times in East Sussex at Eridge Station
- Marston Vale CRP awarded reaccreditation
- Buxton gets a model marketing boost
