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Community Rail News – 22 January 2025

Hello everyone. We hope that this bulletin finds you well.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to attend the AGM on Tuesday 28 January. It’s great to see so many members planning to take part and if you haven’t had a chance to sign up yet, you still have until the end of Friday. Details for signing up are shared below.

Small Grants Fund update

We are pleased to announce that our Small Grants Fund for England (SGF) has re-opened for applications from our station adoption/small groups, community station and non-accredited CRP members. This change has been made possible following discussions with the DfT to adjust the balance of funding available between the SGF and the Community Rail Development Fund (CRDF). The CRDF remains open to applications from accredited CRP members in England and Wales. Find all funding information here and contact us with any questions.

New resources

As part of our work with the Foundation for Integrated Transport, we have produced a practical guide to support community organisations in leading on modal integration initiatives. It takes a step-by-step approach to the planning, delivery and review of activities to integrate different forms of public, shared and active transport, to help people access the opportunities they want in a more sustainable way.

We are also pleased to be publishing two new guidance resources for members, both sponsored by Northern. The first is a guide on community rail and tackling anti-social behaviour, particularly at stations, and the second is a guide on community rail and engaging in local planning and development, building on the work of Gloucestershire CRP’s ‘Connecting Communities’ guide.

Policy update

The deadline on the ‘call for ideas’ to support the development of an Integrated National Transport Strategy for England has been extended until 20 February. See our draft response and reach out to Rob if you would like support with your own submission. There will be 11 roadshow events taking place around England in February and March to gather views on how the strategy can achieve its aims and understand regional perspectives from key stakeholders. Find out more about the roadshows here.

We are expecting a consultation around the Passenger Railway Services Bill to be published imminently. Once published we’ll let you know and share our thoughts on the opportunities it presents for members to be involved and have their say.

Railway 200

The route for the exhibition train is likely to be formally announced at the end of January: we will update you when we can. Meanwhile, members are invited to the next Education Network meeting on Thursday 20 February, where a representative from Railway 200 will be talking specifically about the Exhibition Train.

AGM and charitable status FAQs

Booking closes at 4pm this Friday for our online AGM, which takes places next Tuesday 28 January, 2-3.30pm. A reminder that there will be an important vote on Community Rail Network’s proposal to adopt charitable status: read our members’ FAQs for further details and book your place.

Awards

Excitement is building for our 20th anniversary Community Rail Awards, which take place in Newcastle on Thursday 13 March. Make sure to book your place/table by 14 February.

There are several accompanying events and activities taking place during Awards week:

Please also visit our Awards webpage for important details about restricted services which may affect your journey if you plan to visit over the weekend of 14-17 March.

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

Your next bulletin is on 5 February. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X.

Best wishes,
Jeremy and Bill

‘Blue Monday’ may be a myth, but you know what certainly isn’t – the incredible value community rail brings to communities! Members were out in full force on ‘Brew Monday‘, engaging with passengers and supporting their local communities to be healthy, connected and inclusive, whilst raising awareness of the vital support Samaritans provides all year round. Clockwise from top left: Yorkshire Coast CRP, East Suffolk Lines CRP, 3 Counties Connected CRP and Wherry Lines CRP.
The Friends of Bletchley Station recently celebrated three years of station adoption with an open afternoon at the station on 12 November 2024. Local community groups, town councillors and London Northwestern Railway station staff joined the volunteers in a tour and a celebration of their fantastic achievements in making Bletchley Station a vibrant, safe and welcoming gateway to the community.
As part of their Railway 200 celebrations, Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP) is working with local museums, history groups and youth organisations to highlight 200 people who have made special contributions to the railway. These fascinating stories and hidden histories will be commemorated by 200 blue plaques displayed at stations across the network. The first five plaques were unveiled at Winnersh Station on 10 January, to mark the station’s 115th birthday.

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Our team works mainly from home in different locations. Visit the Our Team page to contact individual members of staff directly.

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