The search for the excellence in the community rail movement begins today (17 April 2019) as entries open for the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) Community Rail Awards. The awards, now in its fifteenth year, celebrates and rewards the innovation and hard work from the unsung stars of the community rail movement.
The rail industry is launching a new interactive map which will make it easy for passengers to find out about accessibility at stations, helping to boost their confidence to travel by train. This is part of the industry’s wider programme of work to improve access to rail and deliver long-term change.
Over £1m of revenue has been recovered from ticketless rail travellers using London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services over the past 12 months. Revenue protection managers at the train operators recovered a total of £1,284,746 of unpaid fares during the financial year to April 2019.
A Gold Award for health and safety practices has been presented to West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway. The train operators have been recognised for an ongoing commitment to ensuring that staff, customers and contractors get home safely at the end of every day.
A report out today (11 April) has revealed that a hidden army of 8,500 ‘community rail’ volunteers give nearly 400,000 hours a year to bring local railway lines and stations back into the heart of their communities – promoting sustainable travel, empowering communities, and benefitting health, wellbeing and social inclusion.
Stechford station in Birmingham is being fitted with new lifts, ramps and a footbridge to make it more accessible for West Midlands Railway passengers. Jess Phillips MP visited the site on Friday 5 April to see the progress on the £3.9m project so far.
Three stations operated by West Midlands Railway will benefit from funding to introduce vital upgrades to provide step free access to all platforms. Smethwick Rolfe Street, Wellington and Worcester Shrub Hill have all been chosen to benefit from Department for Transport (DfT) ‘Access for All’ programme funding.
The platforms and waiting areas at Hagley station have been brightened up by a local art group. A set of ten original pieces created by Hagley Art Club, are featuring in a new 'On Platform Art Exhibition' - the first of a number planned for railway stations across the West Midlands.
Commuters at Wolverhampton railway station have been reminded about a range of security measures in place to keep passengers and belongings safe on the railway. Over 200 people passing through the station last week attended special passenger security awareness events, which took place during morning and evening peak times on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 March.
West Midlands Railway passengers can now purchase new environmentally friendly train tickets from their local station. Passengers can opt for edible 'Tasty Tickets' in a variety of flavours, including Salt and Vinegar, Strawberry, Vanilla or Beef and Mustard.
West Midlands Railway passengers are being advised to check their train times on the Snow Hill lines this afternoon (22 March), following a bridge strike near Yardley Wood. A lorry struck the railway bridge on Robin Hood Lane around midday today, and the line has been closed for an inspection to take place.
Workers, sports fans, concert goers, theatre buffs and shoppers will all benefit from later evening services when West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway introduce new timetables this May. More frequent evening services and later last trains are part of a range of service improvements being introduced by the train operators.