Tag: community engagement

European breakfast on the beach train

Passengers were treated to European breakfast snacks on the Citizens’ Rail “beach train” this weekend. The breakfast was held to celebrate the role of the EU Interreg IVB programme in making the service possible.

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The award-winning beach train provides weekend services on the La Roche Bressuire line, offering great value days out to the coast in Pays de la Loire. The project, backed by a fantastic marketing campaign, has helped to attract thousands of new passengers to what was previously a struggling line.

The European breakfast giveaway was inspired by a similar exercise to celebrate the launch of extra services on The Riviera Line in Devon. Passengers between Paignton and Newton Abbot enjoyed snacks representing Citizens’ Rail’s French, Dutch and German involvement. This included pains aux raisins, Dutch waffles and Printen from Aachen.

The two breakfast events are an example of the way that partners in Citizens’ Rail are learning from each other and collaborating to develop local and regional railways.

2014/07/13
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.

2014/07/08
Travel survey underway across four countries

Local residents in each of Citizens’ Rail’s partner areas are being surveyed about their day-to-day travel to help inform future transport planning.

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Thousands of flyers are being distributed in each partner language encouraging people to take the short survey, which can also be accessed at these links:

UK (Devon) | UK (Lancashire) | Nederlands | Deutsch | Français

The survey investigates the forms of transport that people use in their most frequent journeys, their awareness of rail services, factors that would encourage them to take the train more often, and their level of interest in getting involved in future improvements to stations and services.

The exercise forms part of an academic evaluation of the Citizens’ Rail project, led by RWTH Aachen University and UCLAN.

2014/06/23
Call for volunteers to help Teignmouth station bloom

Volunteers are being sought for a new gardening group to brighten Teignmouth’s railway station as part of the rejuvenation of the Riviera Line as part of Citizens’ Rail.

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The Friends of Teignmouth Station will help to plan the greenery on the platforms and get involved in planting and watering. The station has already benefited from planters cared for by green-fingered Caroline, a member of the First Great Western customer services team at the station. The new group will expand on this work.

The formation of the Friends is being supported by the EU Citizens’ Rail project, led by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, to get more people involved with their railway. Along the Riviera Line between Exeter and Paignton, the project has already helped to revive the previously dormant Friends of Dawlish Station. The Dawlish volunteers received 15 minutes of fame when their green station makeover with TV gardener Toby Buckland was featured in the national media as part of the re-opening of the line in April.

Celia Minoughan, Riviera Line project officer at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (pictured above with First Great Western’s Ian Mundy), said: “The impact that the volunteers have had at Dawlish station shows what can be achieved. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or an enthusiastic beginner, it would be great to hear from you so we can make a real difference to passengers at Teignmouth.”

To find out more or get involved, contact Celia on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

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.

2014/06/06
First Great Western Community Rail Conference 2014

Representatives from our lead partner, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, gave an update on our Riviera Line project at the First Great Western Community Rail Conference 2014 this week.

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Other speakers were from the UK government’s Department for Transport, Devon County Council, First Great Western (the train operating company for our project area in Devon), and four fellow community rail organisations, introduced by Chris Austin: the Tarka Rail Association, TransWilts, Severnside and Heart of Wessex.

John Burch from the Tarka Rail Association gave a lowdown on how to create a line strategy. Graham Ellis from TransWilts, England’s newest Community Rail Partnership (CRP), told the story of how they have smashed their growth targets within their first year – including anecdotes about how local people are now selling their cars because they no longer need them, and the benefits that improved services are bringing to local businesses and their staff.

Heather Cullimore from Severnside CRP described their fantastic City to Seaside Rail Arts project, with the fruits of the project on display in a free photography exhibition until the end of 2014. First Great Western’s Nick Reid reported on behalf of Heart of Wessex CRP, telling of their huge army of volunteers who contributed 13,500 hours in 2013 alone.

The conference was held at the excellent Seale Hayne.

2014/06/04
Seaside station garden competition sparks the imagination

We asked visitors to Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival for their top tips for a seaside railway station garden, and received dozens of imaginative and charming suggestions.

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Citizens’ Rail and Travel Devon set out to discover what makes the perfect seaside railway station garden at our stand at Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival, held earlier this month at Powderham Castle.

We were overwhelmed by the response, with more than 90 top tips put forward by visitors to the festival. They ranged from the spectacular to the practical, and everything in between.

Two prizes were up for grabs, a First Great Western rose and a pair of train tickets to London (generously donated by First Great Western). The rose was awarded to Erika Gooding for her vision of an “edible seaside garden” featuring sea beet, Alexanders, fennel, wild edible flowers including pansies, marigolds and violets, and herbs including thyme, sage and rosemary.

First prize went to Catherine Pollitt for her plan to capture children’s imagination by installing sculptures of small garden creatures among the plants for youngsters to spot and learn about. The models could include snails, ladybirds, worms and centipedes, and would be placed among the specific plants upon which each animal thrives.

As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership is now working with First Great Western and other partners to explore making both concepts a reality at local stations.

Update:
Catherine’s idea has now been put into practice in the form of the Riviera Line Minibeast Trail.

2014/05/19
Dawlish is back!

After a superhuman effort by Network Rail, their “orange army” and First Great Western, the railway through Dawlish re-opened today, two months on from the devastation of February’s storms.

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During the line’s closure, Citizens’ Rail has worked to rejuvenate the previously dormant Friends of Dawlish Station volunteer group. Working alongside TV gardener Toby Buckland, the volunteers have given the station a green makeover, decked out the station with bunting for its re-opening, and become media stars in the process. In the past week alone the group have been front page news in the local press, been featured on BBC regional TV news, been interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and filmed by Channel 5.

If you would like to get involved in the group (or would like to volunteer elsewhere along the Riviera Line), contact the Citizens’ Rail Riviera Line Officer Celia Minoughan on 01752 584777, email celia@citizensrail.org or visit our Devon page.

2014/04/04
Dawlish station gets green revamp thanks to local volunteers and TV gardening expert

Dawlish station has received a green makeover prior to its re-opening thanks to TV gardener Toby Buckland and the Friends of Dawlish Station.

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Mr Buckland said: “As a Dawlish man born and bred I was horrified by the damage to the station but it wasn’t until I saw it for myself and spoke to the station manager that I realised that I could do something to help.

“It’s been great to be part of helping the station to bounce back greener than ever.”

Eight volunteers from the group planted cordylines, lavenders, pansies, violets, primroses and other species in 10 new planters installed on the platforms. The gardening day was organised as part of Citizens’ Rail, an EU 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.

The plants were donated by Dawlish-based horticulturalist Mr Buckland from his nursery and plant centre at nearby Powderham Castle, which on 2nd and 3rd May hosts a major new garden festival with award-winning horticultural exhibitors, live music, food stalls and family entertainment. Staff from Network Rail’s “orange army” also helped with the planting day – shifting heavy bags of compost.

Val Mawhood of The Friends of Dawlish Station said: “It’s so good to see our station being brought back to life with new flower-filled planters in place. We are looking forward to a bright and cheerful year ahead and consigning last winter to history.”

First Great Western Dawlish Station Manager Ian Mundy said: “We are committed to supporting the communities we serve. This project shows how much can be achieved when the railway, volunteers and local businesses work together to improve the station environment for all. It’s a fantastic way to welcome passengers back to the railway.”

More information about the garden festival – including how to get there by train via Starcross station – can be found at www.tobygardenfest.co.uk or by calling 01626 891133.

Want to get involved?

The Friends of Dawlish Station are keen to recruit new 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 on our 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.

Photos courtesy of First Great Western.

2014/03/27
Dutch tulips brighten up Torquay station

A leading community gardening group has continued its transformation of Torquay station on the Riviera Line, planting tulips supplied by Citizens’ Rail’s Dutch partner, Parkstad Limburg.

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The First Great Western Station Adoption project gives people with learning disabilities the opportunity to learn new skills and to work towards a nationally recognised qualification. The group’s weekly gardening work at Torquay station (showcased in the video below) has been shortlisted in the Best Social Enterprise and Community Impact category at the forthcoming 2014 Herald Express Business Awards. Learner David Maltby said of the project: “I love doing it, it’s so brilliant.”

The work on the station rockery has been supported by funding from Citizens’ Rail, the EU project to develop local and regional railways including the line between Torbay and Exeter.

Now the spirit of international cooperation has seen the group planting Dutch tulips donated on a recent visit by Paul Alzer from Citizens’ Rail’s Dutch partner Parkstad Limburg, a region near the southern border with Germany and Belgium.

Paul Alzer said: “Citizens’ Rail is about sharing ideas and putting people at the heart of their local and regional railways. It’s nice that our small Dutch tulip bulbs are growing in such a great initiative abroad.”

Celia Minoughan, Citizens’ Rail Riviera Line Officer for the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, said: “The group were delighted with the bulbs, and it was great to hear their plans to expand the project and bring more colour to all of Torbay’s stations in future.”

Nicky Church, ROC Personalisation Manager commented: “The people who we support have devoted their time, enthusiasm and sheer hard work into this project and are doing so with a view to gaining the necessary skills and experience to get a job.”

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 and Cornwall Rail Partnership.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#d42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-circle-arrow-right” spacing=”0px” /] Find out more about ROC’s work across the UK to help as many people as possible who have learning or similar disabilities to be who they want to be. Visit the ROC website.

2014/03/11
New Riviera Line officer to help railway to bounce back

A dedicated Riviera Line officer has been appointed as part of Citizens’ Rail to help the recovery of the storm-struck route between Exeter, Dawlish and Paignton.

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Over the next eighteen months Celia Minoughan, from Totnes, will be working with local groups to encourage more people to try the train, and to get residents involved in their stations.

Citizens’ Rail’s work in the local area – which was hit by major storm damage in February – will also include a major marketing campaign for the line, and improvements to facilities at several stations. The project also helped to provide the more frequent Newton Abbot to Paignton service launched in December that will resume once the damaged Dawlish station re-opens.

Celia – pictured above with First Great Western station manager Ian Mundy – said: “From my first day in the job it’s been fantastic to see people’s determination to bounce back from the recent disruption. Our aim is for the line to come back stronger than ever, and we’ll soon be announcing the date of our first community forum for the line, where people can have their say on how they’d like to see their train services develop.”

If you have ideas for improvements at local stations, or would be interested in volunteering, visit our Devon page, contact Celia on 01752 584777 or email celia@citizensrail.org.

Local partners in the Citizens’ Rail project – 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 and Cornwall Rail Partnership.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#d42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-circle-arrow-right” spacing=”0px” /] What improvements do you think are needed on stations between Exeter and Paignton? Let us know in the comments.

2014/03/03