Effective communications are key to promoting and raising the profile of community rail activities. This category is seeking submissions that can evidence the delivery of a well-planned integrated communications campaign, aimed at publicising community rail activity or promoting success. Judges will be looking for effectively managed campaigns with evidence of PR activity and clear examples of measuring the campaign’s impact (e.g. through social media).

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.

Essential Requirements: You must provide clear evidence of the impact of the campaign, gathered via your pre-planned evaluation, including the reach across social media/increase in followers (if appropriate).

• Clearly demonstrates, through evidence, the impact and reach of the project – include PR activity delivered; media log/clippings of features/articles; quantitative and qualitive insights from social media campaigns. What are the lasting benefits to the community such as increased wellbeing, confidence, skills, inclusion or supporting regeneration and how can you evidence this?
• Conveys clear messages and promotes community rail in an informative, interesting way, relevant to the audience;
• Good planning, management, and use of appropriate channels – evidence of rationale behind the choice of media, planning, timing, audience and coordinated use of channels;
• Delivery of an effective communications campaign, accessible and engaging for the intended audience, working with partners to drive results.

'Most Effective Communications Campaign' is sponsored by Govia Thameslink Railway.

2026 1st Place Winner - Abbey Line CRP for 'From rail to reel: celebrating the Abbey Line through film'

‘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.

2025 1st Place Winner - Gloucestershire CRP for 'Black History Month Every Month'

Gloucestershire CRP delivered a comprehensive communications campaign to celebrate the county's diverse cultural heritage and connect its Black history to the present day.

Local artist Rider Shafique was commissioned to create a new station exhibition. Using photographs and quotes, the artwork focuses on themes of identity and honouring the contributions of Caribbean migrants who worked for British Railways. The exhibition was installed at four key stations (Gloucester, Stroud, Stonehouse and Cam & Dursley), which collectively saw over 2.5 million entries and exits in 2022-23 (Office of Rail and Road's 'Estimates of Station Usage 2022-23' dataset).

The exhibition linked to Gloucestershire CRP’s previous collaboration with Black Ark Media  on Gloucestershire’s first Black History Map. The map serves as a guide to discovering the diverse contributions of Black Britons to art, education, and culture in the local area, highlighting walking routes and active rail and sustainable travel experience radiating from Gloucestershire’s nine railway stations, leading to a series of significant Black History sites.

By leveraging partnerships, coordinating across media channels and creating compelling content, Gloucestershire CRP successfully raised awareness of important cultural and historical themes while promoting community engagement and sustainable travel. The campaign's integration of art, history and community involvement created a rich, engaging experience that resonated with local residents and media outlets, achieving its core objectives of celebrating diversity, fostering understanding and connecting Gloucestershire's past with its present.

Check out previous 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of this category from 2017-2022.

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!