Three Citizens’ Rail projects have been shortlisted for the UK’s Community Rail Awards.
The winners will be revealed on 1st October 2015 at an awards night in Torquay, organised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships and hosted by Mark Hopwood, managing director of train operating company First Great Western.
The event will be attended by senior figures from the rail industry and government, and is an excellent opportunity to showcase what the Citizens’ Rail project has achieved, and to learn from the success of other leading organisations within the “community rail” sector. The shortlisted projects are:
‘The Distance Between’ cultural exchange project
Category: Involving Young People
Community Rail Lancashire, Aachen City Council, Parkstad Limburg and other partners worked to take pupils from Padiham Green primary school in Lancashire on a once-in-a-lifetime educational trip to Aachen in Germany, where they formed a strong bond with their peers at the city’s prestigious cathedral school. Read more.
Minibeast Trail
Category: Community Art Schemes
The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and artist Melissa Muldoon worked with local school children as part of the Citizens’ Rail project to develop a Minibeast Trail (pictured above) on The Riviera Line (Exeter-Paignton). The trail consisted of sculptures of butterflies, snails and other creatures made by the children from recycled materials, installed at stations along the line. Read more.
Citizens’ Rail partnership
Category: Outstanding Teamwork Award
Perhaps most excitingly of all, the Citizens’ Rail partnership as a whole has been shortlisted for the outstanding teamwork it has displayed. The partnership brings together organisations from the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, who have worked closely since 2012 to involve people in their local and regional railways.
Read the full shortlist.
