When a station is “invisible” to the public – due to its tucked away location, poor signage or inadequate promotion – bad things happen. Passenger numbers are held back, rail users can feel isolated and unsafe, and the station’s potential is squandered. To crack this conundrum, Citizens’ Rail has been working with local communities on solutions at four stations in the UK, France and Germany.
Category: Devon
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Joint meeting with UITP
Citizens’ Rail partners enjoyed a productive joint meeting with UITP’s Regional and Suburban Railways committee last week, held in the South West of England.
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UITP, also known as The International Association of Public Transport, champions sustainable urban mobility and is the only worldwide network to bring together all public transport stakeholders and all sustainable transport modes. It has 1,300 member companies from 92 countries. Its members include public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, research institutes and the public transport supply and service industry.
The association’s Regional and Suburban Railways committee joined Citizens’ Rail partners for presentations, networking opportunities and rail trips over the course of two days, taking in locations including Plymouth, Calstock and Torquay. The joint meeting, hosted by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, was made possible thanks to Ian Ambrose at Network Rail, who is part of both the UITP committee and the Citizens’ Rail project.
Some photographs from the joint meeting:
The UITP contingent arrive on the scenic Tamar Valley Line for the first meeting in Calstock. This photo was taken from the balcony of the Calstock Arts Centre, our picturesque meeting venue (see further photo below):
At the Calstock Arts Centre, Paul Alzer from Parkstad Limburg presents some tulip bulbs to help brighten stations on The Riviera Line (Exeter-Paignton):
Mal McGreevy, chairman of the Regional and Suburban Railways committee and General Manager, Rail Services for Northern Ireland Railways, Translink (second from right), explores Calstock with Citizens’ Rail partners:
In Torquay, Kai Mohnen from Stadt Aachen presented the work happening in the German city as part of Citizens’ Rail:
Delegates each received an information pack / goodie bag:
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Dawlish: a look back
Earlier this year, severe storms pounded Dawlish station in Devon, UK, and left the line in tatters (see photos). But alongside the herculean efforts of Network Rail and First Great Western, local volunteers played a real role in reviving their station.
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During the line’s closure, Citizens’ Rail worked to rejuvenate the previously dormant Friends of Dawlish Station volunteer group. Work days were arranged, and new members were recruited through an appeal in the local newspaper, placed by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (Citizens’ Rail’s lead partner).
Working alongside TV gardener Toby Buckland, who lives locally, the volunteers proceeded to give the station a green makeover. The group planted cordylines, lavenders, pansies, violets, primroses and other species in 10 new planters installed on the platforms. In the run-up to the high profile re-opening of the line, the volunteers also decked out the station with bunting to celebrate the occasion.
Thanks to their hard work, the group became front page news in the local press, were featured on BBC regional TV news, and were interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and filmed by Channel 5. Members of the group were also invited to Downing Street and thanked by Prime Minister David Cameron.
In August, the Friends of Dawlish Station were again in the spotlight when they were personally thanked for their efforts by the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP (below). The Secretary of State visited the station with First Great Western, Network Rail and local MP Anne Marie Morris to discuss the future safeguarding of the line and to meet the Friends group and see the fruits of their labour.
In October, the group’s achievements helped secure first prize in the Outstanding Teamwork category of the national Community Rail Awards.
The group is now self-sustaining and undertakes regular watering of the plants that now brighten the station. This creates a welcoming first impression for visitors to the town.
The success of the group has also been followed by the creation of a new Friends Of Teignmouth Station group at the next station along the line.
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Citizens’ Rail projects win national awards
Three projects supported by Citizens’ Rail have been recognised at the UK’s Community Rail Awards.
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The award ceremony was held in Scarborough on Thursday 2nd October, and was organised by The Association of Community Rail Partnerships. Speakers included Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, and Paul Salveson, a leading light of the community rail sector in the UK.
Outstanding Teamwork
First prize in the Outstanding Teamwork category was awarded to partners involved in rebuilding Dawlish station after the devastating storm damage it sustained in February 2014. Pictured at the top of this article collecting the award are Citizens’ Rail Riviera Line Officer Celia Minoughan (second from left), Margaret Swift and Phil Bagshaw of the Friends of Dawlish Station (third from left and second from right), and First Great Western station manager Ian Mundy (third from right). The award was presented by Nick Donovan, Managing Director of First Transpennine Express (left) and Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern Rail (right).
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement in reviving the station.Innovation in Community Rail
In the Innovation category, first prize went to The Riviera Line website developed as part of Citizens’ Rail to encourage more people to take the train between Torbay and Exeter. The site is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website – resizing to suit PCs, tablets and smartphones. Its content is tailor-made to help non-users to overcome barriers to travel.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Visit the website.
Best Station Gardens and Large Floral Displays
To complete a hat trick of awards, third prize in the Best Station Gardens category was awarded to the transformation of Torquay Station garden by Robert Owen Communities and First Great Western. Working twice a week in all weathers, the station platforms have been transformed with planting on an English Riviera theme including reclamation of a large rockery. The project has not only improved the look and feel of Torquay station but has allowed the young people to gain confidence, social interaction and nationally recognised qualifications to help them into employment.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement in the project.
[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]Congratulations to Community Rail Lancashire
Congratulations also go to Citizens’ Rail partners Community Rail Lancashire, whose “Young persons’ passport to safe travel” project won the Involving Young People category. Our colleagues in Lancashire have an excellent track record in engaging children and young people in their railway.
Children from one of the schools they work with gave an outstanding presentation to EU partners at Burnley Manchester Road’s new station building in July. And soon as part of Citizens’ Rail, the same children will be taking a train journey to Aachen, our German partner city, in a fantastic example of transnational learning and collaboration. More news on this soon.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about the passport to safe travel scheme.
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German academic enjoys trip to research UK community rail
One of the German members of Citizens’ Rail’s academic team enjoyed an action-packed visit last week to research the UK’s community rail sector.
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Fresh from his presentation to the International Geographers’ Union in Krakow, Dominik Elsmann from RWTH Aachen University (pictured left above, with Richard Burningham of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership) visited the UK to interview a range of experienced figures from the country’s long-standing community rail sector.
The research will help to inform his PhD on “Regional railway governance”, with a specific focus on participatory approaches. In this context he will compare two case study regions in Germany and Great Britain.
Also as part of the trip, Dominik joined the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership at their local conference – giving the opportunity to hear from speakers from the rail industry, local authorities and the community rail sector. The conference was preceded by a social evening for early attendees. This included a “music train” on the Tamar Valley line (pictured), enjoyed by delegates and local passengers alike.
As the final part of the visit, a productive planning meeting with the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership was held. This focused on the relationship and links between Citizens’ Rail’s academic evaluation, and the project’s practitioner toolkit – a free resource being developed to help rail professionals and others to get local communities more involved in their local and regional railways.
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Friends of Dawlish Station thanked by Secretary of State for Transport
The Friends of Dawlish Station have been personally thanked for their efforts in rejuvenating Dawlish station by the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP.
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The Secretary of State visited the station with First Great Western, Network Rail and local MP Anne Marie Morris to discuss the future safeguarding of the line and to meet the Friends group and see the fruits of their hard work.
Supported by the EU Citizens’ Rail project, the previously dormant group was revitalised after winter’s devastating storm damage to the line, and gave the station a green makeover in time for its high-profile re-opening in April 2014. The group is now self-sustaining and undertakes regular watering of the plants that now brighten the station. This creates a welcoming first impression for visitors to the town.
The success of the group has been followed by the creation of a new Friends Of Teignmouth Station group at the next station along the line.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about how the outstanding teamwork to restore Dawlish station has been shortlisted for a national award.
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Citizens’ Rail projects shortlisted for national awards
Three projects that have benefited from Citizens’ Rail involvement have been shortlisted for UK Community Rail awards.
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The awards are run by The Association of Community Rail Partnerships, a federation of over 50 community rail partnerships and rail promotion groups in the UK. The winners will be announced at a national award ceremony in Scarborough on 2nd October 2014. The shortlisted Citizens’ Rail related projects are:
The Rebuilding of Dawlish Station
OUTSTANDING TEAMWORK CATEGORY
First Great Western, Network Rail, Dawlish Town Council, Friends of Dawlish Station, Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership & other partnersThe dramatic events at Dawlish in February 2014 with the breach of the sea wall and closure of the railway led for the first time ever to the issue of Code Black for operational disruption by Network Rail. The reopening of the railway and rebuilding of Dawlish Station just two months later on 4th April was testament to the amazing teamwork of Network Rail, First Great Western, Dawlish Town Council, the Dawlish and Teignmouth Community Interest Company, the Friends of Dawlish Station, local businesses and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement.
TheRivieraLine.com
INNOVATION IN COMMUNITY RAIL CATEGORY
Devon & Cornwall Rail PartnershipApril 2014. Dawlish is re-opening. Optimism is in the air. But how to harness the buzz and attract local people to try the train? Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership’s answer was a radical “one-stop-shop” website for the Exeter-Paignton line. TheRivieraLine.com is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website – resizing to suit PCs, tablets and smartphones. Its content is tailor-made to help non-users to overcome barriers to travel. Its people-focused photography brings a fresh, modern look to the sector. First Great Western describe it as “a massive step forward”, and statistics show users love it – staying longer and exploring more.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Visit the website.
Transformation of Torquay Station Garden
Robert Owen Communities Aspects & First Great Western
BEST STATION GARDEN CATEGORYTorquay station gardens have been transformed by young people with learning difficulties from local organisations working in partnership with First Great Western. Working twice a week in all weathers, the station platforms have been transformed with planting on an English Riviera theme including reclamation of a large rockery and plans for the future to include a restored boat. The project has not only improved the look and feel of Torquay station but has allowed the young people to gain confidence, social interaction and nationally recognised qualifications to help them into employment.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement.
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Minibeast Trail on The Riviera Line
As part of Citizens’ Rail, a new “Minibeast Trail” has been launched on The Riviera Line to encourage young families to try the train.
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Children from Gatehouse Primary School in Dawlish and Sure Start Dads’ Club Stay and Play in Teignmouth have made the “minibeasts” – including butterflies, dragonflies, bees, ladybirds and snails – from recycled plastic and put them on planters at Teignmouth, Dawlish, Newton Abbot, Torquay and Paignton stations.A special “Minibeast Trail” leaflet has been produced and children are being encouraged to visit each station, find that station’s “Minibeast” and give them a name. Once all five have been found and named, a prize of the Ladybird “Minibeasts First Fabulous Facts” book can be claimed by sending the completed leaflet to the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.
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[/notphone]Leaflets are available from local staffed stations and can be downloaded from therivieraline.com/minibeasts.
The “Minibeast Trail” project was inspired by Catherine Pollitt from Kenn who won the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership’s “Flower Power” competition to suggest how local stations could be brightened this summer. Catherine suggested the “Minibeast” theme and Dawlish artist Melissa Muldoon worked with the children’s groups to design, make and decorate the “Minibeasts” out of recycled plastic produced by Dawlish Community College.
It is part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project led by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership which is working to develop the Riviera Line in a variety of ways, including by getting more people involved at the line’s stations.
“The children had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed taking part,” commented Mrs Angela Jeffery, Head Teacher at Gatehouse Primary. “I am really looking forward to seeing their displayed work at each station.”
First Great Western Station Manager for South Devon, Laura Greening said “This scheme is a great way to encourage both local children and those visiting the area to use our railway safely and confidently. The artworks will brighten our station environment and this is a great way for the communities we are dedicated to supporting to become involved in their railway.”
Local partners in Citizens’ Rail – which is 50% funded by the EU’s Interreg IVB programme – include Devon County Council, Torbay Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.
More information about the “Minibeast Trail” and the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, contact Riviera Line Project Officer Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org or visit our Devon page.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Find out more and download your leaflet at therivieraline.com/minibeasts.
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Marketing campaign to help Riviera Line to bounce back
CASE STUDY – MARKETING ON THE RIVIERA LINE
Citizens’ Rail’s lead partner the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership mounted an extensive marketing campaign to encourage people back to travelling by rail following February’s storm damage that closed part of The Riviera Line for two months – winning two national awards in the process.
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Aims
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership was keen to place people at the heart of the campaign, and to harness the local feel-good factor that surrounded the return of trains to the line – with the aim of winning back lost passengers, and attracting new users who were not previously in the habit of taking the train.Campaign elements
The campaign was formed of two phases. Due to the lack of a strong library of photographs of people taking the train, the initial phase used a set of illustrated characters to create a friendly and accessible tone. These were employed in a series of newspaper advertisements, and also on a brand new website – TheRivieraLine.com. The website provides a hub where new and existing passengers can find both practical local travel information as well as inspiration for daytrips by train.While this initial promotion was underway, photography was commissioned. This was then used in a second phase of marketing, comprising further adverts and a set of leaflets, targeted at local residents in the vicinity of stations along the line to encourage them to use their local rail services. 35,000 leaflets were delivered door-to-door by Royal Mail. A separate run of 5,000 tourist-focused leaflets was also produced and distributed via Tourist Information Centres and other outlets.
The campaign was shaped by ideas and suggestions from the other partners within Citizens’ Rail. For example, the leaflets’ vertical line map was inspired by a similar design in Pays de la Loire’s “Beach Train” marketing, and feedback from Stadt Aachen in a previous partner meeting about the importance of strong, prominent photography within marketing materials helped shape phase 2 of the campaign.
Screenshots – Phase 1
The campaign began with two weeks of half page adverts in local newspapers along the line between Torbay and Exeter:
The advertisements promoted the newly launched TheRivieraLine.com website:
Key messages were then promoted in seven further weeks of quarter page adverts in the same newspapers:
A flyer was also produced to promote the website and the “great value local fares” message at community events:
Photography
Meanwhile, a new set of photography was commissioned from excellent local photographers Studio Wallop:
Screenshots – Phase 2
The new photography enabled a new, more natural look for Phase 2 of the campaign:
Customised door-to-door leaflets provided very local train information (see the full Torre/Torquay leaflet as 1MB PDF):
Inside the Exeter St Thomas leaflet:
When the leaflet is unfolded it reveals further promotion of daytrips by train:
A tourist-facing version was also produced, highlighting the scenic nature of the line (see full leaflet):
The website was also updated to reflect the new look:
Initial results
During the three months after re-opening, the line’s usage bounced back to 98% of the level achieved in the same period the year before. This immediate recovery of lost passengers was a significant success. In terms of the marketing campaign, given the exceptional circumstances of the line closure it is extremely difficult to measure how many passengers returned to travelling by train thanks to Citizens’ Rail’s efforts, and how many would have done so without it. However, there are indicators that provide some pointers.The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership has received positive feedback that the tourist leaflets have proved extremely popular – with further copies requested by Tourist Information Centres due to them running out. In addition, the website analytics of TheRivieraLine.com have been monitored carefully. While the level of traffic to the website is not yet as high as the Partnership would like, engagement on the site is strong. Statistics from the site’s first two months after launch showed that compared to the Partnership’s other websites, users of TheRivieraLine.com stayed longer and explored more. UPDATE – The website won two national awards in autumn 2014: the Innovation category at the UK’s Community Rail Awards and the Community Engagement category at the Rail Exec Club’s Most Interesting Awards.
Next steps
The above campaign ran from April to June 2014. It will be followed by further marketing along The Riviera Line, including further newspaper advertising, leaflets and potentially the use of other media such as radio, cinema, outdoor and social media advertising. Individual projects will also be promoted such as The Riviera Line Minibeast Trail.A question for you
Do you have experience of running community rail marketing campaigns? If so, how do you measure their successes and failures? It would be great to hear your views in the comments beneath this post. You can also sign up to the Citizens’ Rail e-newsletter or follow us on Twitter to keep in touch. -
Teignmouth Station gets green revamp thanks to local volunteers
Teignmouth Station is looking blooming lovely thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Teignmouth Station – all as part of Citizens’ Rail.
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Volunteers from the new Friends of Teignmouth Station group joined the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and First Great Western to brighten up the station platforms and entrance with new planters and hanging baskets. Red, white and pink geraniums and petunias now give the station a pretty, summery feel.Five members of the Friends of Teignmouth Station group volunteered as part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project led by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership which aims to get more people involved at stations on the Riviera Line between Exeter and Torbay.
Two of the volunteers came to help from local supermarket Waitrose, who are neighbours to the station. Charlotte Barnaby from Waitrose said: “Waitrose Teignmouth were delighted to be able to support the project at Teignmouth railway station. Two of our Partners, Alexis Reed and Sharon Bearham, volunteered to help through our Partner Volunteering scheme. The scheme runs alongside our Community Matters programme. It allows Partners to take time out of their day-to-day job roles to support local organisations and give back to the local community.”
Sharon and Alexis from Waitrose
First Great Western Station Manager Ian Mundy said: “The newly formed Friends of Teignmouth station is a great way of linking the local community into the local rail network. It’s wonderful to see people who are willing to give their time freely to improve the local environment.”The Friends of Teignmouth Station are keen to recruit more members. More information is available from Celia Minoughan, Citizens’ Rail Riviera Line Officer at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, on 01752 584777, at celia@citizensrail.org or by visiting Citizens’ Rail’s Devon page.
Local partners in Citizens’ Rail – which is 50% funded by the EU’s Interreg IVB programme – include Devon County Council, Torbay Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.