Tag: Community Stations

Burnley Manchester Road: More passengers, happier passengers

Burnley Manchester Road’s new station building has led to an estimated 12% increase in journeys to and from the station, according to research.

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The study by Eden Business Analysis, commissioned by Lancashire County Council, was conducted before the new ticket office received extended opening hours and before Burnley’s direct service to Manchester began. This means that the long-term impact is likely to be even greater still.

Face-to-face interviews found that passengers now rate the station more highly against all 11 of the factors they were surveyed about, including ticket purchase facilities, information about delays, lighting and car parking.

The findings demonstrate that station improvements can and do have a measurable positive impact, both on journey figures and passenger satisfaction. The research also helped to identify areas for further improvement to enable the station to go from strength to strength.

The station building was built with the help of funding from Citizens’ Rail as part of the EU Interreg IVB NWE programme, in order to transform the town’s busiest station and aid Burnley’s economic regeneration.

2015/06/04
New report shows the value of involving people in rail

A UK report published today shows that involving people in their railways leads to more passengers, improved stations and stronger communities.

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The report – which highlights Citizens’ Rail and the contribution of the EU Interreg IVB programme – shows that local routes with Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) are seeing a higher growth in passengers than other local routes, while volunteer station adopters are making a real difference by transforming local stations into a pleasing environment.

The main findings are:

• 2.8% additional growth on community railways compared to regional lines.
• CRPs add value and ‘pay for themselves’.
• 3,200 community rail volunteers give 250,000 hours of their time worth an additional £3.4m p.a. to the rail industry
• Station adoption leads to improved station environments and stronger communities.

One of the report’s “key lessons” is the value of working in partnership, with Citizens’ Rail and the EU Interreg IVB programme highlighted as a good example. The project’s work at Burnley Manchester Road is applauded in the report as a “remarkable pulling together of different agencies and partnership investment strategies which will help revitalise Burnley”. Richard Watts of Citizens’ Rail partner Lancashire County Council is quoted in the report:

“Partnership working has been key to delivering the new station at Burnley Manchester Road. Working with both the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership and the Citizens’ Rail Interreg IVB project has added value to the project and the transnational exchange of ideas has enhanced the design of the new station and increased its visibility to the citizens of Burnley.”

The research was commissioned by the UK’s National Community Rail Development Steering Group. This partnership comprises central and local government, infrastructure owner Network Rail, the commercial sector Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and the voluntary sector Association for Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP).

Read the executive summary or the full report:

Executive summary:

Full report:

As well as promoting local railways and encouraging more people to travel by train, CRPs add economic, social and environmental value to their lines, by bringing together local people and the rail industry to develop solutions. Their collective initiatives provide access to jobs, schools, shops, tourism attractions and other services, contributing to sustainable communities.

CRPs were first developed in the 1990s and the National Community Rail Strategy was launched in 2004. This report shows that the Department for Transport, train companies, Network Rail, ACoRP, CRPs and station adopters contribute to a continuing renaissance in regional rail travel, with local routes and the stations along them thriving – in some cases surpassing previous record levels of patronage.

The Citizens’ Rail project represents an expansion and next step for this success story – involving French, German and Dutch partners to learn from and build upon the UK’s track record of involving people in local and regional railways.

Commenting on the report Baroness Kramer Minister of State for Transport said:

“Community Rail Partnerships have a vital role to play in building a stronger economy and a fairer society, as demonstrated powerfully by this research. By encouraging more people to travel by train, they bring real economic, social and environmental benefits to their areas, and support the record investment we are making in the rail network. I hope this inspires more people to set up partnerships and develop their own community railways.”

2015/01/28
National workshop learns about Citizens’ Rail rural station buildings project

Our work to find new uses for disused station buildings was discussed at a national workshop held in France last week.

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The “Station facilities on regional lines” workshop was hosted by Cerema (The centre for the study of risks, environment, mobility and planning). It was attended by representatives from France’s regions, cities and rail sector.

Our partner, Région Pays de la Loire, gave a presentation about the Citizens’ Rail project and the region’s work to revitalise disused station buildings in rural areas. This includes its work to revive buildings at stations such as Le Pallet, which now includes a creche – shown here before and after:

As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, the region has carried out an in depth study of seven station buildings (see map below). The work has included a technical assessment of each building, community engagement with local residents, businesses and organisations to brainstorm new uses for the buildings, and finally a detailed analysis of likely costs, timescales and benefits of implementation of the schemes.

View larger map

The process has led to innovative ideas for station buildings including as a community grocery and a speech therapist’s clinic. These types of projects can improve stations in several ways, including:

> Providing a human presence at stations, helping passengers feel safe
> Safeguarding heritage and architecture by saving buildings from demolition
> Avoiding the potential crime and health and safety issues created by disused buildings

The region is now hoping to take forward two of the projects in 2015, while supporting the others to proceed the following year. Crucially, the results and lessons learned will also be shared with stakeholders including SNCF and RFF (France’s rail infrastructure operator), and internationally through the Citizens’ Rail project and its practitioner toolkit (to be launched in summer/autumn 2015). The Cerema workshop will be followed by three more in 2015, and will include the creation of a “good practice guide”, to help mayors and regions to develop their own projects at stations.

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2014/12/18
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
Solving the problem of the Invisible Station

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.

2014/11/05
Lancashire school children prepare to visit Aachen

School pupils who welcomed Citizens’ Rail partners to Burnley during the summer are soon to make the return trip – embarking on an adventure to the German city of Aachen.

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The story so far
In July, the Year 5 class from Padiham Green CE Primary School greeted Citizens’ Rail partners from France, Germany and the Netherlands at Burnley Manchester Road station. They performed a play about the history of the area’s railway (complete with historical top hats and moustaches – see photos), followed by presentations about what they had learned about each of the partner regions. The children also created a wide range of railway-related artwork, which adorned the station’s new community room.

The partners were hugely impressed and touched by the effort and imagination that the children had clearly invested in learning about the culture, economy, food and history of each local area. The pupils in turn were excited to meet representatives from each of the countries they had been studying – providing a chance to find out more, and to try out their language skills. Uwe Müller from Stadt Aachen said:

“The children’s work and enthusiasm was really outstanding! I was very impressed by what they had learned and presented about Aachen. I hope that one day we might be able to arrange for the children to visit our cities in person.”

The next chapter
Now Uwe’s invitation has become reality. Next month, the class of 30 pupils and 8 adults will be travelling to and staying in Aachen. They will spend one day in a German school, working alongside similar aged children, forging new links and friendships. Exploring Aachen will be high on the itinerary in order that the children can visit the many places of interest previously researched at school in Padiham. A visit to the Netherlands is also planned – travelling by train from Aachen to Heerlen. Teacher Janet Ennis said:

“This exceptional transnational project is about expanding the learning horizons of the Year 5 pupils of Padiham Green CE Primary School, many of whom will be travelling abroad for the first time. The children are very proud to represent their school and also appreciate the task of becoming ambassadors for their town, county and country!”

To prepare for the trip, the children have been taking after school German lessons (see photos below), and their adventure has captured the interest of the town.

The Lancashire Telegraph newspaper recently paid a visit to the school to find out more, and Burnley Football Club invited the children to the stadium to collect a large selection of goodies. The class are now fully equipped with pencil cases and stationery, key rings, door plaques, back packs and beanie hats for the upcoming trip, and even have enough to present to their European school friends too.

The children have been busy raising 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.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Follow the children’s preparations for their trip on their fantastic blog.

2014/10/23
Reviving local stations in Pays de la Loire

What brings a speech therapist, a parents’ association representative, a Deputy Mayor and numerous others together in their town hall? Their station of course!

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As part of Citizens’ Rail, consultation has been in full swing this summer in seven villages and towns in the Pays de la Loire who want to safeguard the heritage of their unused railway buildings by transforming them into lively, thriving community hubs.

Région Pays de la Loire and consultants Erea led workshops at the start of July in each local area. Mayors and councillors invited local stakeholders along to discuss possible uses for station buildings left vacant after the closure of ticket offices. Attendees included elected officials, business figures, local residents and many more – all taking part in productive brainstorming sessions.

Around the table, ideas swiftly took shape for possible uses of the stations: as a cycle hire facility, exhibition space, sales point for local businesses (selling organic vegetables, pastries and other farm produce), library book exchange, tourism installation, extension of a speech therapy clinic, local museum, extra space for a youth club, a medical centre, and more.

The sessions led to the emergence of ideas that would not have been generated in any other way. Each locality is now developing its own way forward to progress the project. At Voivres-lès-le-Mans, a municipal steering committee has been created, and staged a large public meeting in September with the villagers.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Update – Between now and spring 2015, as the first part of their rejuvenation, Région Pays de la Loire is installing secure bicycle parking at several of the rural stations. Read more

2014/09/29
Burnley school children welcome European partners in style

Children from Padiham Green Primary School gave Citizens’ Rail partners a fantastic welcome to Lancashire for the project’s latest partner meeting.

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At Burnley Manchester Road‘s new station building (to be opened later this year), the pupils presented an educational play about the local railway (complete with historical hats and moustaches!), followed by presentations about each of Citizens’ Rail’s partner regions. The children also created a wide range of railway-related artwork, adorning the station’s community room.

The partners were hugely impressed and touched by the effort and imagination that the children had clearly invested in learning about the culture, economy, food and history of each local area. The children in turn were excited to meet representatives from each of the countries they had been studying – providing a chance to find out more, and to try out their language skills.

Uwe Müller from Stadt Aachen said: “The children’s work and enthusiasm was really outstanding! I was very impressed by what they had learned and presented about Aachen. I hope that one day we might be able to arrange for the children to visit our cities in person.”

Erwan Terrillon from Pays de la Loire said: “I was extremely impressed by the quality of work that the children produced, and the way they explained the history of their railway line and the geography of the different Citizens’ Rail partners. I also very much enjoyed their words in French!”

Our warm thanks go to the staff and pupils of Padiham Green Primary School who made it such a terrific occasion and to Community Rail Lancashire for facilitating the project – made possible thanks to their years of engagement and relationship-building with local schools.

Enjoy some photos from the day below…

The children present what they have learned about Aachen:

The children had great costumes to bring to life the story of their local railway:

Poster about Nantes – see a larger version:

Poster about Heerlen – see a larger version:

Poster about Burnley – see a larger version:

A chance to meet Uwe from Stadt Aachen:

Saying “bonjour” to Erwan from Pays de la Loire:

Trying to tempt Andreas from Aachener Verkehrsverbund with some local delicacies:

Carrying on the discussion in the station’s community room:

Eye-catching artwork by the pupils:

Dominic from Torbay Council and Erwan from Pays de la Loire wave off their new friends:

All in all a great day – well done Class 4!

2014/07/14
New station building at Burnley Manchester Road nears completion

The new, locally-owned Community Station building at Burnley Manchester Road is nearing completion. See below for the latest photos.

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The station building will provide a booking and information office, a ‘coffee cart’ as well as providing a community room (see final photo below to see the room taking shape) which will act as a base for the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership. The station has been designed to provide an attractive and iconic gateway to the town.

It replaces the former station building, used for many years as a dairy after the station closed in the 1960s, which was purchased by Burnley Borough Council in 2011. With additional funding from Citizens’ Rail and Lancashire County Council this has been replaced by the new building, which will soon be open to passengers.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#d42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-circle-arrow-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read more about Citizens’ Rail in Lancashire and our work on Community Stations and line improvements.

2014/04/25
Burnley Manchester Road: latest photos

The new Community Station building at Burnley Manchester Road is rapidly taking shape, set to be completed in spring 2014 as part of Citizens’ Rail.

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The station will provide a booking and information office, a ‘coffee cart’ as well as providing a base for the Community Ambassadors and the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership. The station has been designed to provide an attractive and iconic gateway to the town.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#d42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-circle-arrow-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read more about Citizens’ Rail in Lancashire and our work on Community Stations and line improvements.

2013/12/16