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Community Rail News – 19 August 2026

Hello everyone.

Before we get into the bulletin, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the derailments in Lewes and Wickford last week. Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and our thanks go to the emergency services, Network Rail and railway colleagues for their swift, professional response, and to all working to support passengers and communities.

We also want to recognise the work of our industry partners in responding to the recent heatwave across much of the UK. This has underlined the growing impact of climate change and why our collective work to encourage more people to choose sustainable, low-carbon ways of travelling matters so much.

It’s been an encouraging period for our work in Scotland. We were pleased to recently join Scottish CRPs, Scottish Rail Holdings, Transport Scotland and ScotRail in Glasgow for a productive discussion on how we can work together to strengthen support for community rail. There is a real willingness around the table to continue the conversation, and talks are ongoing in a positive spirit. We’ll keep members updated as this work develops.

Meanwhile, we’re beginning the search for a new Director of Member Experience, following the departure of Sam Agnew, who has moved on to pastures new. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Sam warmly for everything she has contributed to Community Rail Network and our members and wish her every success for the future.

Our new Director of Member Experience will lead the way in ensuring our members continue to be at the heart of everything we do – helping them to develop, grow and thrive, while ensuring they have an excellent experience whenever they engage with us. We’re looking for a compassionate, collaborative and creative leader who can bring fresh thinking, strong relationship-building skills and a real focus on understanding and responding to members’ needs. More information and details of how to apply can be found here.

Best wishes
Bill and Jeremy

Community rail and tackling anti-social behaviour

As part of its Violence and Intimidation Against Women and Girls strategy, Rail Delivery Group is looking for examples of where community rail initiatives have successfully reduced or stopped anti-social behaviour or helped to make spaces or journeys safer for women, girls and vulnerable passengers. This could be a full intervention with multiple partners; smaller scale initiatives such as a mural stopping graffiti or regular care reducing littering; or it might be related to ‘last mile’ journeys such as paths, lighting, vetting taxi numbers or improving onward public transport connections. If your community rail partnership or station group has an example of best practice to contribute, please send the information through to Jenni Jones.  

The following training, networking and development sessions are online and members only unless stated otherwise.

  • Sharpen your outcomes: Thursday 27 August, 10-11am. This drop-in session is for members to talk through their projects and refine their outcomes, with support from our training and development team. Register here.
  • Trails and walking routes skill-share: Tuesday 15 September, 2-3:30pm. This session will explore case studies and practical learning across aspects such as co-design, scaling up walking activities, accessibility and inclusive design and project outcomes. Register here.
  • Education Network: Wednesday 16 September, 10-11:30am. This webinar-style session will explore how community rail can seize further opportunities when rail safety becomes mandatory on the PSHE National Curriculum in September. Open to all. Register here.
  • ‘On Track for inclusive train travel’: Thursday 17 September, 12-1pm. Join this webinar to hear about the key learnings from the ‘On Track’ project, as well as potential opportunities and next steps for community rail partnerships and groups interested in making rail travel more accessible and inclusive for disabled people. Open to all. Register here.
  • Co-production working day: Monday 21 September, 9:45am-3:30pm, Birmingham. This full-day session will share learning from the Travelling with Confidence programme, aiming to identify success factors, tips and practicalities, offer peer support, spark ideas and generate enthusiasm for the co-production approach across community rail. Register here.
  • Integrated Sustainable Transport discussion group: Thursday 1 October, 10:30am-12pm. Hear more from Northern and Great Western Railway about their active travel work and integrated transport strategies. Open to all. Details here.

Your next bulletin is on 2 September. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X.

Send your stories to our news@communityrail.org.uk and see our guidance on submitting stories.

Click here to view our member ‘photos of the fortnight’, featuring Friends of Bicester North Station, Southeast Communities Rail Partnership, Heart of England CRP, Barton Cleethorpes CRP, Yorkshire Coast CRP and East Suffolk Lines CRP.

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