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Community Rail News – 27 May 2026

Hello everyone.

We’re excited to be heading into Community Rail Week (1–7 June) next week, with this year’s theme ‘Journeys for All’ aiming to show the power of locally-led work to break down barriers and make rail more accessible and inclusive for everyone. If you’re not yet signed up to be involved, there’s still time to share, support and shine a light: see our suggestions for partners & supporters, CRPs and station groups.

Our main launch event will be at Oxford Station on Monday, followed by a celebration of the Friends of Hindley Station on Wednesday, alongside hundreds of other member-led activities across Britain. A huge thank you to all the members and partners involved: we’re looking forward to seeing the movement in action and wish you every success for the week. Don’t forget to tell us your plans (if you haven’t already) and use our advice on monitoring success.

This past fortnight has been another strong reminder of the growing influence of community rail in shaping the future of the railway. At the UK Rail Conference, Jools joined a panel sharing insights on what it will take to ensure the railway works for everyone. The message was clear: engaging communities is not a “nice-to-have”, but a critical part of delivering better connectivity, climate-safe mobility, and fair access to opportunity.

We’re also pleased to see recognition of community rail’s role in shaping rail use and behaviour in a Department for Transport-commissioned review, Understanding the factors that influence people’s use of rail infrastructure. The findings reinforce what our members see every day: that barriers to rail use are often about confidence, familiarity, accessibility and the complexity of end-to-end journeys. Read our summary here.

We’ll continue to use these insights in our discussions with partners across government and industry as we make the case for community rail’s place at the heart of a more inclusive, connected and effective railway.

Best wishes
Jeremy and Jools

Upcoming sessions

We have several online training and networking sessions coming up:

  • Station adopters networking: Monday 8 June, 2-4pm. Hear updates from us and case studies from small grant recipients about their projects, and have the chance to chat, swap ideas and ask questions. Register here.
  • Tourism Network: Wednesday 10 June, 10-11:30am. Discover how Southeast Communities Rail Partnership harnessed podcasting to encourage more people to explore the Arun Valley by train. Details here.
  • Education Network: Wednesday 17 June, 10-11am. Focused on the new rail safety resources being produced by Network Rail for publication in September. Details here.
  • Community Rail Development Fund (CRDF) showcase webinar: Thursday 25 June, 10-11am. Hear about a variety of projects made possible by the CRDF, with presenters sharing their work, outcomes and learnings. Register here.
  • Community rail officers networking: Thursday 9 July, 10am-12pm. Provides officers with the chance to share news and ideas, with a particular focus on how AI can fit in with the work of community rail. Details here.

Your next bulletin, a Community Rail Week special edition, is on 10 June. 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.

As part of our Travelling with Confidence programme, grant-funded by the Motability Foundation, Community Rail Lancashire has produced a fantastic video demonstrating the positive impact the programme has had for young people from Coleman Training.
With support from New Forest CRP and South Western Railway, the Friends of Ashurst New Forest Station have built a lasting memorial to the British and Indian soldiers who were camped adjacent to the station during World War One. Between October and November 1914, soldiers were based at the station (then called Lyndhurst Road) to exchange their artillery pieces for larger ones. These would be transported from Woolwich Arsenal in London by train to Ashurst New Forest Station. The station volunteers worked with historian Nick Saunders and artists Simon Chadwick and Stewart Wilkins to collate stories and images for the new display, as well as building a special memorial planter and establishing a Magnolia tree, a native plant to India.
Southeast Communities Rail Partnership has collaborated with The Arts Society Reigate and Southern Railway to install a new artwork at Reigate Station created by West Surrey College student Emily Garrett. Third-year student Emily won second place in an art competition sponsored by The Arts Society Reigate for her vibrant piece, inspired by the nature and wildlife not always seen in urban environments.  

Michael Beach, chair of the Tonbridge to Reigate Community Rail Partnership, said: “We are delighted to have been able to facilitate this project and give students a public outlet for their work. We are always excited to support local talent and are grateful for their participation.”
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