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Community Rail News – 23 July 2025

Hello everyone. We hope, as always, that this bulletin finds you well.

We continue to ensure the voice of community rail is heard as rail reform and the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) progresses. Whilst we meet regularly with the Department for Transport, it is always good to be broadening the interest in these developments, hence our recent work with parliamentarians in Westminster. 

Following a meeting with Elsie Blundell, MP for Heywood and Middleton and member of the Transport Select Committee, she submitted several parliamentary questions regarding the role of community rail in the context of rail reform. You can view them here: Question 1, Question 2 and Question 3. Similarly, following the Parliamentary Reception, Baroness Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Transport in the House of Lords, also submitted questions – Question 1 and Question 2. The responses to these questions include positive ministerial statements that are now on record. We will follow up with the relevant ministers at the Department for Transport and maintain an ongoing dialogue with Elsie as we continue to build a network of supportive MPs. As always, if you would like any advice or support, please get in touch with Sarah Chilton.

Our flagship tourism and leisure campaign, Days Out by Rail, returns this summer from 1–31 August, and we’re inviting everyone involved in community rail to take part. We’re calling on members to share their local knowledge and hidden tourism gems that are easily accessible by train, focused around four themes:

  • Family adventures loved by locals
  • Unlock the past by train
  • Memorable moments for less
  • From rails to reels

These community-sourced highlights will form the heart of the campaign, which will be promoted through the Scenic Rail Britain website and social media channels. See our website for more details about these themes and how to get involved or get in touch with Alice.

As part of our Travelling with Confidence programme – aimed at empowering hundreds of disabled people to travel more confidently by rail and connecting modes – we will soon be in a position to provide a small number of grants (and support) to accredited CRPs to set up similar, smaller-scale initiatives in their local areas, and be part of our wider project. We will be holding an online information session on Tuesday 16 September, 12-1pm. If you are interested in attending, or would like more information, please contact Sally.

A reminder to our members in the Greater Manchester region that we administer the Small Grants Fund on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). CRPs and community stations can apply for up to £1,500, and station friends groups can apply for up to £500 to support community-benefiting projects. Find the full funding criteria and application form here.

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

Your next bulletin is on 6 August. Keep up-to-date in between on Facebook, InstagramLinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky and X.

Best wishes,
Jeremy and Bill




Beverley in Bloom (as Friends of Beverley Station) recently welcomed volunteers from Northern, ISS and Yorkshire Coast CRP for a Community Day at the station. The group painted the fencing on the southbound platform and filled planters with colourful perennials, as well as moving several heavy wooden sleepers into position on the platform. These are now ready to be painted, installed and a new low-level raised bed created, all part of Beverley in Bloom’s Railway 200 project to rework and replant the existing border, adding colour and interest to an area once filled with overgrown shrubs.
It’s been a busy month of Railway 200 celebrations for Heart of England CRP. The Exhibition Train arrived at Birmingham Moor Street Station between 8-10 July, and the CRP took several school groups and members of The Life Path Trust – adopters of Coventry Station – on board to enjoy the interactive STEM, history and careers resources.

The Exhibition Train celebrations didn’t stop there – the CRP also revealed the winners of their art competition, which encouraged young people to get creative and design their own Railway 200-inspired train wrap. Three winners were crowned from an incredible 120 entries, including Florence from Earlsdon Primary School, whose design (pictured above) won the 8-11 years category. The winners received book tokens and will also be featured at Coventry Transport Museum as part of the Railway 200 ‘200 Journeys’ project exhibition later this year.
Since its inception in 2015, the Waiting Room Art Gallery at Glossop Station has provided a valuable space for local artists to promote their work, hosting over 35 different exhibitions. The Friends of Glossop Station are delighted to reveal the latest display, which features work by Greg Williamson. These colourful, chaotic paintings of animals in unusual situations are vibrant reminders to slow down and savour the beauty, and humour, hidden in the everyday. Visit the gallery 6.30am-6.30pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-4.30pm on Sundays.