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Community Rail News – 29 April 2026

A message from Jools Townsend, Community Rail Network chief executive:

Hello everyone, 

After nine and a half incredible years leading Community Rail Network, I’m sad to say that I’ll be stepping down at the end of June.

It’s been a privilege to have been part of such a passionate and powerful movement. Together, we’ve helped community rail grow in influence and impact, empowering communities, bringing people together, and championing inclusive, sustainable, locally-driven transport.

I’m confident that Community Rail Network is in a strong position for the future, with a clear strategy and a dedicated senior leadership team to take things forward. Recruitment for my successor is now underway, and we’ll share further updates in due course. We’d welcome your support in sharing the opportunity with your networks – view the role here.

Before I go, I’m especially looking forward to Community Rail Week (1–7 June), a chance to celebrate the extraordinary work happening across the network, and to say thank you in person to many of our members and partners.

It’s been an honour to be part of this journey, and I look forward to seeing community rail continue to thrive.

Best wishes, 
Jools

A message from Jeremy Whitaker, Community Rail Network chair:

Hello everyone,

A rather different opening to the Bulletin for this edition.

I would like to take this opportunity on a personal level and on behalf of the Board, to thank Jools for the enormous contribution that she has made to Community Rail Network and the wider community rail movement over her nine and half years as our chief executive.

During her time at Community Rail Network Jools has taken community rail into many positive new directions embracing opportunities in the third sector and government that have greatly strengthened our position, broadened our reach and significantly raised our profile. We have grown significantly in size and ambition and Jools has enabled us to seize many new opportunities and navigate challenges along the way.

I know that many of you may be concerned that change brings with it risks and uncertainties. I would like to reassure all our members, stakeholders and supporters that the Board is working very closely with Jools, and our very skilled and experienced senior leadership team, to ensure continuity and very much a ‘business as usual’ approach during the remainder of Jools’s tenure and the interim period prior to the arrival of our new chief executive.

Now is the time to go out and embrace the opportunity of Community Rail Week to showcase the very best that community rail can offer and celebrate the success and dedication of our members.

Thank you Jools for your leadership during your time as our chief executive and our very best wishes for the future.

Best wishes
Jeremy

Upcoming sessions

We have several online webinars and training sessions over the next few months, covering integrated transport, social media, impact, youth engagement, and placemaking for safety, as well as networking opportunities for station adopters and community rail officers. Visit our online calendar for details of all sessions and registration links.

Community Rail Week – getting involved

We’re getting ready to launch our Community Rail Week toolkit and branding pack, within the next two weeks. In the meantime, visit our website or speak to Alice for advice and ideas on getting involved with this year’s ‘Journeys for All’ theme. We also encourage partners to become an official partner of Community Rail Week, find out more here. Once your plans are underway, let us know what you’re doing here so we can help showcase and celebrate your activity.

Community Rail Conference

Our annual Community Rail Conference will take place in Derby on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October. This event is specifically for community rail partnerships and rail industry partners. Those eligible to attend should already have received an email with further details. If you believe you should have received this information but haven’t, please get in touch.

Awards fundraising update

We’re delighted to reveal that our fundraising initiative at the 2026 Community Rail Awards raised an amazing £1,880. This money will be split between Engineered Learning and Market Rasen Day Opportunities, the two organisations who poured so much time and creativity into producing the centrepieces our guests bid for on the night. Thank you once again to our 2026 headline partner East Midlands Railway for all their support in bringing the Awards to life.

On Saturday 4 April, thanks to generous donations from two of its members, the Friends of the Barton Line sponsored a football match between Barton Town and Wombwell Town. As part of the sponsorship, in the lead-up to the game, discounted admission was offered to both home and away supporters who arrived at Barton by train. Posters advertising the offer, as well as sample rail itineraries and ticket information, were displayed in community boards at stations and in shops and businesses along the Barton Line. At the game itself, volunteers were on hand to distribute Ale Trail Guides (supported by funding from Community Rail Network), to encourage the football supporters to return and explore the local area by train.

Spring has well and truly sprung at Glossop Station, and there are plenty of new displays on the platforms and in the waiting rooms thanks to the Friends group. The latest Poetry Platform display is entitled ‘Bridging the Gap’ and was created by Paul Marsh. The display depicts the iconic Telford Suspension Bridge over the Menai Straits, with six poems about other famous bridges.

Over in the Waiting Room Art Gallery, local mother and daughter team Gwen and Amy Osbaldeston, known as Thread and Clay, have returned for a second exhibition of their work featuring over 20 stunning embroidered representations of Peak District landscapes. Visit the gallery 6.30am-6.30pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-4.30pm on Sundays.

The Department for Transport and Welsh Government’s accreditation scheme for community rail partnerships (CRPs) is formal recognition that our members operate to a high standard, and that their objectives and activities are supported by Government. It provides assurance that their governance and financial propriety are sound; that they adopt a collaborative local community approach; are worthy of trust by others; and are a suitable entity for receiving public funds.

In the period January to March 2026, the following CRPs had their accreditation renewed: Community Rail Cumbria (Cumbrian Coast Line CRP, Furness Line CRP & Lakes Line CRP), Crewe to Manchester CRP, Derwent Valley CRP, East Suffolk Lines CRP, Mid-Cheshire CRP, North Cheshire CRP, Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company, South East Manchester CRP and Yorkshire Coast CRP.

Congratulations all! The full list of accredited CRPs can be found here.