This category recognises creative initiatives that have had a transformative, empowering effect on the people involved and their local environment or station, connecting people to their railway, station and wider community, and making the railway a welcoming place.

Projects involving all forms of creative expression are eligible (art, music, spoken word, writing, storytelling, photography, interpretation panels or sculpture), creating a sense of pride and community, and promoting connections between communities and railways. We are especially keen to see projects that promoted inclusion and positivity and drew on local input and creativity in innovative ways.

Any current (paid/subscribed) Community Rail Network member, which may be a community rail partnership (CRP), station adoption / friends’ group or a community station group.

Non-member community groups, or rail industry partners can also submit entries, but only where a project was undertaken in partnership with a Community Rail Network member CRP or station group. The entry must clearly demonstrate this partnership working, showing how the project has fulfilled the judging criteria below. The entry must also be approved by the member group as the primary entry for the joint project and the group’s contact details must be provided. Note: This type of partnership entry will automatically be judged within the large groups level, see details of grouping below.

Entries in this category will be grouped, by Community Rail Network, for judging according to the size/type of the group/organisation making the submission. There will be one winner at each level with no runners up. The judges will compare projects more equally in terms of resources available to each group and what they achieved accordingly:

• Large groups – any CRPs that sit under an umbrella organisation.
• Medium groups – any stand-alone, funded CRPs with one to two members of paid staff.
• Small groups – any unfunded station adoption/friends/community groups

Essential requirements: Please include photographs, images, clips or links, to other forms of media with your entry, showing/linking to the artwork or finished piece(s).

• Clearly demonstrates, through evidence, the impact of the project - How did it contribute to creating social value? How did it strengthen the community? How did it improve inclusion and accessibility? What are the lasting benefits to the community such as increased wellbeing, confidence, skills, inclusion or supporting regeneration and how can you evidence this?
• Promotes positivity and celebrates railway and community – clearly appreciated by passengers and local people, promoting pride, understanding and positivity, and connecting community and railway;
• Successful engagement across the community or target audience – successful efforts were made to engage people widely across the community, or amongst a clear target audience;
• Interaction and drawing on community viewpoints – the scheme enabled interaction with and between the community, such as drawing on and sharing local perspectives, memories and ideas.

'Community Creative Projects and Station Arts' is sponsored by ScotRail.

2026 Large Groups Winner - Community Rail Lancashire with Arts2Heal for ‘The Clitheroe Line: A Picturesque Railway Journey’

For ‘The Clitheroe Line: A Picturesque Railway Journey’, Community Rail Lancashire brought together over 50 vulnerable adults through Arts2Heal, a Blackburn-based charity supporting neurodiverse and disabled adults. The project aimed to combat social isolation and enhance wellbeing through activities that combined collaborative, creative expression with sustainable travel.

Over several months, participants travelled by train to all ten stations between Clitheroe and Bolton, capturing photographs of local landmarks and scenic views. Local residents provided guided tours, sharing knowledge and stories and fostering genuine inter-community connections.

Creative workshops provided the space for participants to develop personal narratives inspired by their experiences. Some crafted unique 3D picture frames using recycled materials, and others made sketches and wrote personal stories and poems. By integrating storytelling with visual arts, all participants – including those who struggled with verbal communication – felt empowered to express themselves through the creative medium of their choice.

The initiative culminated in a digital and physical exhibition which launched at Blackburn Market in March 2025 and has gone on to tour other locations. Participants' photographs have also been included in other promotional materials for the line, including timetables, posters and banners – encouraging greener travel to the area and preserving the heritage and beauty of the Clitheroe Line for future generations.

The project achieved transformative outcomes for both individual participants and the wider community. Participants reported increased confidence in rail travel, with this individual empowerment also extending beyond mobility to reduced isolation, new friendships and skills, and a renewed sense of purpose.

2026 Medium Groups Winner - Thomas Pocklington Trust and Essex Sight Loss Council for 'Do You See What I See'

‘Do You See What I See?’, a collaboration between Essex Sight Loss Council and Thomas Pocklington Trust, marked two historic anniversaries, linking the bicentenary of the railways with the bicentenary of braille to raise awareness of the impact of sight loss and make busy station spaces more welcoming for passengers.

The project was co-produced with blind and partially sighted (BPS) people, working alongside professional artists Lindsey Whitelaw and Clarke Reynolds. Participants created artworks that interpreted how sight loss uniquely affected them as individuals. These tactile and audio-described works were then compiled for exhibitions on display at Colchester, Norwich, and Broxbourne stations.

At Colchester, the exhibition launched in the waiting room on platform 4, supported by poster board space from Essex & South Suffolk CRP. Essex Sight Loss Council also hosed a symposium at Greater Anglia’s Colchester offices on the launch day, enabling BPS people to share lived experiences directly with transport leaders, with a view to influencing ongoing accessibility improvements across Greater Anglia’s network.
The ‘Do You See What I See?’ exhibition has reached thousands of passengers passing through the stations, enabling more people to encounter tactile, braille and audio described artworks in everyday settings, broadening the wider public’s understanding of how art can be inclusive and multi-sensory.

2026 Small Groups Winner – Wokingham Learning Disability Partnership Board for 'Railway 200 Artwork'

For this project, Wokingham Learning Disability Partnership Board (WLDPB), adopters of Wokingham Station, aimed to celebrate community creativity while commemorating Railway 200. The goal was to highlight the talents of people with learning disabilities, turning the station into a space of colour, inspiration and connection.

The project was delivered over several months with extensive focus on accessibility. Artist Jo Werrett worked closely with participants from WLDPB, CLASP, Optalis, Support Horizons, Dimensions and PINC, hosting sessions at multiple venues across Berkshire. Jo tailored instructions and demonstrations to different learning styles and provided one-to-one guidance where needed, ensuring every individual could participate fully in decorating a railway track panel and learning about aspects of local railway heritage.

Each panel became a personal expression of creativity, and these unique designs were assembled into a cohesive artwork at Wokingham Station celebrating journeys, connection and community. The public unveiling was attended by the Town Mayor and covered by local media, enhancing the participants’ sense of pride and achievement, whilst fostering deeper understanding amongst the public of the abilities and talents of people with learning disabilities.

The collaborative artwork has not only transformed the space at Wokingham Station into one that is vibrant and engaging, but it has delivered profound benefits for participants too. Those involved in the project have developed practical artistic skills, gained confidence in self-expression, and experienced social interaction and teamwork opportunities.

Check out previous large, medium and small group winners of this category from 2017-2025.

Entries for our 2027 Awards open at 9am on Tuesday 1 September and close at 5pm on Wednesday 30 September 2026.

Check back then to submit your entry!