Draft:Community rail
Community rail in Great Britain refers to groups and movements organising around rail services and facilities. These groups may perform a wide range of activities including station improvement, community engagement, and advocating for changes; usually through community rail partnerships (CRPs) comprising railway operators, local councils, and other community organisations, and rail user groups (RUGs).
Community rail partnerships
[edit]Community rail partnerships are community groups engaging with their local railways, organising around certain routes and services in a given geographic area.
These partnerships first appeared in the 1990s[1], and started to be formally recognised in England and Wales as a result of the Department for Transport's 2004 community rail development strategy, from which a system of designation for community rail lines and services was established.[citation needed] A new community rail development strategy was published in 2018 in which the designation system was replaced with the current system of accreditation for community rail groups.[2]
Government recognition of community rail partnerships was introduced in Scotland in 2012.[1]
Recognition
[edit]Partnerships may become accredited in England by the Department for Transport, or in Wales by the Welsh Government. Scottish partnerships may be officially designated by the Scottish Government. In England and Wales this process is managed by the § Community Rail Network.
Accreditation is formal recognition by government but does not bestow any powers, rights, or funding. In England and Wales it is designed to signify the quality of a partnership, and aid communication between the partnership and bodies such as train operating companies, Network Rail, and local authorities.[2]
As of June 2026, there were 65 accredited partnerships in England, 3 in Wales; and 9 recognised partnerships in Scotland.[3][4]
As grassroots organisations, community rail partnerships are not obligated to seek accreditation.
Station friends and adoption groups
[edit]Groups formed with the purpose of improving, maintaining, and engaging with particular active stations exist. These are often "Friends of" groups, such as the Friends of Hebden Bridge Station. These groups will generally cooperate with either the lessee of the station or Network Rail. Activities often include general tidying, maintenance, and beautification. It is common for groups to establish gardens.[5]
In Scotland, ScotRail runs an Adopt a station scheme.[6]
Community Rail Network
[edit]The Community Rail Network, formally the Association of Community Rail Partnerships[7], acts as a trade body for community rail groups. It supports its member partnerships and offers assistance to station friends groups. As of June 2026, the body represented more than 75 community rail partnerships, 1,300 station friends or adoption groups, and 100 community stations.[8] No groups are obligated to become members of the Community Rail Network.
The Community Rail Awards are hosted by the organisation annually, with awards given for achievements like Community Creative Projects and Station Arts.[9]
Designated lines and services in England and Wales
[edit]The Department for Transport announced a pilot project in 2005 under their Community Rail Development Strategy, with the intention of having seven differing lines (Abbey Line, Esk Valley Line, Looe Valley Line, Penistone Line, Poacher Line, St Ives Bay Line, and Tamar Valley Line) test out different types of community rail schemes. The aims of these schemes are to:
- establish the contribution of Community Rail Development in achieving locally set objectives such as reducing road congestion and increasing accessibility
- establish the costs for the line and services
- establish the effectiveness of different methods for reducing the net financial loss of Community Rail lines by increasing revenue and reducing costs where practicable
Designation does not physically separate a line from the rest of the network or remove it from either Network Rail or franchise operation. It is not generally intended to be used as a mechanism to reopen lines or create "microfranchises", although these options may be investigated on some routes.
In addition each line has a remit agreed in a route prospectus which gives more detailed aims and objectives for each scheme, such as infrastructure improvements, new ticketing arrangements, or cooperation with other local transport operators.
The DfT has identified about fifty routes in England and Wales that would benefit from designation, covering 10% of Network Rail and some 390 stations. Some routes will only be designated as community rail services (rather than community rail lines) as the infrastructure may be used by other operators in a way that precludes designation. Not all of the CRPs mentioned above have been designated.
References
[edit]- ^ a b McMorran, Caroline (2024-07-26). "Far North Line Community Rail Partnership to step up activities following funding award to recruit development officer". Northern Times. The Northern Times. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ^ a b Department for Transport (2020-04-14). "Connecting communities with the railways: the community rail development strategy". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ^ Department for Transport (2026-05-26). "Community rail partnerships and accreditation status". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ^ ScotRail. "Community Rail Partnerships". ScotRail. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ^ Caroll, Megan (2024-02-20). "A day in the life of Station Friends". Visit the Peak District by train. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- ^ ScotRail. "Adopt a station". ScotRail. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ^ Harris, Nigel, ed. (22 April 2020). "ACoRP changes its name to Community Rail Network". Rail Magazine. No. 903. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 21. ISSN 0953-4563.
- ^ Community Rail Network (2026-05-07). "What is community rail? - Community Rail Network". Community Rail Network. Archived from the original on 2026-02-03. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ^ Jagger, David (2026-03-20). "East Lancs railway group picks up two awards at ceremony". Lancashire Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2026-06-06.