We want you to get creative! We want to see light-hearted, inventive images that capture the essence of community rail. These can be in any setting, provided the connection to rail/community rail is immediately obvious.

The shortlist for this category will be available online for the public to vote on, for one month from 10 December 2025 This will provide the final placings.

We invite entries from any source, provided they meet the requirements below.

• Captures ‘community rail in 2024/2025’
• Impactful, eye-catching and good quality – credit will be given to photos that are suitable for using online and/or in promotional materials, to help raise the profile of community rail
• Inclusive, positive, and people-orientated – the content of the photo, and/or the way it was taken or produced, helps to get across the ‘community’ aspect of community rail, and might encourage more people to get involved.

Essential requirements:

• A maximum of four photos per entry
• Digital photos must be in JPEG format ONLY (high res)
• Please supply a brief, one-line title or caption for each photo in the 200-word summary section of the entry form and on a Word document, to be uploaded in the ‘Full Entry Description’ section on the entry form.
• Any photos that show health and safety contraventions on the railway or station will be disqualified – see the health and safety guide.

In submitting photos you confirm that:

• All people within the photos have provided consent for their photos to be used in publicity including print, online and all social media channels. If the photos contain images of children under the age of 18, written consent must be secured from the parent or guardian, either directly or via their school/college.
• You are the owner of the image(s) and agree to it/them being used in publicity. Or, the image(s) is/are not your own but you have the relevant permissions/consent to submit on behalf of the owner, and they agree to them being used in publicity. In this case, you must state within the 200-word summary section who you are submitting on behalf of.

The Photography Competition is sponsored by Porterbrook.

View our 2025 photography competition winners here.

View our 2024 photography competition winners here.

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

The submission window for our 2026 Awards will be open from Monday 1 September - Tuesday 30 September 2025.

Check back then for the link to submit your entry!