Tag: Improvements to lines

Burnley gets direct trains to Manchester

Complementing Burnley Manchester Road’s new station building, funded by Citizens’ Rail, the town now has a direct rail service to Manchester for the first time in four decades.

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

Following a multi-million pound investment and almost a decade of partnership work between Burnley Council, Network Rail, Lancashire County Council and Northern Rail, on Sunday 17th May 2015 the direct Blackburn to Manchester via Burnley service returned to the region.

Northern, a Serco and Abellio joint venture operated the historic first train, over 40 years after the closure of the Todmorden Curve in 1972, following the completion and opening of the line by Network Rail. This morning there was a community celebration at Burnley Manchester Road and Accrington stations to herald a new chapter in rail travel and the start of a range of benefits for the two communities.

Commuters were welcomed with tea, coffee, muffins and a ‘goodie bag’ at Burnley Manchester Road and Accrington stations, handed out by teams from Northern, Burnley Council, the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership and Lancashire County Council.

The scheme was part-funded from the government’s Regional Growth Fund. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:

“This government is committed to transforming rail services across the North of England as part of our ambitious plans to build a Northern Powerhouse. Todmorden Curve is an example of the significant investment being made in the region’s rail network, in order to provide more seats, more services and better journeys for passengers. It will make a real difference by opening up better access to job opportunities, helping to secure economic growth.”

Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern Rail, comments:

“We would be delighted to welcome our local community to our stations to help us and our partners celebrate this milestone in railway history. We’re committed to bringing better services, improved stations and a wealth of local opportunities to the region and this new service is a positive step in the right direction for all concerned.”

County Councillor John Fillis, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“It is a fantastic achievement by everyone involved to re-establish the direct service from Burnley to Manchester which will extend opportunities for local people and have a real impact on the economy. It shows what can be achieved when partner organisations are clear about their priorities and work closely together to deliver them. The working relationships established will be instrumental in the ongoing transformation of rail services in East Lancashire. I look forward to the service being a great success, paving the way for better trains and faster journey times in the future.”

Councillor Mark Townsend, Leader of Burnley Council, said:

“We’re delighted to have a direct service to Manchester from Burnley once again. It will bring clear benefits to our economy in terms of access to the job market and establishing Burnley as a commuter town. Our outstanding countryside is even easier to reach for visitors. It’s a real milestone in our continuing success story and one we wish to celebrate.”

Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail, said:

“The reopened Todmorden Curve is a significant improvement to the railway in this part of the country and will allow services to run directly between Manchester Victoria and Burnley Manchester Road for the first time since the 1960s. We have worked closely with Burnley Council, Lancashire County Council and Northern Rail to make this happen and it is an excellent example of partnership working to help deliver a better railway for passengers.”

Get train times and tickets on Northern Rail’s Burnley-Manchester mini-website.

2015/05/18
Burnley-Manchester direct service: the countdown begins

The countdown to the launch of the first direct rail service between Burnley and Manchester in over 40 years has begun.

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

For 17th May, passengers will be able to depart from Burnley Manchester Road station, transformed as part of the Citizens’ Rail project, and reach Manchester Victoria in just 52 minutes.

The service is made possible by the reinstatement of 500 metres of rail track known as the Todmorden Curve. This is the result of a multi-million pound investment and almost a decade of partnership work between Burnley Council, Network Rail, Lancashire County Council and Northern Rail.

Advanced marketing of the new service has now started, with 90,000 flyers (shown below) distributed to households in the area, and the launch of a dedicated webpage. This will be followed by an extensive marketing campaign, coupled with a celebration morning at Burnley Manchester Road station on the first day of the new service.

2015/03/30
Anniversary of improved Torbay train service

The first anniversary of improved train services between Newton Abbot and Torbay, made possible by the Citizens’ Rail project, was marked by the cutting of a special birthday cake at Paignton station today.

Since the improved service began, there have been 20% more trains between Paignton, Torquay, Torre and Newton Abbot on weekdays, meaning that there are at least two trains an hour each way throughout most of the day.

The service improvements are part of the Citizens’ Rail project, 50% funded by the EU Interreg IVB programme and whose local partners are Torbay Council, Devon County Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Leading the project is the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. Manager Richard Burningham said “The first anniversary of the improved train services is a key landmark in our project which aims to significantly boost Torbay and South Devon’s railway.”

The project, which began two years ago, is working to develop the Riviera Line, between Paignton, Newton Abbot and Exeter, in a variety of different ways, including train service improvements, station improvements, particularly at Torre and Exeter St Thomas stations, a big marketing campaign and work to greatly increase community involvement.

The cake-cutting was filmed by the BBC’s regional TV news programme, Spotlight. Interviewees included First Great Western’s Ian Mundy (immediately below), and Richard Burningham of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (two photos down).

As part of the celebration, Ian Mundy and Torbay Council’s David Whiteway took the opportunity to share the anniversary cake with passengers. Our thanks to the local culinary wizards at Simply Sue-Perb Cakes for providing such a realistic and delicious cake.

More information about the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, can be obtained from Riviera Line Project Officer Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

Information about Riviera Line train times and fares can be found on the award-winning Riviera Line website, created as part of Citizens’ Rail.

2014/12/09
Beach Train: The Movie

See our hugely popular Beach Train project in action:

The additional services on the La Roche Bressuire line in Pays de la Loire have helped to revitalise a previously little-used railway. By giving people the chance to visit the coast for a very reasonable price, the Beach Train has captured the imagination of many in the region, and helped to change their perception of rail travel. Read more about the project.

2014/12/08
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
Citizens’ Rail projects win national awards

Three projects supported by Citizens’ Rail have been recognised at the UK’s Community Rail Awards.

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

The award ceremony was held in Scarborough on Thursday 2nd October, and was organised by The Association of Community Rail Partnerships. Speakers included Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, and Paul Salveson, a leading light of the community rail sector in the UK.

Outstanding Teamwork

First prize in the Outstanding Teamwork category was awarded to partners involved in rebuilding Dawlish station after the devastating storm damage it sustained in February 2014. Pictured at the top of this article collecting the award are Citizens’ Rail Riviera Line Officer Celia Minoughan (second from left), Margaret Swift and Phil Bagshaw of the Friends of Dawlish Station (third from left and second from right), and First Great Western station manager Ian Mundy (third from right). The award was presented by Nick Donovan, Managing Director of First Transpennine Express (left) and Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern Rail (right).

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement in reviving the station.

Innovation in Community Rail

In the Innovation category, first prize went to The Riviera Line website developed as part of Citizens’ Rail to encourage more people to take the train between Torbay and Exeter. The site is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website – resizing to suit PCs, tablets and smartphones. Its content is tailor-made to help non-users to overcome barriers to travel.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Visit the website.

Best Station Gardens and Large Floral Displays

To complete a hat trick of awards, third prize in the Best Station Gardens category was awarded to the transformation of Torquay Station garden by Robert Owen Communities and First Great Western. Working twice a week in all weathers, the station platforms have been transformed with planting on an English Riviera theme including reclamation of a large rockery. The project has not only improved the look and feel of Torquay station but has allowed the young people to gain confidence, social interaction and nationally recognised qualifications to help them into employment.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement in the project.

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

Congratulations to Community Rail Lancashire

Congratulations also go to Citizens’ Rail partners Community Rail Lancashire, whose “Young persons’ passport to safe travel” project won the Involving Young People category. Our colleagues in Lancashire have an excellent track record in engaging children and young people in their railway.

Children from one of the schools they work with gave an outstanding presentation to EU partners at Burnley Manchester Road’s new station building in July. And soon as part of Citizens’ Rail, the same children will be taking a train journey to Aachen, our German partner city, in a fantastic example of transnational learning and collaboration. More news on this soon.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about the passport to safe travel scheme.

2014/10/07
Citizens’ Rail projects shortlisted for national awards

Three projects that have benefited from Citizens’ Rail involvement have been shortlisted for UK Community Rail awards.

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

The awards are run by The Association of Community Rail Partnerships, a federation of over 50 community rail partnerships and rail promotion groups in the UK. The winners will be announced at a national award ceremony in Scarborough on 2nd October 2014. The shortlisted Citizens’ Rail related projects are:

The Rebuilding of Dawlish Station
OUTSTANDING TEAMWORK CATEGORY
First Great Western, Network Rail, Dawlish Town Council, Friends of Dawlish Station, Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership & other partners

The dramatic events at Dawlish in February 2014 with the breach of the sea wall and closure of the railway led for the first time ever to the issue of Code Black for operational disruption by Network Rail. The reopening of the railway and rebuilding of Dawlish Station just two months later on 4th April was testament to the amazing teamwork of Network Rail, First Great Western, Dawlish Town Council, the Dawlish and Teignmouth Community Interest Company, the Friends of Dawlish Station, local businesses and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement.

TheRivieraLine.com
INNOVATION IN COMMUNITY RAIL CATEGORY
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership

April 2014. Dawlish is re-opening. Optimism is in the air. But how to harness the buzz and attract local people to try the train? Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership’s answer was a radical “one-stop-shop” website for the Exeter-Paignton line. TheRivieraLine.com is believed to be community rail’s first “responsive” website – resizing to suit PCs, tablets and smartphones. Its content is tailor-made to help non-users to overcome barriers to travel. Its people-focused photography brings a fresh, modern look to the sector. First Great Western describe it as “a massive step forward”, and statistics show users love it – staying longer and exploring more.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Visit the website.

Transformation of Torquay Station Garden
Robert Owen Communities Aspects & First Great Western
BEST STATION GARDEN CATEGORY

Torquay station gardens have been transformed by young people with learning difficulties from local organisations working in partnership with First Great Western. Working twice a week in all weathers, the station platforms have been transformed with planting on an English Riviera theme including reclamation of a large rockery and plans for the future to include a restored boat. The project has not only improved the look and feel of Torquay station but has allowed the young people to gain confidence, social interaction and nationally recognised qualifications to help them into employment.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read about Citizens’ Rail’s involvement.

2014/08/07
Minibeast Trail on The Riviera Line

As part of Citizens’ Rail, a new “Minibeast Trail” has been launched on The Riviera Line to encourage young families to try the train.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
Children from Gatehouse Primary School in Dawlish and Sure Start Dads’ Club Stay and Play in Teignmouth have made the “minibeasts” – including butterflies, dragonflies, bees, ladybirds and snails – from recycled plastic and put them on planters at Teignmouth, Dawlish, Newton Abbot, Torquay and Paignton stations.

A special “Minibeast Trail” leaflet has been produced and children are being encouraged to visit each station, find that station’s “Minibeast” and give them a name. Once all five have been found and named, a prize of the Ladybird “Minibeasts First Fabulous Facts” book can be claimed by sending the completed leaflet to the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

[notphone][/notphone]

Leaflets are available from local staffed stations and can be downloaded from therivieraline.com/minibeasts.

The “Minibeast Trail” project was inspired by Catherine Pollitt from Kenn who won the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership’s “Flower Power” competition to suggest how local stations could be brightened this summer. Catherine suggested the “Minibeast” theme and Dawlish artist Melissa Muldoon worked with the children’s groups to design, make and decorate the “Minibeasts” out of recycled plastic produced by Dawlish Community College.

It is part of the EU Citizens’ Rail project led by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership which is working to develop the Riviera Line in a variety of ways, including by getting more people involved at the line’s stations.

“The children had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed taking part,” commented Mrs Angela Jeffery, Head Teacher at Gatehouse Primary. “I am really looking forward to seeing their displayed work at each station.”

First Great Western Station Manager for South Devon, Laura Greening said “This scheme is a great way to encourage both local children and those visiting the area to use our railway safely and confidently. The artworks will brighten our station environment and this is a great way for the communities we are dedicated to supporting to become involved in their railway.”

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.

More information about the “Minibeast Trail” and the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, contact Riviera Line Project Officer Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org or visit our Devon page.

[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Find out more and download your leaflet at therivieraline.com/minibeasts.

2014/07/23
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.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
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
Marketing campaign to help Riviera Line to bounce back

CASE STUDY – MARKETING ON THE RIVIERA LINE

Citizens’ Rail’s lead partner the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership mounted an extensive marketing campaign to encourage people back to travelling by rail following February’s storm damage that closed part of The Riviera Line for two months – winning two national awards in the process.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
Aims
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership was keen to place people at the heart of the campaign, and to harness the local feel-good factor that surrounded the return of trains to the line – with the aim of winning back lost passengers, and attracting new users who were not previously in the habit of taking the train.

Campaign elements
The campaign was formed of two phases. Due to the lack of a strong library of photographs of people taking the train, the initial phase used a set of illustrated characters to create a friendly and accessible tone. These were employed in a series of newspaper advertisements, and also on a brand new website – TheRivieraLine.com. The website provides a hub where new and existing passengers can find both practical local travel information as well as inspiration for daytrips by train.

While this initial promotion was underway, photography was commissioned. This was then used in a second phase of marketing, comprising further adverts and a set of leaflets, targeted at local residents in the vicinity of stations along the line to encourage them to use their local rail services. 35,000 leaflets were delivered door-to-door by Royal Mail. A separate run of 5,000 tourist-focused leaflets was also produced and distributed via Tourist Information Centres and other outlets.

The campaign was shaped by ideas and suggestions from the other partners within Citizens’ Rail. For example, the leaflets’ vertical line map was inspired by a similar design in Pays de la Loire’s “Beach Train” marketing, and feedback from Stadt Aachen in a previous partner meeting about the importance of strong, prominent photography within marketing materials helped shape phase 2 of the campaign.

Screenshots – Phase 1
The campaign began with two weeks of half page adverts in local newspapers along the line between Torbay and Exeter:

The advertisements promoted the newly launched TheRivieraLine.com website:

Key messages were then promoted in seven further weeks of quarter page adverts in the same newspapers:

A flyer was also produced to promote the website and the “great value local fares” message at community events:

Photography
Meanwhile, a new set of photography was commissioned from excellent local photographers Studio Wallop:

Screenshots – Phase 2
The new photography enabled a new, more natural look for Phase 2 of the campaign:

Customised door-to-door leaflets provided very local train information (see the full Torre/Torquay leaflet as 1MB PDF):

Inside the Exeter St Thomas leaflet:

When the leaflet is unfolded it reveals further promotion of daytrips by train:

A tourist-facing version was also produced, highlighting the scenic nature of the line (see full leaflet):

The website was also updated to reflect the new look:

Initial results
During the three months after re-opening, the line’s usage bounced back to 98% of the level achieved in the same period the year before. This immediate recovery of lost passengers was a significant success. In terms of the marketing campaign, given the exceptional circumstances of the line closure it is extremely difficult to measure how many passengers returned to travelling by train thanks to Citizens’ Rail’s efforts, and how many would have done so without it. However, there are indicators that provide some pointers.

The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership has received positive feedback that the tourist leaflets have proved extremely popular – with further copies requested by Tourist Information Centres due to them running out. In addition, the website analytics of TheRivieraLine.com have been monitored carefully. While the level of traffic to the website is not yet as high as the Partnership would like, engagement on the site is strong. Statistics from the site’s first two months after launch showed that compared to the Partnership’s other websites, users of TheRivieraLine.com stayed longer and explored more. UPDATE – The website won two national awards in autumn 2014: the Innovation category at the UK’s Community Rail Awards and the Community Engagement category at the Rail Exec Club’s Most Interesting Awards.

Next steps
The above campaign ran from April to June 2014. It will be followed by further marketing along The Riviera Line, including further newspaper advertising, leaflets and potentially the use of other media such as radio, cinema, outdoor and social media advertising. Individual projects will also be promoted such as The Riviera Line Minibeast Trail.

A question for you
Do you have experience of running community rail marketing campaigns? If so, how do you measure their successes and failures? It would be great to hear your views in the comments beneath this post. You can also sign up to the Citizens’ Rail e-newsletter or follow us on Twitter to keep in touch.

2014/07/10