Rail North emphasises the potential of community rail
Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) can lead to the transformation of a station and its environment, and “should be the catalyst for the regeneration of stations on their line”.
So says a key point in Rail North’s comprehensive response to the Department for Transport’s recent consultation on the future of community rail.
“With 19 CRPs across the north of England, we have a fantastic showcase of the best of partnership working. We are keen to not only share best practice, but also remove some of the barriers they still encounter to make them even more productive,” states Rail North Chairman Liam Robinson in his preface to the response.
‘Communities’ is one of the five core themes of Rail North’s Long Term Rail Strategy, he writes, adding: “We look forward to continuing dialogue with the DfT to help community rail initiatives to truly thrive.”
The Rail North document, published on January 29 at the end of the DfT consultation period and available from the Rail North website, responds to all 11 of the DfT’s questions.
Prepared by a supporter of the CRP movement, Lancashire County Council Rail Officer Richard Watts, key points include: ■ Key to developing improved access to/from a station and growing/supporting demand for rail services is to understand what the local community wants and not just to provide something the latest grant fund is directing you to. ■ CRPs are a voice for the community but they cannot represent or promote all the views a community might have. Realism and understanding are required. ■ Community rail has an important role to play in promoting cohesion, diversity and inclusion because community rail is a community initiative, and therefore should reflect the area in which it operates, and ensure that stereotypes are challenged.
The quality and care of stations features strongly in the response.
“Let us always remember that stations are the gateway to the rail network and are the first physical contact passengers will have with it. Stations are also the last contact passengers have with the railway, so it is important that the needs of arriving passengers are also taken into account,” the document says.
“It could be argued that privatisation hasn’t helped! The split responsibility between train operators and Network Rail with their different time horizons and objectives creates a fault line which stations can often fall between.
“Significant station developments are normally beyond the horizon of an eight- to nine-year franchise and tend to get parked in favour of quick wins such as refurbished waiting rooms, gatelines, or projects such as cycle hubs funded by others.”