Community Rail Network

Accredited Partnership 2024

We are pleased to announce the Department of Transport have awarded ESSCRP a Community Rail Accredited Partnership Award for 2024

What is community rail?

Community rail is a grassroots movement working to engage communities in their local railway. Initiatives range from people helping to maintain station gardens to major refurbishment schemes.

Although some community railways provide a tourism service, they are largely separate from heritage and private railways which function solely as tourist attractions.

Community rail takes the form of community rail partnerships and station adoption groups.

Community rail partnerships accreditation

Community rail partnerships bring together local groups and partners from the rail industry with industrial groups to deliver a wide range of rail activities. The partnership usually represents a number of stations and services operating over a railway line.

Read more here

 

 

The Value of Community Rail

Community rail is a grassroots movement spanning Britain that is growing in scope and influence.  It is made up of community rail partnerships, which work along whole railway lines or in specific regions, and station friends/adoption groups and other local organisations, all aiming to connect communities with their railways.

The Community Rail Network which acts as the umbrella body for community rail partnership groups, champions the wide-ranging benefits they bring about. For example, other recent Community Rail Network report highlight the role played by community rail in promoting social inclusion, developing community uses of railway stations and land, and nurturing social enterprise opportunities.

The Value of Community Rail report is an exploration of how community rail delivers value to communities, individuals and society.

Download the full report