The new DfT Community Rail strategy

The Department for Transport consulted on its new Community Rail strategy from November 6 2017 to January 28 2018. The process addressed community rail in England and Wales (the topic is a devolved matter for the Scottish government).

Announcing the consultation, Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: “We are in a rail renaissance - passenger numbers are growing, and new lines and stations are being opened. Across the network, some of the greatest successes have been on rural and branch lines, previously viewed as peripheral to the main line network. This success, often quietly understated, has been underpinned by the hard work and dedication of locally led, community-focused organisations, including Community Rail Partnerships, station adopters and rail user groups.

“These partnerships and groups have helped transform these lines and the lives of locals and visitors. By working with the community, local bodies, schools, volunteers and the rail industry, they have developed innovative ways to improve stations, raise the profile of the railway, and get more people using the services.” The strategy addresses four themes: Connecting people to places and opportunities.

Integrating communities to create a fairer society, and encourage diversity and inclusion.

Supporting local and regional economies and sharing opportunities.

Suggesting innovative ways to improve the way the railway works, including productive use of underused or unused railway land and stations, and working more closely with heritage railways.

Some 175 responses were received, a summary of which is available on the DfT website. With 19 Community Rail Partnerships across the north of England, one of the larger bodies to respond was Rail North, with its chairman Liam Robinson stating: “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.”

Prepared by a Lancashire County Council rail officer and ACoRP board member Richard Watts, the document includes three key points:

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 forms a key part of Rail North’s agenda, and features strongly in its 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.

“CRPs are one of the many agents that can lead to the transformation of a station and its environment (and) should be the catalyst for the regeneration of stations on their line.”

Speaking to RAIL earlier this year, Rail North Director David Hoggarth said that stations “can be islands within the broader communities”, with development and planning stopping at the railway boundary.

“But our theme in the Long Term Rail Strategy is that this shouldn’t happen, it should be seamless,” he said.

“And the only way to do that is to get the communities and local authorities more involved - and part of that could be attracting more development on to stations, or other railway land, to get the best development package. You might find that a way of unlocking investment which would be harder to do if treated separately.”

Getting better usage of stations is one reason why ‘Communities’ is one of Rail North’s five themes, with Hoggarth concluding: “Stations shouldn’t just be places which are busy in the morning and evening peaks, but all through the day. There’s some excellent practice at stations right across the North, particularly through CRPs, which should be more widely adopted.”