Community Rail Week is a chance for everyone connected with community rail to get involved in celebrating the theme. As a station volunteer group, there are many ways to take part throughout the week – and involvement doesn’t have to mean hosting a physical event.

Activities can be online or in person, from digital promotions and storytelling to campaigns, partnerships and local initiatives. Every contribution, big or small, helps bring Community Rail Week to life and increases its reach and impact.

Below you’ll find helpful suggestions that outline practical ways you can get involved, with examples to inspire participation. An important part of your activity should be measuring impact as this can help you demonstrate your value to key stakeholders and decision makers. This could be as simple as recording how many people attended an event or reacted to a post on social media. For more information about how you can measure the success of your activity, please contact Alice.

How your station volunteer group can get involved

Host local events

• Organise activities at your station that help people feel welcome and connected. These don’t need to be formal events.
• Simple ideas include a friendly ‘meet the volunteers’ session, a staffed information table for an hour or two or a small display celebrating your station and community.
• If possible, consider doing something off-station too, such as a pop-up stand at a local library, shopping centre or community venue, to help raise awareness of your work with people who may not regularly use the station.
• Use Community Rail Week to share what you already do or to highlight ideas or ambitions for making your station more inclusive in the future.

Work with local organisations

• Link up with local community groups, such as disability organisations, community centres, schools or volunteer networks, to support or take part in small activities.
• This could be as simple as sharing information, inviting them to visit the station or asking them to contribute a short story or photo to share online or in your newsletter during the week.

Share your story locally

• Let your local newspaper, newsletter or community Facebook group know what your volunteer group does and why it matters.
• Even a short article of photo can help raise awareness and show the positive impact of station volunteering in the area.

Use social media

• Share a few posts on your existing social media channels during the week using #CommunityRailWeek (and #JourneysForAll if relevant).
• Ideas include photos of volunteers, the station, recent improvements or small moments that show how your station supports the community.
• Short captions explaining why your station matters locally can be just as powerful as polished campaigns.

Highlight people and everyday journeys

• Share short stories about volunteers, passengers or local people who use or care about the station.
• These don’t need to be long – a paragraph, a quote or a photo with a caption can help bring community rail to life.

Celebrate what you’ve already achieved

• Use Community Rail Week to look back at projects or improvements your group has supported, such as gardening, art, accessibility improvements or community use.
• Before‑and‑after photos or a brief explanation of how something has helped the community, are great ways to show impact without doing anything new.

Share practical local travel tips

• If you can, share simple, local information to help people feel more confident using the train.
• This might include signage photos, step‑free access details or a short post online explaining what facilities are available at your station.

Celebrate your volunteers

• Community Rail Week takes place during Volunteers’ Week, making it a great opportunity to say thank you.
• Spotlight individual volunteers and the role they play in keeping the station welcoming.
• Share photos or short messages of thanks on social media or noticeboards.
• If possible, hold a small thank‑you moment – even a cup of tea and a chat – to recognise the time and care your and your volunteers give.
• Use the week to help raise awareness of station volunteering locally and encourage new people to get involved.

Tell us about your activity

Planning something for Community Rail Week? Let us know!

Sharing details of your activities helps us celebrate and promote your work through our communications and media activity, and include it on our interactive Community Rail Week map, launching in May.

Whether you’re hosting an event, running an online promotion or sharing stories and local activity, tell us what you’re doing so we can help amplify your impact and showcase the breadth of activity across the network.

Email details of your plans to alice@communityrail.org.uk

Get in touch

For more advice or to discuss how your station volunteer group can get involved in Community Rail Week, specific to your area, contact Alice, campaigns & communications manager.