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Projects shortlisted for national awards

Three Citizens’ Rail projects have been shortlisted for the UK’s Community Rail Awards.

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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.

2015/08/12
Visit South Devon train launched

As part of Citizens’ Rail, a branded “Visit South Devon” train has been unveiled to encourage people to visit destinations on the scenic Riviera Line between Exeter and Paignton.

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The First Great Western train will travel the region’s rail network for the next two years promoting tourist hotspots including Dawlish Warren, Torquay and Paignton. It marks the latest phase of a wider Riviera Line marketing campaign by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership as part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project.

As well as traditional and online marketing to encourage people to visit the area by train, the European project has also part-funded improvements at stations along the line, additional trains between Newton Abbot and Paignton, and community engagement work with volunteers, local residents and schools.

The new livery (which complements the red Citizens’ Rail livery on another Class 153 unit launched in March) was launched at Exeter St Davids station by representatives from First Great Western, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, Devon County Council, Torbay Council and the English Riviera Tourism Company.

First Great Western’s Regional Development Manager, Dan Okey, said: “Dedicated to the communities we serve, we recognise the value of rail to the local and national economy. This train, that will be seen by thousands as it travels through the south west, aims to remind us all of the beautiful sites on our own doorstep, and the opportunities there are to be a Great Westerner.”

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said: “This advertises a great example of what can be achieved through partner organisations working together. Since these enhancements started, patronage has risen by 15% despite the setbacks at Dawlish last year.

The success of this initiative has led to government instating a full two trains an hour service into the new Great Western Franchise from 2018, providing greater local connectivity between Exeter, Newton Abbot and Paignton as well as better connections to long distance trains.”

Torbay Council’s Executive Lead for Planning, Transport and Housing, Councillor Mark King, said: “Our work with Citizens Rail has continued to yield fantastic opportunities. Visit South Devon is a very strong brand and we are delighted that this train will be encouraging tourists to travel by rail to our area from across the First Great Western network.”

Richard Burningham, Manager of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, said: “The train will be a great way to promote what South Devon has to offer and how accessible the area is by train. We’re extremely grateful to First Great Western for making the new livery possible.”

Local partners in Citizens’ Rail – which is 50% funded by the EU’s Interreg IVB NWE programme – include Devon County Council, Torbay Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. Photographs used on the livery were supplied by Visit South Devon and the English Riviera Tourism Company.

2015/08/06
Partner meeting in Pays de la Loire

A huge thank you to our French partners at Région Pays de la Loire for organising an action-packed two-day schedule of Citizens’ Rail site visits and meetings last week.

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The transnational partner meeting was attended by German, UK and French representatives on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July. We began by visiting the coastal town of Batz-sur-Mer for an informative question and answer session, hearing first hand about projects at Batz-sur-Mer, Boussay and Ingrandes to find new uses for disused station buildings. This was followed by a site visit to explore the building at Batz-sur-Mer, which will be revamped and re-opened as a base for two charities.

From Batz-sur-Mer we took the train to Saint-Nazaire, where we held a Citizens’ Rail partner meeting. This included updates about community engagement and station improvements at nearby Penhoët station, and about the successful launch of Burnley Manchester Road station. We then received a tour looking at intermodality in Saint-Nazaire:

The following day, the partners were excited to travel on the hugely successful Beach Train, a package of additional services and eye-catching marketing that has helped to revitalise a previously struggling line between Bressuire and Les Sables D’Olonne. We were joined by Gilles Bontemps, Pays de la Loire’s Vice-President for Transport (pictured below, right). The trip was accompanied by a commentary about the history of the area, organised by Région Pays de la Loire.

Upon arrival in Les Sables D’Olonne, we held a meeting in a room with a fantastic view of the beach. Partners from each country gave updates on their projects, and the group discussed research by Région Pays de la Loire about how to encourage more schools to undertake class trips by train.

2015/07/13
Partner meeting in Pays de la Loire

A huge thank you to our French partners at Région Pays de la Loire for organising an action-packed two-day schedule of Citizens’ Rail site visits and meetings last week.

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The transnational partner meeting was attended by German, UK and French representatives on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July. We began by visiting the coastal town of Batz-sur-Mer for an informative question and answer session, hearing first hand about projects at Batz-sur-Mer, Boussay and Ingrandes to find new uses for disused station buildings. This was followed by a site visit to explore the building at Batz-sur-Mer, which will be revamped and re-opened as a base for two charities.

From Batz-sur-Mer we took the train to Saint-Nazaire, where we held a Citizens’ Rail partner meeting. This included updates about community engagement and station improvements at nearby Penhoët station, and about the successful launch of Burnley Manchester Road station. We then received a tour looking at intermodality in Saint-Nazaire:

The following day, the partners were excited to travel on the hugely successful Beach Train, a package of additional services and eye-catching marketing that has helped to revitalise a previously struggling line between Bressuire and Les Sables D’Olonne. We were joined by Gilles Bontemps, Pays de la Loire’s Vice-President for Transport (pictured below, right). The trip was accompanied by a commentary about the history of the area, organised by Région Pays de la Loire.

Upon arrival in Les Sables D’Olonne, we held a meeting in a room with a fantastic view of the beach. Partners from each country gave updates on their projects, and the group discussed research by Région Pays de la Loire about how to encourage more schools to undertake class trips by train.

2015/07/13
Partner meeting in Pays de la Loire

A huge thank you to our French partners at Région Pays de la Loire for organising an action-packed two-day schedule of Citizens’ Rail site visits and meetings last week.

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

The transnational partner meeting was attended by German, UK and French representatives on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July. We began by visiting the coastal town of Batz-sur-Mer for an informative question and answer session, hearing first hand about projects at Batz-sur-Mer, Boussay and Ingrandes to find new uses for disused station buildings. This was followed by a site visit to explore the building at Batz-sur-Mer, which will be revamped and re-opened as a base for two charities.

From Batz-sur-Mer we took the train to Saint-Nazaire, where we held a Citizens’ Rail partner meeting. This included updates about community engagement and station improvements at nearby Penhoët station, and about the successful launch of Burnley Manchester Road station. We then received a tour looking at intermodality in Saint-Nazaire:

The following day, the partners were excited to travel on the hugely successful Beach Train, a package of additional services and eye-catching marketing that has helped to revitalise a previously struggling line between Bressuire and Les Sables D’Olonne. We were joined by Gilles Bontemps, Pays de la Loire’s Vice-President for Transport (pictured below, right). The trip was accompanied by a commentary about the history of the area, organised by Région Pays de la Loire.

Upon arrival in Les Sables D’Olonne, we held a meeting in a room with a fantastic view of the beach. Partners from each country gave updates on their projects, and the group discussed research by Région Pays de la Loire about how to encourage more schools to undertake class trips by train.

2015/07/13
Students’ innovative Wi-Fi idea becomes a reality

A ground-breaking idea conceived at our recent Citizens’ Rail student masterclass has been implemented by the UK rail industry within just three months.

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The two-day workshop, hosted in Preston (UK) by the University of Central Lancashire in March 2015, brought together students from German, Dutch and UK universities to develop fresh ideas for how to promote local and regional railways.

Citizens’ Rail partners chose marketing as the focus for the masterclass because marketing campaigns are often simpler and quicker to implement than other rail projects. Students were therefore motivated by the knowledge that their proposals could soon be put into practice.

The Wi-Fi idea
The first idea to be realised came from the transnational group of students that was developing marketing campaigns targeted at tourists and leisure travellers.

The students saw an opportunity to promote leisure trips on local and regional lines using the Wi-Fi connection screens on mainline trains.

Implementing the concept
The idea was swiftly pursued by Citizens’ Rail’s lead partner, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Alongside its work within the European project, the Partnership was in the middle of planning a separate campaign to promote Cornwall’s scenic branch lines and destinations. The campaign harnessed the popularity of the BBC series Poldark. In spring 2015 the hit British television programme had prominently featured Cornwall’s beautiful coast, countryside and mining heritage. The Partnership therefore developed a theme of “Visit Poldark country by train”.

As well as a flagship event at London Paddington, leaflets and other materials, the Partnership created a mini-website showing how to visit filming locations from the programme by train.

Thanks to the masterclass, train operator First Great Western agreed to promote the campaign on the onboard Wi-Fi of their fleet of High Speed Trains. Now, when users connect to Wi-Fi aboard the train, they are greeted with the “Visit Poldark country by train” message.

When they click “Continue”, they are taken to the First Great Western homepage, which prominently features a link to the Partnership’s campaign website. The Wi-Fi promotion will continue to run until the later in the summer, helping to promote First Great Western’s branch lines to users of other parts of its network.

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The results
The campaign has already led to a 40% increase in the Partnership’s web traffic compared to the same period the previous year – attracting 10,000 visitors in just five weeks. The Partnership has also put the project forward for a national Community Rail Award (winners to be announced in October 2015).

The project shows the power of involving young people in their railway, and the difference that their fresh perspectives and innovative ideas can bring.

Participating universities
Citizens’ Rail would like to thank all the students and universities that took part. The event, which was the follow-up to our first masterclass in Aachen and Parkstad Limburg in 2013, was a great example of the transnational working that is at the heart of the EU Interreg IVB NWE programme, through which Citizens’ Rail is funded.

University of Central Lancashire
Plymouth University
RWTH Aachen University
Zuyd Hogeschool

Read more about the masterclass and see the students’ PowerPoint presentations.

2015/06/26
Students’ innovative Wi-Fi idea becomes a reality

A ground-breaking idea conceived at our recent Citizens’ Rail student masterclass has been implemented by the UK rail industry within just three months.

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The two-day workshop, hosted in Preston (UK) by the University of Central Lancashire in March 2015, brought together students from German, Dutch and UK universities to develop fresh ideas for how to promote local and regional railways.

Citizens’ Rail partners chose marketing as the focus for the masterclass because marketing campaigns are often simpler and quicker to implement than other rail projects. Students were therefore motivated by the knowledge that their proposals could soon be put into practice.

The Wi-Fi idea
The first idea to be realised came from the transnational group of students that was developing marketing campaigns targeted at tourists and leisure travellers.

The students saw an opportunity to promote leisure trips on local and regional lines using the Wi-Fi connection screens on mainline trains.

Implementing the concept
The idea was swiftly pursued by Citizens’ Rail’s lead partner, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Alongside its work within the European project, the Partnership was in the middle of planning a separate campaign to promote Cornwall’s scenic branch lines and destinations. The campaign harnessed the popularity of the BBC series Poldark. In spring 2015 the hit British television programme had prominently featured Cornwall’s beautiful coast, countryside and mining heritage. The Partnership therefore developed a theme of “Visit Poldark country by train”.

As well as a flagship event at London Paddington, leaflets and other materials, the Partnership created a mini-website showing how to visit filming locations from the programme by train.

Thanks to the masterclass, train operator First Great Western agreed to promote the campaign on the onboard Wi-Fi of their fleet of High Speed Trains. Now, when users connect to Wi-Fi aboard the train, they are greeted with the “Visit Poldark country by train” message.

When they click “Continue”, they are taken to the First Great Western homepage, which prominently features a link to the Partnership’s campaign website. The Wi-Fi promotion will continue to run until the later in the summer, helping to promote First Great Western’s branch lines to users of other parts of its network.

↓

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The results
The campaign has already led to a 40% increase in the Partnership’s web traffic compared to the same period the previous year – attracting 10,000 visitors in just five weeks. The Partnership has also put the project forward for a national Community Rail Award (winners to be announced in October 2015).

The project shows the power of involving young people in their railway, and the difference that their fresh perspectives and innovative ideas can bring.

Participating universities
Citizens’ Rail would like to thank all the students and universities that took part. The event, which was the follow-up to our first masterclass in Aachen and Parkstad Limburg in 2013, was a great example of the transnational working that is at the heart of the EU Interreg IVB NWE programme, through which Citizens’ Rail is funded.

University of Central Lancashire
Plymouth University
RWTH Aachen University
Zuyd Hogeschool

Read more about the masterclass and see the students’ PowerPoint presentations.

2015/06/26
Students’ innovative Wi-Fi idea becomes a reality

A ground-breaking idea conceived at our recent Citizens’ Rail student masterclass has been implemented by the UK rail industry within just three months.

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

The two-day workshop, hosted in Preston (UK) by the University of Central Lancashire in March 2015, brought together students from German, Dutch and UK universities to develop fresh ideas for how to promote local and regional railways.

Citizens’ Rail partners chose marketing as the focus for the masterclass because marketing campaigns are often simpler and quicker to implement than other rail projects. Students were therefore motivated by the knowledge that their proposals could soon be put into practice.

The Wi-Fi idea
The first idea to be realised came from the transnational group of students that was developing marketing campaigns targeted at tourists and leisure travellers.

The students saw an opportunity to promote leisure trips on local and regional lines using the Wi-Fi connection screens on mainline trains.

Implementing the concept
The idea was swiftly pursued by Citizens’ Rail’s lead partner, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Alongside its work within the European project, the Partnership was in the middle of planning a separate campaign to promote Cornwall’s scenic branch lines and destinations. The campaign harnessed the popularity of the BBC series Poldark. In spring 2015 the hit British television programme had prominently featured Cornwall’s beautiful coast, countryside and mining heritage. The Partnership therefore developed a theme of “Visit Poldark country by train”.

As well as a flagship event at London Paddington, leaflets and other materials, the Partnership created a mini-website showing how to visit filming locations from the programme by train.

Thanks to the masterclass, train operator First Great Western agreed to promote the campaign on the onboard Wi-Fi of their fleet of High Speed Trains. Now, when users connect to Wi-Fi aboard the train, they are greeted with the “Visit Poldark country by train” message.

When they click “Continue”, they are taken to the First Great Western homepage, which prominently features a link to the Partnership’s campaign website. The Wi-Fi promotion will continue to run until the later in the summer, helping to promote First Great Western’s branch lines to users of other parts of its network.

↓

↓

The results
The campaign has already led to a 40% increase in the Partnership’s web traffic compared to the same period the previous year – attracting 10,000 visitors in just five weeks. The Partnership has also put the project forward for a national Community Rail Award (winners to be announced in October 2015).

The project shows the power of involving young people in their railway, and the difference that their fresh perspectives and innovative ideas can bring.

Participating universities
Citizens’ Rail would like to thank all the students and universities that took part. The event, which was the follow-up to our first masterclass in Aachen and Parkstad Limburg in 2013, was a great example of the transnational working that is at the heart of the EU Interreg IVB NWE programme, through which Citizens’ Rail is funded.

University of Central Lancashire
Plymouth University
RWTH Aachen University
Zuyd Hogeschool

Read more about the masterclass and see the students’ PowerPoint presentations.

2015/06/26
Schülerinnen und Schüler verschönern den Bahnhof Eilendorf

Für Grundschüler wird der Weg zur Schule meist zu Fuß oder mit dem Fahrrad zurückgelegt. Mit dem Wechsel zu einer weiterführenden Schule verändern sich meist auch die Schulwege – und damit auch die Verkehrsmittel. Die Maria-Montessori-Gesamtschule hat nun erstmals mit Schülern einer 6. Klasse ein Mobilitätsprojekt durchgeführt, das sich mit dem Bahnfahren beschäftigt. Darin ging es um Bahnfahrpraxis, um die Sicherheit am Bahnhof und im Zug, um Bahnverbindungen, Fahrpläne und ums Umsteigen.

Am Abschluss des Projektes stand eine Gestaltungsaufgabe: Der Fahrgastunterstand und die Lärmschutzwand am Bahnhof Eilendorf sollten verschönert werden. Ein Wettbewerb wurde unter Schülern der 6. und 7. Klasse durchgeführt, die Siegerentwürfe wurden durch eine Jury bewertet und nun durch die Schüler selbst realisiert. Dabei wurden vor allem Bahnmotive verwendet: Das Wartehäuschen vermittelt nun den Eindruck, als säße man in einem fahrenden Zug. Auf der Lärmschutzwand ist ein Bahnschaffner mit Kelle abgebildet. „Ich finde es toll, mit welchem Ideenreichtum die Schüler an die Gestaltung herangegangen sind“, lobte Bezirksbürgermeisterin Elke Eschweiler die nun fast abgeschlossene Arbeit auf einer Pressekonferenz am Mittwoch, 24. Juni. Sie kündigte an, dass sich die Bezirksvertretung Aachen-Eilendorf im August mit weiteren Ideen der Kinder beschäftigen werde, die zu einer Umgestaltung des nahe gelegenen Spielplatzes zu einem „Bahnhofspielplatz“ führen könne.

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Auch Abdelhafid Tahri von der Deutsche Bahn Station und Service Aachen fand lobende Worte für die Arbeit der Schüler, dankte aber auch der Stadt Aachen für die Aufnahme in das EU-Projekt Citizens‘ Rail. Denn die Aktion wurde über dieses Projekt finanziert, in dem die Stadt Aachen mit Partnern aus Großbritannien (University of Plymouth, Lancashire County Council, Devon&Cornwall Rail Partnership), Frankreich (Pays de la Loire) und den Niederlanden (Parkstad Limburg) zusammen arbeitet. Ein ähnliches Gestaltungs-Projekt haben Kinder aus Burnley, Lancashire, im Nordwesten Englands an ihrer Schule durchgeführt – sie entwickelten ein Plakat, das für das Bahnfahren werben soll.

Gemeinsam mit den deutschen Partnern (Geographisches Institut der RWTH Aachen, Aachener Verkehrsverbund – AVV) wurde über Citizens‘ Rail die Bürgerbeteiligung für einen künftigen neuen, barrierefreien Zugang zu den Gleisen – eine Fußgängerbrücke – am Haltepunkt in Eilendorf organisiert. Darauf wies Christiane Melcher, Leiterin des Fachbereichs Stadtentwicklung und Verkehrsanlagen der Stadt Aachen, hin. Aktuell laufen weitere Abstimmungen zwischen den Partnern Deutsche Bahn, Stadt und AVV zu den weiteren Planungsphasen. Eine Umsetzung soll gemeinsam mit dem Verkehrsprojekt Rhein-Ruhr-Express erfolgen, das für 2019/2020 geplant ist. Auch die Planung für einen neuen barrierefreien Zugang am Haltepunkt Aachen-West und einen neuen Haltepunkt der euregiobahn in Richterich wurde durch Citizens‘ Rail gefördert.

„An den Schulen wird den Kindern der sichere Umgang mit alternativen Fortbewegungsmittel vermittelt“, erläuterte Irmgard Braun, Schulleiterin der Maria-Montessori-Gesamtschule. An der Grundschule sei es das Fahrrad und der sichere Weg zu Fuß, in der 5. Klasse das Busfahren, und in den Stufen 6 und 7 die Nutzung der Bahn. Für die Gestaltung des Bahnhofes seien „viele tolle Vorschläge eingegangen“, ergänzte Elke Schwefer, Abteilungsleiterin Jahrgangsstufen 5-7 an der Maria Montessori-Gesamtschule (MMGE). „Nicht alle ließen sich verwirklichen.“ Ein Dank ging an die großzügige Unterstützung des nahe gelegenen Sportcenters „Tai-Kien-Boxen”, das die Schülerinnen und Schüler während ihrer Arbeit unterstützte.

Weitere Informationen unter www.aachen.de/bahnhof.

2015/06/25
Pupils brighten up Eilendorf station

Local children have given Aachen’s Eilendorf station a whole new look – and grabbed the media spotlight in the process.

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In a great example of community participation and the Citizens’ Rail approach, pupils from Maria Montessori Gesamtschule Aachen have been painting the station’s shelter and noise reduction wall based on their own vivid artwork.

Aachen City Council ran a competition with the school to produce designs to brighten up the station’s shelters, noise reduction wall, entrance and signage. The children visited the station to take a look for themselves and get inspired. They then produced a wide range of concepts, from which the winners were picked by a panel of judges from the City Council, the school, Deutsche Bahn and other project partners.

Now the students have returned to make their designs a reality – and have attracted plenty of media attention. They were featured on local TV news (watch here at 16min 30 – available for the next seven days), and were saluted on the front page of free local newspaper “Super Mittwoch”, distributed to every household in the city. Further press articles are expected in the coming days.

Waiting shelter

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Noise reduction wall

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The project has also been praised by partners and elected officials. District Mayor Elke Eschweiler said: “I think it’s great, the wealth of ideas which the students have brought to their designs is fantastic.” She announced that Aachen-Eilendorf District Council will soon be looking at further children’s projects, which could lead to a re-design of the neighbouring playground into a “station playground”. Deutsche Bahn’s Abdelhafid Tahri was also full of praise for the students’ work, as well as thanking Aachen City Council and the EU Citizens’ Rail project – which has helped to involve citizens in planning significant improvements at the station.

For more information, visit www.aachen.de/bahnhof.

2015/06/25