Press release -
Railway station volunteers to be recognised at prestigious awards ceremony in Telford this year
Railway station volunteers from across the country will be recognised at a special awards ceremony in Shropshire, later this year.
The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) ‘Community Rail Awards’ gala dinner will be hosted at The International Centre in Telford, on 3 October 2019. West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway will be headline sponsors at this year's event.
The Community Rail Awards are an annual celebration of the important and often unsung work carried out by community rail volunteers, partnerships, station friends, and community groups at stations. These groups do valuable work in bringing local people together, by running community engagement events and championing rail accessibility initiatives. These activities help communities get the most from their local railway lines and stations.
Richard Brooks, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, said: “Community rail activities make a huge difference to across our networks, and the Community Rail Awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the work that goes on. We currently have three very active community rail partnerships across our network, with more set to start up over the coming months. There are also over 150 station adopters at our stations, with that number growing rapidly towards our target of over 300. All this work makes such a difference to our customers, staff and most importantly the communities and volunteers themselves, which is why we are delighted to be headline sponsor for this year’s event.”
ACoRP chief executive, Jools Townsend said: “Many people aren’t aware of community rail, but it involves thousands of volunteers, and hundreds of groups, across Britain, striving to make a difference. Their vital work helps to make rail travel more accessible and user-friendly, promotes sustainable travel and tourism, and encourages people to take pride in their area and heritage. The inspiring entries we receive each year for the Community Rail Awards show the impact this work has on communities and people’s lives. The Awards are our flagship event, recognising the hard work and passion so many people put in to community rail. We’re excited to be taking the event to Shropshire this year with support of West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.”
Awards entries open on 15 April 2019 and can be made online at the ACoRP website
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For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email press.office@wmtrains.co.uk
About Community Rail Awards
Entry is FREE and is an online process.
Full details on award categories, entry criteria and instructions, and T&Cs are detailed online.
Entries to be submitted by Monday 17 June 2019.
Category winners will be awarded with a trophy and certificate. Not for profit organisations and groups will also receive a cash prize. All runners-up receive a certificate. Every shortlisted entry will receive an electronic shortlisting certificate.
For more information visit the ACoRP website
About ACoRP
Community rail is all about ensuring communities get the most from their railways, and promoting rail as a key part of sustainable, healthy travel. There are more than 60 community rail partnerships around Britain, working at a grassroots level along railway routes to connect the community with the train operator and other local partners. They deliver a range of activities to engage and benefit local people and support the development of the railway. More than 1,300 smaller community rail groups, such as station friends, work locally, often involving volunteers in ensuring the station is a welcoming and productive hub for the community. Read about the value of community rail.
The Association of Community Rail Partnerships is the membership body for community rail partnerships, representing over 80 community rail lines, and more than 1,300 local groups. ACoRP works to empower, support and champion the community rail movement, helping community rail partnerships and groups to:
Enhance the railways’ contribution to local sustainable development and community wellbeing, including by maximising access to and use of the railways
Ensure the community has a voice and plays a part in the development and improvement of our railways, so this meets community needs and aspirations and delivers maximum social benefit
Communicate the development and importance of our railways to local communities, enhancing understanding and pride, and promoting rail as a key part of sustainable, healthy travel.
https://communityrail.org.uk/, follow and tweet us @ACORPoffice, or find us on facebook.
About West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.
- London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.
- West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.
For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk
The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.
West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.
The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com
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