Hello everyone. As always, we hope this finds you well. Over recent weeks there has been much expectation around the rail industry’s George Bradshaw address, which Jools attended yesterday, hearing from the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper. We have provided a short briefing on the key announcements.
Impact demo
Our training and development coordinator Alex will be hosting a short online demo for members on our Impact platform, including the survey function, on Wednesday 22 February, 11am-12pm. Impact is our free tool designed just for Community Rail Network members, to record your activities and help you assess and evidence your impact, so you can use it to monitor things like the number of people you’re engaging, whether you’ve achieved your projects’ aims, and to produce reports for funders or bulletins. The session will be on Zoom and is open to community rail partnerships and station group members, whether you are already registered to use Impact or not. Read more about Impact and book your place.
Helping people with disabilities travel with confidence
Does your CRP or group run initiatives to help people with disabilities (hidden or physical) to travel with confidence, or are you keen to develop this type of work? Community Rail Network is looking at bidding for a grant from Motability’s Travelling with Confidence Grant Scheme. Following a similar model to our ‘tackling loneliness’ programme, we would use the grant to closely support and fund a small number of members to step up their delivery in this area, and then share the lessons across our network and beyond. We are therefore looking for expressions of interest from those who have initiatives underway or past experiences that could be expanded, or those with keen interest, ideas and opportunities to set something up. This might include rail skills/confidence programmes, try the train trips, creative initiatives, and work with rail partners to make rail more inclusive for people with disabilities. Please get in touch with your usual support & development team contact in the first instance by 22 February.
Small Grants Fund
Our Small Grants Fund for England is now running low and will soon run out. Please contact grants@communityrail.org.uk before applying to this fund. The DfT’s Community Rail Development Fund has now closed for applications until the new financial year, but you can still discuss ideas for bids with your usual contact in our support & development team.
Community Rail News stories
A reminder that our comms & policy team has put together a handy guidance sheet on what to include when you submit news stories to us for this bulletin.
News officers’ training
A few weeks ago, we welcomed 22 community rail officers from community rail partnerships to our New Officers’ Training Day in Birmingham, and we received some really positive feedback. Find out here what new officers had to say about the day.
If you have any news stories, please email our communications team on news@communityrail.org.uk.
Your next bulletin is on 22 February. Keep up-to-date in between on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Best wishes,
Jeremy and Jools
- New fund aims to encourage more people to choose active travel
- CTA launch new Climate Action in Scotland programme
- Forthcoming rail careers session and survey on education & youth engagement
- Accessibility awareness survey launched for Settle-Carlisle Railway
- Hampshire CRP offer a helping hand for those travelling with hidden disabilities
- Interpretation panel unveiled at Lowestoft Station to mark Holocaust Memorial Day
- Solent Remade launch Hampshire’s first Library of Things at Havant Station
- Tyne Valley CRP continue to support passengers during challenging times
- Redundant space at Shawford Station transformed into community cafe
- Friends of Droitwich Spa Railway Station unveil latest community art project
- Real-time information screen installed at community space on Penistone Line
