Hi everyone, we hope you’re all well. In today’s bulletin, we are highlighting our latest report on encouraging and enabling modal shift, PR plans on leisure travel, and a DfT webinar on rail reform.

Encouraging and enabling modal shift report

Our new report on encouraging and enabling modal shift, sponsored by Rail Delivery Group, highlights how our communities and climate can benefit from shifting travel habits away from private cars, onto rail, bus, cycling and walking. It considers different types of community rail activity to engage communities on sustainable travel, relating this to research on what works in influencing behaviours, and opportunities to build back better and greener.

Do share the report and summary with colleagues, and talk to our team about your ideas and campaigns on modal shift. Also catch up with our recent modal shift webinar for further insights.

These resources are part of our growing range available on different aspects of community rail activity. See all our resources, reports and case studies.

Window seater and community rail app

We’re excited to be embarking on a project with Window Seater, a technology company specialising in app-based audio stories relevant to your location, and Great Western Railway, thanks to funding through Innovate UK and the DfT’s ‘First of a Kind’ competition. Window Seater will be building an app drawing on local stories and insights sourced through community rail. It will create an immersive experience for passengers on ten GWR lines, and will be available for community rail to use through local engagement. We hope to build on this in the future to be able to share stories from community rail lines in other parts of the UK.

Days Out by Rail

After careful consideration we have rescheduled our Days Out by Rail PR campaign to launch 26 July, taking our lead from wider rail industry promotional plans, and which will run until 19 September. We’re encouraging members to use this as a springboard for your own tourism and leisure promotions and local partnership working. To assist, we will be providing digital marketing materials and press release templates, in the next couple of weeks. To find out more and get involved, contact Alice.

Rail transformation webinar

We’ve been asked to let community rail partnerships and groups know about a DfT webinar briefing on its rail transformation programme, tomorrow – Thurs 8 July, from 11am to midday. Sign up here to hear from Rail Minister Chris-Heaton Harris and Keith Williams, and pose your questions.

We’re also working with DfT to create a special FAQs briefing covering common questions on community rail and reform, hopefully being issued in our next bulletin.

Hosting our 2022 Community Rail Awards

We are looking for a committed partner and headline sponsor to work alongside us in hosting the Community Rail Awards 2022. For the first time, we are inviting bids from both train operators and other industry and corporate partners. Take a look at our sponsorship page or contact Hazel.

Partner news and external events

• Network Rail staff available for community rail volunteering
• Get involved in The Big Green Week: 18-26 September 2021
• Transport Focus Covid-19 return to rail – latest research summary

News from our members

• White Cliffs CRP launch celebrated with historic rail journey
• Bishop Line CRP urges students to stay off the tracks this summer
• A fond farewell and thank you to community rail stalwart, Sheila Dee
• Lancashire’s St Annes Station unveils Hidden Gems
• New interpretation panels installed at Derbyshire’s Matlock Station
• Public transport advice clinic to feature at Lowestoft Central tourism exhibition
• Dronfield station friends encourage students to let their imaginations run wild with essay competition
• East Sussex’s Uckfield Station assists in the fight against food waste
• Women in Community Rail to host learning session on hybrid events