Students from Germany, the Netherlands and the UK took part in a two-day Citizens’ Rail masterclass in Preston this week to generate new ways to promote rail travel.
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Hosted by the University of Central Lancashire’s Institute of Transport and Tourism, the event included site visits to Burnley and Blackpool, expert speakers from Marketing Lancashire, Abellio, Lancashire County Council, Burnley Borough Council and Blackpool Borough Council, and workshop sessions where the students worked in transnational groups.
The students were from four institutions: UCLAN and Plymouth University in the UK, RWTH Aachen University in Germany and Zuyd Hogeschool in the Netherlands.
Presentations by the students:
The students generated marketing campaigns aimed at different groups including commuters, families and tourists. They presented their results to an audience of rail and marketing practitioners:
Photos from the masterclass:
Visiting Burnley Manchester Road’s new station building with Richard Watts, Lancashire County Council
Children from Padiham Green Primary School pose for the students next to their artwork in the station’s community room
Hard at work at Victoria Mill in Burnley
Exploring Blackpool’s tourist appeal as the sun sets
Abellio’s Jeremy Whitaker advises the students on rail marketing
What happens next?
Our partner organisations within the Citizens’ Rail project are keen to bring the students’ insight and marketing ideas to life. We will be discussing which of the concepts we can put into practice during the spring and summer, prior to the project’s final conference in Torquay, UK, on 1st October 2015.
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