Northern celebrates community rail success at national awards

Train operator Northern is celebrating a series of wins from across the North of England at the 21st Community Rail Awards, held in Derby on Thursday 19 March.

The annual event, organised by the Community Rail Network, welcomed a record 610 guests and recognised the outstanding work of community rail partnerships and station volunteer groups across Britain.

Judges reviewed more than 300 entries, with projects from across Northern’s network featuring prominently among the winners.

Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership shared the evening’s top honour, the Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail Award, in recognition of nearly 30 years of strengthening community connections along the coast and helping more people feel confident travelling by train.

Community Rail Lancashire took home two awards on the night. Their collaboration with Arts2Heal, The Clitheroe Line: A Picturesque Railway Journey, won the Community Creative Projects and Station Arts Award for large groups. The partnership also won the Influencing Positive Change and Sustainability Award, sponsored by Northern, for The English Queen – a project developed with Lancashire Archives that draws on the rich history of the region.

Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership was recognised in the Railway 200 Legacy Award for medium groups, with A Song for Edmondson – a project celebrating the railway heritage of the region.

Friends of Hindley Station achieved Platinum in the prestigious ‘It’s Your Station’ award, the highest tier of recognition for station volunteer groups. Edale Station Friends achieved Silver in the same category, recognising the exceptional work of volunteers in making Edale station a welcoming and well-kept gateway to the Peak District.

Friends of Brighouse Station won the Photo Competition for their entry Brighouse Busy Lizzies, capturing the essence of community rail.

Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director at Northern, said: “These awards are a fantastic recognition of the passion and dedication of the community rail partnerships and station volunteers who make such a difference to the communities we serve every day.

“From Clitheroe to the Yorkshire Coast, from the Hope Valley to Hindley, their work brings people closer to their railway and helps us grow passenger confidence right across the north.

“Community rail is central to our ambition to grow rail travel and deliver real benefits for the people and places of the North of England. We’re incredibly proud to support and work alongside so many brilliant groups, and these results show just how much they achieve.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.