We have been busy this October visiting a number of conferences including the East Midlands Railway (EMR) Community Rail Conference at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on the 7th October, and the Community Rail Network Conference at Crowne Plaza in Nottingham on the 8th October. We have shared some videos of our time at these conferences over on our social media, so if you would like a visual of these exciting events be sure to check them out here.
The EMR Community Rail Conference kicked off on the Monday morning, with three great workshops covering funding, educational activities and bio-diversity and best practice at stations. We heard about a variety of amazing projects including EMR and the Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership’s work with Engineered Learning, an organisation that specialises in educating vulnerable young people, ‘Turning around vulnerable young lives through engineering’. We also learned about all of the ways our Station Adopters are improving bio-diversity at their stations, encouraging wildlife through a diverse range of plants and making bee and bug hotels. Then it was onto the Community Rail Network Conference discussion group on the Monday evening before the conference began in full flow on the Tuesday morning…
The annual Community Rail Network Conference provides a unique platform for all of us to come together, share insights, exchange ideas and build connections. The day started with talks from Jools Townsend, James McGowan and Emma Robertson covering the following topics: putting community rail at the forefront of change, a supply chain perspective and railway 200. After coffee, there were a number of inspiring discussion groups on a wide variety of topics in which everyone present could share ideas and come up with solutions. Topics included:
- Engaging diverse communities and young people
- Empowering the voice of disabled peopled
- Safety of women and girls on public transport
- Establishing equitable government structures
- Embracing new technologies and media to promote and celebrate community rail
Community Rail Network have recently published a report on the value of community rail, supported by Rail Delivery Group. The report offers insights into how community rail delivers social, environmental and economic value for and with communities. You can download and read the report here.
