We are looking for projects that delivered great value for money and benefitted the community in a way that is connected to the railway. Awareness-raising, digital and communications projects will be considered alongside practical/physical projects.

This category allows smaller, low-cost projects to be judged on merit, rather than competing against larger projects. Any project that cost £500 or less (excluding volunteer hours), can be submitted, see entry eligibility below.

Only current (paid/subscribed) Community Rail Network members can submit an entry. This may be a community rail partnership (CRP), station adoption/friends’ group or a community station group.

Essential requirements: A budget showing a clear breakdown of any costs incurred must be submitted as part of your supporting evidence.

• Clearly demonstrates, through evidence, the impact of your project, sharing the difference it project made. How did it benefit the people involved or the wider community? What evidence do you have to show its impact, such as feedback, numbers taking part, new skills gained, increased confidence, stronger community connections, or improved accessibility?
• Excellent value for money – this might be demonstrated through careful management, creativity, pooling resources, and/or drawing on support from partners or volunteers;
• Clear value and connection to the railway – we can see evidence that a station or line has been enhanced, passengers benefitted, or positive connections and interest built among the wider community;
• Project sustainability or replicability – entrants are clear about lessons learnt and what worked well and intend to build on this and/or share with others (or have already).

The 'Small Projects Awards (£500 or less)' is available for sponsorship. Please contact events@communityrail.org.uk for more details.

2026 1st Place Winners - Friends of Burton Joyce and Lowdham Station for 'Newark Brake Trials'

On 16 June 2025, exactly 150 years to the day since the Newark Brake Trials, Friends of Burton Joyce and Lowdham Station brought together 40 local primary school pupils at the Air and Space Institute (ASI), a pioneering STEM training facility located next to Newark Castle Station, for a unique event aimed at engaging young people with engineering, rail safety and careers.

Supported by Primary Engineer, East Midlands Railway and local engineering students, the young people learnt all about the significance of the Newark Brake Trials and their lasting impact on railway safety today, before being given a guided tour of the cutting-edge facility and diving into a hands-on engineering workshop.

Teams were provided with materials to design and build their own model train carriage with working braking systems – costing the Friends group only £190 in total. Each team tested their creations through friendly competition and were judged on whether their carriage moved in a straight line, how far it rolled and whether it came to a safe stop, as well as creativity in team name and carriage decoration.

This event not only provided a rich, educational experience for the young people involved, offered completely for free, but it also gave the college students an opportunity to share their learning with the next generation, bringing history, science and travel to life. The event was such a success that the ASI has expressed a strong interest in making it an annual fixture, opening the opportunity up to new pupils each year.

2025 1st Place Winners - Friends of Bishopstone Station CIC for 'History Weekend'

Over the August 2023 Bank Holiday weekend, the Friends of Bishopstone Station hosted a special community event with the aim of celebrating the geographical and social history of Bishopstone Station and the Lewes to Seaford railway line.

Positive connections were built with local authorities, with the District Council Tourist Information Centre handling advance ticket sales for the first time and the Mayor of Newhaven opening the weekend with a heart-warming welcoming speech. Extensive advance publicity to raise awareness of the event included social media, local radio and websites, various electronic newsletters, two local museums and three door-to-door magazines.

Over 120 people attended events across the weekend, including talks from local historians and tours of the station led by volunteers. All events included refreshment and allowed visitors to meet other residents, socialise and learn about the role of the Friends of Bishopstone Station volunteers in restoring the Grade II art deco station into an award-winning community hub.

The £108 the group spent on refreshments, posters and commission on ticket sales returned a net profit of over £500, which will be put towards the restoration of the toilets at the station. Thanks to the event, a number of residents who had never been to the station before came and visited for the first time, and the Friends’ group received more expressions of interest from potential future volunteers, showing the appetite for local people to get involved in a thriving community space with a rich history and an exciting future.

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!