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Walks booklet launched

As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, a new booklet has been developed to encourage more people to enjoy walks from stations on The Riviera Line (Exeter to Paignton).

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The free booklet has been produced by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and brings together a selection of six self-guided walks. Included are walks from Starcross, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish and Teignmouth stations. It is part of the promotional campaign being run for the line by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership as part of the EU Interreg IVB Citizens’ Rail project. See a PDF copy of the leaflet (3MB):

Celia Minoughan, the Partnership’s Riviera Line Project Officer said:

“The booklet is a great companion for people who like exploring South Devon. There are some fabulous walks to explore along the Riviera Line, and this is just a taster of what is out there.”

At Dawlish station this week Celia was joined by walkers from the Dawlish Walk This Way group at the start of their weekly Wednesday walk. Nigel Rhys, a walk leader from Walk This Way, said:

“We welcome the Walks from the Riviera Line booklet. Every week we lead up to 40 people on walks from Dawlish Station, including the Dawlish Town Trail featured in the booklet. A few of our group regularly come from Starcross by train to join us at Dawlish Station.”

30,000 copies of the “Walks from the Riviera Line” booklet have been printed and can be found at stations throughout the First Great Western network as well as local tourist information centres. Copies can also be obtained by emailing railpart@plymouth.ac.uk.

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. For more information about ‘Walks from the Riviera Line’ and the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, contact Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://therivieraline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Walks-from-Riviera-Line_2_web.pdf” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]Read the leaflet as a PDF (3MB)[/button]

2014/12/05
Walks booklet launched

As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, a new booklet has been developed to encourage more people to enjoy walks from stations on The Riviera Line (Exeter to Paignton).

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
The free booklet has been produced by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and brings together a selection of six self-guided walks. Included are walks from Starcross, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish and Teignmouth stations. It is part of the promotional campaign being run for the line by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership as part of the EU Interreg IVB Citizens’ Rail project. See a PDF copy of the leaflet (3MB):

Celia Minoughan, the Partnership’s Riviera Line Project Officer said:

“The booklet is a great companion for people who like exploring South Devon. There are some fabulous walks to explore along the Riviera Line, and this is just a taster of what is out there.”

At Dawlish station this week Celia was joined by walkers from the Dawlish Walk This Way group at the start of their weekly Wednesday walk. Nigel Rhys, a walk leader from Walk This Way, said:

“We welcome the Walks from the Riviera Line booklet. Every week we lead up to 40 people on walks from Dawlish Station, including the Dawlish Town Trail featured in the booklet. A few of our group regularly come from Starcross by train to join us at Dawlish Station.”

30,000 copies of the “Walks from the Riviera Line” booklet have been printed and can be found at stations throughout the First Great Western network as well as local tourist information centres. Copies can also be obtained by emailing railpart@plymouth.ac.uk.

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. For more information about ‘Walks from the Riviera Line’ and the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, contact Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://therivieraline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Walks-from-Riviera-Line_2_web.pdf” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]Read the leaflet as a PDF (3MB)[/button]

2014/12/05
The Riviera Line website wins another award

After being recognised last month at the UK Community Rail Awards, a website developed as part of the Citizens’ Rail project has received further praise – this time winning at the UK Rail Exec Most Interesting Awards.

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The Riviera Line website won in the Most Interesting Community Engagement Project category at the awards, held in Leicester on 29th November 2014. The award was presented by Neil Buxton, General Manager of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships to Mike Parker-Bray, Citizens’ Rail Communications Officer at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

The story of the website
After winter’s infamous storms, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) wanted to harness the local feel-good factor around the re-opening of the line through Dawlish.

A marketing campaign was developed to win back lost passengers and to attract non-users to try the train between Exeter and Paignton. Its centrepiece was TheRivieraLine.com – a new type of community rail website, providing concise travel advice delivered in a visual, modern style.

The website – launched in the first week of April 2014 to coincide with the line’s re-opening – was created as part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project, of which DCRP is the lead partner.

Five innovative features:

Resizing to suit all devices
The site is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website. This means its content resizes to provide a comfortable reading experience on PCs, tablets and smartphones (see screenshots provided). This is not only better for the user, but it also minimises costs for the Community Rail Partnership – who might otherwise have to fund and manage an app or separate mobile version of the website. It also future-proofs the website: with the numbers of people viewing websites on mobile devices widely predicted to grow and grow. Since its launch, one in three visits to TheRivieraLine.com has come from smartphones or tablets.

Tailored for non-users
The website breaks down barriers to travel by explaining the essentials in an approachable, easy-to-digest way. This ranges from how to buy tickets when travelling from unstaffed stations, to whether you can take your dog on board, to whether there are toilets on the train. The site addresses these frequently asked questions in a concise, friendly way to help non-users to try the train. This is a departure from the stuffy tone and long-winded content of some public transport websites.

Gathering insights to inform future marketing
Every link on the website is tracked, so that over time a rich picture will develop of which types of discounted tickets are most popular and which destinations are clicked most frequently. In this way the website will become a valuable source of insights to inform future marketing: both online and offline.

Professional, people-focused photography
The site uses professional photography to put people at the heart of the story. This addresses what is arguably a common weakness of public transport websites.

Bringing together little-known tools
There are many handy rail travel tools available online, including season ticket calculators, personalised timetable creators, live departure information, car parking season ticket calculators and more. However, they are often little-known and are tucked away on a range of different websites. TheRivieraLine.com showcases them (including providing direct links to the tools) to raise their profile and help users.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://therivieraline.com/” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]Visit the website[/button]

2014/12/05
The Riviera Line website wins another award

After being recognised last month at the UK Community Rail Awards, a website developed as part of the Citizens’ Rail project has received further praise – this time winning at the UK Rail Exec Most Interesting Awards.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
The Riviera Line website won in the Most Interesting Community Engagement Project category at the awards, held in Leicester on 29th November 2014. The award was presented by Neil Buxton, General Manager of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships to Mike Parker-Bray, Citizens’ Rail Communications Officer at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

The story of the website
After winter’s infamous storms, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) wanted to harness the local feel-good factor around the re-opening of the line through Dawlish.

A marketing campaign was developed to win back lost passengers and to attract non-users to try the train between Exeter and Paignton. Its centrepiece was TheRivieraLine.com – a new type of community rail website, providing concise travel advice delivered in a visual, modern style.

The website – launched in the first week of April 2014 to coincide with the line’s re-opening – was created as part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project, of which DCRP is the lead partner.

Five innovative features:

Resizing to suit all devices
The site is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website. This means its content resizes to provide a comfortable reading experience on PCs, tablets and smartphones (see screenshots provided). This is not only better for the user, but it also minimises costs for the Community Rail Partnership – who might otherwise have to fund and manage an app or separate mobile version of the website. It also future-proofs the website: with the numbers of people viewing websites on mobile devices widely predicted to grow and grow. Since its launch, one in three visits to TheRivieraLine.com has come from smartphones or tablets.

Tailored for non-users
The website breaks down barriers to travel by explaining the essentials in an approachable, easy-to-digest way. This ranges from how to buy tickets when travelling from unstaffed stations, to whether you can take your dog on board, to whether there are toilets on the train. The site addresses these frequently asked questions in a concise, friendly way to help non-users to try the train. This is a departure from the stuffy tone and long-winded content of some public transport websites.

Gathering insights to inform future marketing
Every link on the website is tracked, so that over time a rich picture will develop of which types of discounted tickets are most popular and which destinations are clicked most frequently. In this way the website will become a valuable source of insights to inform future marketing: both online and offline.

Professional, people-focused photography
The site uses professional photography to put people at the heart of the story. This addresses what is arguably a common weakness of public transport websites.

Bringing together little-known tools
There are many handy rail travel tools available online, including season ticket calculators, personalised timetable creators, live departure information, car parking season ticket calculators and more. However, they are often little-known and are tucked away on a range of different websites. TheRivieraLine.com showcases them (including providing direct links to the tools) to raise their profile and help users.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://therivieraline.com/” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]Visit the website[/button]

2014/12/05
The Riviera Line website wins another award

After being recognised last month at the UK Community Rail Awards, a website developed as part of the Citizens’ Rail project has received further praise – this time winning at the UK Rail Exec Most Interesting Awards.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
The Riviera Line website won in the Most Interesting Community Engagement Project category at the awards, held in Leicester on 29th November 2014. The award was presented by Neil Buxton, General Manager of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships to Mike Parker-Bray, Citizens’ Rail Communications Officer at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

The story of the website
After winter’s infamous storms, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) wanted to harness the local feel-good factor around the re-opening of the line through Dawlish.

A marketing campaign was developed to win back lost passengers and to attract non-users to try the train between Exeter and Paignton. Its centrepiece was TheRivieraLine.com – a new type of community rail website, providing concise travel advice delivered in a visual, modern style.

The website – launched in the first week of April 2014 to coincide with the line’s re-opening – was created as part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project, of which DCRP is the lead partner.

Five innovative features:

Resizing to suit all devices
The site is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website. This means its content resizes to provide a comfortable reading experience on PCs, tablets and smartphones (see screenshots provided). This is not only better for the user, but it also minimises costs for the Community Rail Partnership – who might otherwise have to fund and manage an app or separate mobile version of the website. It also future-proofs the website: with the numbers of people viewing websites on mobile devices widely predicted to grow and grow. Since its launch, one in three visits to TheRivieraLine.com has come from smartphones or tablets.

Tailored for non-users
The website breaks down barriers to travel by explaining the essentials in an approachable, easy-to-digest way. This ranges from how to buy tickets when travelling from unstaffed stations, to whether you can take your dog on board, to whether there are toilets on the train. The site addresses these frequently asked questions in a concise, friendly way to help non-users to try the train. This is a departure from the stuffy tone and long-winded content of some public transport websites.

Gathering insights to inform future marketing
Every link on the website is tracked, so that over time a rich picture will develop of which types of discounted tickets are most popular and which destinations are clicked most frequently. In this way the website will become a valuable source of insights to inform future marketing: both online and offline.

Professional, people-focused photography
The site uses professional photography to put people at the heart of the story. This addresses what is arguably a common weakness of public transport websites.

Bringing together little-known tools
There are many handy rail travel tools available online, including season ticket calculators, personalised timetable creators, live departure information, car parking season ticket calculators and more. However, they are often little-known and are tucked away on a range of different websites. TheRivieraLine.com showcases them (including providing direct links to the tools) to raise their profile and help users.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://therivieraline.com/” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]Visit the website[/button]

2014/12/05
School children enjoying their international trip

Our intrepid Lancashire school children are thoroughly enjoying their week in Germany and the Netherlands. From an official welcome at Aachen City Hall (pictured above), to singing lessons with their new Aachen school friends, to scaling viewpoints where they could see three countries at once, they are cramming a lot in to their four-night stay.

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The trip is the children’s well-earned reward for delivering a fantastic presentation and warm welcome to Citizens’ Rail’s European partners during their meeting in Lancashire in July (read the full story so far).

The children have raised funds through various events at school to contribute towards the visit. Additional funding for the trip is being provided by Citizens’ Rail, the DCRDF Fund, UK German Connection and Abellio.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://aachen2014.blogspot.co.uk/” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]See more photos and follow the children’s trip on their own fantastic blog[/button]

2014/11/20
School children enjoying their international trip

Our intrepid Lancashire school children are thoroughly enjoying their week in Germany and the Netherlands. From an official welcome at Aachen City Hall (pictured above), to singing lessons with their new Aachen school friends, to scaling viewpoints where they could see three countries at once, they are cramming a lot in to their four-night stay.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]

The trip is the children’s well-earned reward for delivering a fantastic presentation and warm welcome to Citizens’ Rail’s European partners during their meeting in Lancashire in July (read the full story so far).

The children have raised funds through various events at school to contribute towards the visit. Additional funding for the trip is being provided by Citizens’ Rail, the DCRDF Fund, UK German Connection and Abellio.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://aachen2014.blogspot.co.uk/” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]See more photos and follow the children’s trip on their own fantastic blog[/button]

2014/11/20
School children enjoying their international trip

Our intrepid Lancashire school children are thoroughly enjoying their week in Germany and the Netherlands. From an official welcome at Aachen City Hall (pictured above), to singing lessons with their new Aachen school friends, to scaling viewpoints where they could see three countries at once, they are cramming a lot in to their four-night stay.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]

The trip is the children’s well-earned reward for delivering a fantastic presentation and warm welcome to Citizens’ Rail’s European partners during their meeting in Lancashire in July (read the full story so far).

The children have raised funds through various events at school to contribute towards the visit. Additional funding for the trip is being provided by Citizens’ Rail, the DCRDF Fund, UK German Connection and Abellio.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://aachen2014.blogspot.co.uk/” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]See more photos and follow the children’s trip on their own fantastic blog[/button]

2014/11/20
Burnley Manchester Road – station building now open

Burnley Manchester Road’s fantastic new station building opened its doors to the public today (17th November 2014).

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Built with the help of funding from Citizens’ Rail as part of the EU Interreg IVB programme, the new building will transform the town’s busiest station and aid Burnley’s economic regeneration. The first ticket sold (00033) was to a business man travelling to York. The opening coincides with the trip of a lifetime to Germany and the Netherlands being undertaken by Lancashire school children – also as part of Citizens’ Rail.

The story of the station
Burnley Manchester Road station closed in 1961, and since re-opening in 1986 has been unstaffed and without an operational station building. To make matters worse, its built-up surroundings impinged on the visibility of the station, which was largely hidden from the busy main road. As a result, Burnley Manchester Road was anonymous within the town. With the station “out of sight and out of mind”, it was all too easy for rail to become a forgotten transport option for many.

In 2011, Burnley Borough Council purchased the former station building, used for many years as a dairy after the station closed in the 1960s. Funding from the Interreg IVB programme, Burnley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council has enabled this to be replaced by a new building. The decision to rebuild followed a sustainability assessment as part of another Interreg IVB project, SusStation (Sustainable Stations).

One of the crucial elements of the new building’s design is its distinctive blue fin. This eye-catching feature has hugely improved the visibility of the station within the surrounding area. It has also given Burnley Manchester Road its own look and identity within the town. The fin was proposed by the French partner in Citizens’ Rail, Pays de la Loire, in an example of the transnational collaboration that lies at the heart of the Interreg IVB programme.

When construction began last summer, Burnley Borough Council Leader Councillor Julie Cooper said:

“For some passengers the railway station can be the first impression they get of a town. This is a vitally important project for Burnley’s future economic growth.”

The building has already attracted strong interest within the rail sector. Visitors have included a special advisor to the UK government’s Department for Transport, who praised the station for its visual appearance and its modular design. The modular nature of the station means that it could become a template that could be expanded or contracted to suit the local circumstances of other stations. So perhaps in future we will see more blue fins cropping up across the UK and even beyond.

The station’s profile and importance will grow even further in 2015, with the advent of the new direct service between Burnley and Manchester.

2014/11/17
Burnley Manchester Road – station building now open

Burnley Manchester Road’s fantastic new station building opened its doors to the public today (17th November 2014).

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]

Built with the help of funding from Citizens’ Rail as part of the EU Interreg IVB programme, the new building will transform the town’s busiest station and aid Burnley’s economic regeneration. The first ticket sold (00033) was to a business man travelling to York. The opening coincides with the trip of a lifetime to Germany and the Netherlands being undertaken by Lancashire school children – also as part of Citizens’ Rail.

The story of the station
Burnley Manchester Road station closed in 1961, and since re-opening in 1986 has been unstaffed and without an operational station building. To make matters worse, its built-up surroundings impinged on the visibility of the station, which was largely hidden from the busy main road. As a result, Burnley Manchester Road was anonymous within the town. With the station “out of sight and out of mind”, it was all too easy for rail to become a forgotten transport option for many.

In 2011, Burnley Borough Council purchased the former station building, used for many years as a dairy after the station closed in the 1960s. Funding from the Interreg IVB programme, Burnley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council has enabled this to be replaced by a new building. The decision to rebuild followed a sustainability assessment as part of another Interreg IVB project, SusStation (Sustainable Stations).

One of the crucial elements of the new building’s design is its distinctive blue fin. This eye-catching feature has hugely improved the visibility of the station within the surrounding area. It has also given Burnley Manchester Road its own look and identity within the town. The fin was proposed by the French partner in Citizens’ Rail, Pays de la Loire, in an example of the transnational collaboration that lies at the heart of the Interreg IVB programme.

When construction began last summer, Burnley Borough Council Leader Councillor Julie Cooper said:

“For some passengers the railway station can be the first impression they get of a town. This is a vitally important project for Burnley’s future economic growth.”

The building has already attracted strong interest within the rail sector. Visitors have included a special advisor to the UK government’s Department for Transport, who praised the station for its visual appearance and its modular design. The modular nature of the station means that it could become a template that could be expanded or contracted to suit the local circumstances of other stations. So perhaps in future we will see more blue fins cropping up across the UK and even beyond.

The station’s profile and importance will grow even further in 2015, with the advent of the new direct service between Burnley and Manchester.

2014/11/17