Hi everyone. We hope you’re well. This week we’re providing some new materials, and reminding how our members can make use of our free Impact tool to assess and evidence the positive impact you have. As always, scroll down for great examples and stories from our members and partners. If you have stories for future bulletins, please email Nik.
All Aboard! (Ian McMillan poem)
For all of you who joined the Community Rail Awards in December (all 500-odd of you!), Ian McMillan’s special community rail poem, All Aboard!, was one of the highlights. As well as being able to watch Ian reading it, you can also see or download the written verse, providing a great way to convey the spirit of community rail. Feel free to share, but please credit Ian, @IMcMillan on twitter, or © Ian McMillan.
Mini sagas and Scenic Rail Britain vids
By popular demand, fantastic elements of the Awards are now available too:
Please make use of these to spread the community rail word.
Guidance and tools to develop impact
Our team has produced a new guidance sheet on taking an ‘outcomes-based’ approach, especially for station friends groups, and anyone developing or delivering local community rail projects. This can be used to help you plan in a focused way, consider how best to achieve your aims, and evidence how your group or project is making a difference. In turn, this can help you bring in funding and involve more people and partners in your work. The guidance also discusses how our Impact tool, free for our members to use, can help.
These resources are part of a range we have available on different aspects of community rail activity. See all our resources, reports and case studies.
Community Rail Conference
All community rail partnerships, and partners on the National Community Rail Steering Group, should have had their invitations to our online conference, run in partnership with the DfT, 8-16 March. This year’s exciting agenda includes discussions, presentations from third sector and industry partners, and inspiring community rail examples, exploring how we can support sustainability, inclusion, local development and community voice, within the context of Covid recovery. Make sure you book separately onto each of the four sessions. We’re looking forward to seeing you there.
Your next bulletin is on 17th Feb. Keep up-to-date in between on Twitter and Facebook.
Best wishes,
Jools and Richard
News from our partners
- Department for Transport update on the Williams Rail Review
- Transport Focus – Covid-19 return to rail travel – latest research summary
News from our members
- Women in Community Rail welcome new support officer
- Dementia Friendly Railway celebrates second anniversary
- Online sessions start for community rail gardeners to connect
- Children’s STEAM railway designs unveiled at Honley Station
- Sign language welcomes Handforth rail users
- Tyne Valley CRP spreads the word about the role of community rail partnerships
- Women in Community Rail online sessions round up
- Senior transport officer (community rail) – High Peak and Hope Valley CRP
