‘The Abbey Line’ short video was conceived as a creative and engaging way to showcase the work of the Abbey Line CRP, raise awareness of the train service along the line, and join in the national Railway 200 celebrations.

Produced by St-Albans-based freelancer Julie d’Adamo, with support from London Northwestern Railway, filming took place at different locations along the route, and featured station volunteers, representatives from the CRP and train operator staff. By combining storytelling, local voices and professional production, the project sought to capture the rich heritage, charm and community spirit of the Abbey Line, whilst also encouraging wider use of rail travel.

The film launched during Community Rail Week 2025 with a week-long screening at The Odyssey Cinema in St Albans – an independent venue renowned for its community-focused ethos – and was seen by over 2,400 cinemagoers. The multi-channel promotional campaign extended online with a mixture of organic content and paid advertising, reaching over 12,500 people via social media and gaining 600+ YouTube views. Articles in three local newspapers and three residents’ association magazines, as well as coverage from Community Rail Network and Railway 200, further amplified the reach of the film, ensuring the message reached a diverse audience.

This project marked a milestone in the CRP’s communications strategy, inspiring interest and pride in the Abby Line in a creative way. The project has set a strong foundation for future creative campaigns, showcasing the power of digital media to connect with communities.

Working with Aurora Children’s Theatre and funded by CrossCountry, Gloucestershire CRP conceived ‘The Story Express’ as an imaginative way to transform perceptions of rail travel and inspire families to use the train more confidently.

27 young people took part in workshops throughout summer 2024 where they developed a collection of geo-located audio stories. The sold-out launch event on 29 August attracted over 60 families – some travelling from as far as 1.5 hours away – boarded the train between Cam & Dursley and Ashchurch for Tewkesbury stations, popped on their headphones and were transported by the captivating stories as the train carried them through the countryside. Feedback showed 93% of participants felt more positive about their local area after the experience, and many reported increased confidence in using trains.

A coordinated, multi-channel approach was taken for the communications campaign. A press release secured four pieces of national press coverage, alongside a feature on BBC Radio Gloucestershire. Posters, flyers and direct outreach at libraries, youth theatres and play organisations helped engage even more underrepresented groups, and social media teasers, family-friendly visuals and downloadable links extended the reach beyond the launch event

‘The Story Express’ demonstrates how a well-planned, integrated communications campaign can transform a local rail initiative into a widely celebrated story. By blending grassroots engagement, PR activity, digital channels, and creative storytelling, Gloucestershire CRP not only raised the profile of community rail, but also inspired families to see rail travel as fun, accessible and inclusive.

Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP) aimed to create a new and vibrant feel for their 2024-25 Annual Report, placing a greater emphasis on the social value generated by their work. The resulting 36-page interactive document contains case studies, infographics, photographs, hyperlinks to webpages and contact details for members of staff.

SCRP embarked on a comprehensive communications campaign to promote the report and highlight key insights. The press release was featured by Sussex World, the local Voluntary Action and Community Rail Network. Social media posts were created for all SCRP’s channels, with LinkedIn targeted as a primary means of developing connections with rail partners. A summary post on X was ‘pinned’ at the top of SCRP’s profile and a ‘highlights’ section was created for Instagram, to maintain interest and engagement long past the publication date.

700 copies of the report were printed, and the digital version was sent by email to all members of SCRP’s stakeholder advisory board and steering groups, including train operators, local authorities, tourism bodies, station adopters and other community and transport organisations. All SCRP staff added a link to the report to their email signatures, and key infographics were reproduced as stand-alone displays, which have since been used at various rail and community events, including the Railway 200 exhibition train’s visit to the Bluebell Railway.

The revamped Annual Report and accompanying communications campaign has proved to be an invaluable tool for the CRP, conveying the incredible work they deliver in an engaging and digestible way.