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.
Tag: stationimprovementsNL
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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
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Cycle parking installed at rural French stations
Region Pays de la Loire is working to revitalise rural stations and enhance the La Roche – Bressuire line as part of Citizens’ Rail. The latest step is the installation of bicycle parking at a number of stations.
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Bicycle parking bays have now been installed at Boussay (part of the rural stations project), and at La Mothe-Achard and Olonne-sur-Mer on the La Roche – Bressuire line.
A further seven stations will soon also be equipped with the new facilities. Watch them in action:
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Plan for Nuth station praised as a great example of public transport interchange
Plans to turn a Dutch railway station into a vibrant public transport interchange have been welcomed by regional officials, as the scheme moves closer to implementation.
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As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, the Parkstad Limburg city region in the south of the Netherlands has made improvement plans for three regional train stations. From the very beginning, the plans have been created in partnership with inhabitants and local businesses.One of the stations is in Nuth, a small community of 16,000 inhabitants along the intercity line between Eindhoven and Heerlen. The station is served by regional trains only. The Nuth plan includes creating an interchange between bus and train, bringing the bus route to the railway station.
It also includes a crossing to connect people to tourism opportunities, leisure activities and neighbouring communities to the east, and measures to enhance the station’s facilities and attractiveness. It will incorporate creative suggestions from international students who came together to discuss the station at a Citizens’ Rail masterclass in 2013.
The plan has now been discussed with local government for the Nuth area and with the province, which is responsible for regional rail. The province has welcomed the initiative and regards the plan as a very good example of an interchange in line with their vision on public transport interchanges. Together the three parties have decided to take the next step forward. This will involve creating a more detailed plan and mapping out phases for implementation. The first measures, which will form part of Parkstad Limburg’s work within Citizens’ Rail, will be realised in 2015.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#D42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-chevron-sign-right” spacing=”0px” /] Read more about Parkstad Limburg’s work as part of Citizens’ Rail.
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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.
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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. -
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.
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Passenger surveys on the Riviera Line
If you’re travelling on the Riviera Line in Torbay this week (18-22 November 2013), look out for the passenger survey being circulated by our friendly team – your chance to help us prioritise improvements for the future.
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The survey (available here as a PDF) gives passengers the chance to tell Citizens’ Rail about their journey and to give us your views about the stations and services on the Riviera Line (Exeter to Paignton).
It will be followed next week with a passenger count to establish baseline statistics for how many people are currently using the line, before the improved services begin on 9th December.
[icon size=”14px” color=”#d42053″ background=”#ffffff” radius=”0px” type=”icon-circle-arrow-right” spacing=”0px” /] Find out more about our Devon project.
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Transnational masterclass
Students from all four of the Citizens’ Rail partner countries came together in Heerlen in the Netherlands and Aachen in Germany for a two-day masterclass to learn, collaborate and generate radical new visions for local stations.
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The masterclass on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October 2013 included site visits to stations including Nuth, Aachen Eilendorf and Aachen West. The 48 students (from Plymouth University, the University of Central Lancashire, L’Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique, Hogeschool Zuyd and RWTH Aachen University) came from a range of disciplines including geography, tourism, design and civil engineering. They formed four international multi-disciplinary teams to create impressive visions for improvements to Nuth and Eilendorf stations (PDFs):
The students also benefited from thought-provoking presentations from Prof Martina Fromhold-Eisebith (RWTH Aachen University), UK-based community rail champion Paul Salveson and artist Michel Huisman, the man behind the spectacular “Maankwartier” redevelopment of the nearby Heerlen station.
The masterclass was organised by Citizens’ Rail partners RWTH Aachen University, the City of Aachen, Aachen Transport Authority (AVV) and Parkstad Limburg.
