The Cambrian Railway Partnership wanted to enhance the journey experience, taking passengers beyond the scenic views of the line and into local communities. They worked with Window Seater to develop an audio travel guide that brought local stories of history, culture, and language to life, all whilst promoting sustainable travel. The bi-lingual guide, which sits on the Window Seater app, encourages the use of the Welsh language, providing help with pronunciation of places, notable words, and their meaning. The audio guide is also inclusive, providing transcripts of the audio for those who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing, and it has also proved to be popular with users who are blind or visually impaired.

Funding was secured through the Transport for Wales Challenge Fund, the Community Rail Development Fund and the Cambrian Railway Partnership. The project was also supported by tourism partners including Heritage Railways, Mid Wales Tourism and local third sector organisations. The result of this project has enabled visitors to feel more connected to the Cambrian Line communities they are passing through, with many users reporting that it has encouraged them to visit other destinations in the area.

The ‘Bus Branch Line’ video project brought together Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, Great Western Railway, local authorities and bus operators to produce and promote a series of 10 ‘travelogue’ short films. The films aimed to inspire visits to leisure destinations across Devon and Cornwall using integrated sustainable transport, showcasing the ease of combining bus and train travel. After a successful ‘film premiere’ style launch complete with red carpet and popcorn, the videos were promoted through social media. The videos reached 500,000 people across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X and YouTube.

Building on the success of previous integrated transport projects, South East Lancashire CRP worked with RHS Bridgewater and local bus operator Diamond Bus, to provide an affordable bus scheme that would improve accessibility from Walkden Station. Funding was received from Northern, Transport for Greater Manchester, Avanti West Coast and the Royal Horticultural Society to run a summer weekend and bank holiday bus service. To boost promotion of the service, funding through Community Rail Network’s Integrated Sustainable Transport Fund enabled the delivery of a coordinated marketing campaign. The success of the trial service resulted in the RHS expanding the route into Manchester with a twice daily bus service, providing a transport link with lasting impact on tourism and leisure in the local area.