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Community Rail News – 17 September 2025

Hello everyone. The phrase “a week is a long time in politics” has certainly been true since the last newsletter. Despite the summer recess ending just a fortnight ago, the UK Government has seen a significant reshuffle. The Department for Transport remains largely unchanged but, as always, we will maintain a watching brief and keep you updated.

Chief executive update

I (Jools) am delighted to be back at work after eight months’ parental leave and looking forward to getting stuck in with our team, board, members and partners. It’s been heartening reconnecting with colleagues and learning about what’s been happening in community rail. I’m especially excited to be coming back as Community Rail Network embarks on a period of strategic review, of which there will be more in future bulletins, and just ahead of our conference for community rail partnerships, at which I look forward to seeing many of you.

I’m sure you’ll join me in extending huge thanks to Bill Freeman for his excellent, expert stewardship of the organisation, and our brilliant team for all they’ve been doing. Bill shared some final thoughts and reflections in this blog post, which I hope you enjoy.

Members’ survey

Our annual members’ survey is now open, having been emailed on Monday 8 September. We warmly encourage all members to respond, which should take no more than 15-20 minutes. Your input is vital for informing our planning and support into the future. The deadline is 5pm on Friday 26 September. If you have any queries or trouble accessing the survey, please contact Rob.

Community Rail Awards 2026

You have until 5pm on Tuesday 30 September to submit your entries to the 2026 Community Rail Awards, with headline partners East Midlands Railway. Visit our Entry Hub to access the resources you need to complete your submission and take advantage of our remaining two drop-in support sessions.

Tracks & Trails mini campaign: 13-26 October

Our first mini tourism and leisure campaign will launch in October and highlight walking, wheeling and cycling routes from stations. If you have existing trails, accessible routes and walking initiatives you’d like to promote as part of this national campaign, please share them with our Comms team. Find more information and a digital toolkit here, and for advice on getting involved, please contact Alice.

Send your stories to our Comms team and see our guidance on submitting stories.

Your next bulletin is on 1 October. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X.

Best wishes,
Jeremy and Jools

Blackmore Vale Line CRP were delighted to meet the Chinnock family, who over a three-month period this summer visited all 130 locations on the partnership’s ‘postcards from first class destinations’ trail, in celebration of Railway 200. The trail encourages people to travel by train, bus, bicycle or on foot to the villages and towns in North Dorset along the old Somerset and Dorset Railway Line, collecting free postcards from the participating stations, cafés, pubs, museums, libraries, galleries, garden centres, tourist information centres and independent businesses.

Derek Beer, Blackmore Vale Line CRP chair, said: “What a determined effort! The Chinnock family thoroughly enjoyed visiting new places and meeting some amazing people, and are now deciding where to best display their hard-earned collection.”
The Friends of Goostrey Station are delighted to have uncovered more fascinating stories of local railway history as part of their Railway 200 celebrations. Having previously shared the story of Joseph Harrop, the volunteers have learnt more about Chris Ashmore, who started work as a porter at Holmes Chapel Station in 1920 before becoming a signalman at Goostrey Station, working there from 1924 until 1959. Mr Ashmore was also a keen gardener and spent many hours working happily on the station garden. In 1962, he helped Goostrey win first prize for the best kept garden as well as the cleanest station in a local competition.
The Friends of Dronfield Station have marked the passing of their former chair Dr Peter Hayward MBE (pictured far right). Peter was a well-respected figure in Dronfield, widely acknowledged for turning the station into a much-valued local amenity and restoring a regular train service to the town, which in 2008 became a stop on the newly launched hourly service between Leeds and Nottingham.

Since then, under Peter’s chairmanship, the Friends of Dronfield Station have gone on to bring about further improvements, including restoring the station garden to an attractive gateway to the town. The station has seen an increase in annual passenger numbers from a few thousand in 2008 to over 200,000 currently, and Peter was awarded an MBE in 2010 for his service to the community.

Current chair Michael Muntus said: “Peter Hayward brought determination, dedication and a unique ability to work successfully with large bureaucratic organisations for the benefit of the people of Dronfield.”