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Community Rail Partnership Officer appointed on Swanage Railway

Community involvement in Purbeck’s heritage and main line railways – for the benefit of residents, visitors and the environment – is being given an important boost with the appointment of the area’s first Community Rail Partnership Officer.

Employed by the Swanage Railway, and funded by the South Western Railway through the Purbeck Community Rail Partnership (PCRP), Kelly Marshall will be working with communities across the Purbeck area as well as with members of the PCRP.

The Partnership’s first officer, Kelly’s geographical ‘patch’ is the Swanage Railway heritage line from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Norden as well as the South Western Railway main line between Holton Heath, Wareham, Wool and Moreton.

Purbeck Community Rail Partnership chairman, Councillor Bill Trite, said: “I warmly welcome our new Community Rail Partnership Officer Kelly Marshall. She has much to familiarise herself with in the coming weeks but has already demonstrated the ability to learn quickly and understand the essentials of the Rail Partnership.

“Kelly’s role is central to the achievement of the Partnership’s objectives. I wish her every success in the job and I hope that she enjoys it too,” he added.

South Western Railway’s Community Rail Manager, Andy Harrowell, explained: “We have provided funding to eight Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) across our network, to both employ a part-time officer, and to deliver projects which support the communities around our stations.

“Working with the CRPs, we are seeing a range of benefits to different areas of our network, including helping to further involve groups in our stations and services. We are delighted to be welcoming Kelly and look forward to working with her in the future to build on the successes we have had together so far,” he added.