In support of community rail - Jo Cox, MP for Batley & Spen

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Yorkshire Post

Jo Cox: Just the ticket from friends of unloved station

WITHOUT Britain^s unstoppable army of train station champions would our lines grind to a dreary halt? Would our journeys be less cheery and indeed would we be making them at all?

Fortunately these are questions we don^t have to answer because there is a growing revolution of regeneration at neglected railway stations all across the country.

A new army of willing volunteers is contributing time and effort worth millions of pounds to turn once neglected stations into bright, welcoming community hubs.

One such example is Batley, where we have just unveiled our revamped, rejuvenated and repainted railway station.

[snip] Project description

And this kind of project isn^t just happening in Batley.

The explosion of interest and community involvement in our railways is a phenomenon, being witnessed all across the region and throughout the country.

Some communities have even taken on running lines themselves. There are now 37 routes formally designated as community rail lines or services. There are 36 community rail partnerships in England covering 68 lines and 111 station adoption groups. Network Rail manage regular volunteer schemes at 91 locations. And there are estimated to be more than 400 local volunteer groups.

Such community rail initiatives help get better value for money and deliver improvements which mean more people use and enjoy the network. There are also clear community and environmental benefits. Everyone wins.

I totally agree with Jo Cox's conclusion - bolded. She is MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) for Batley and Spen.

I will pick her and the team on putting the article together on one point.   This isn't all that new.  Here in the South West we have three long established partnerships in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) territory and one at the boundary that have helped (and continue to help) set the environment for passenger growth based on tuning, marketing, co-operation and all that hard work that makes the railway so much more welcoming. I salute the long term record of
- The Heart of Wessex Community Rail Partnership
- The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership
- The Severnside Community Rail Partnership
- The Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership
all of whom have helped set (and continue to set) standards and growth for their lines / services.  The article talks about "partnership" yet picks out volunteers and Network Rail.  Partnership is indeed the community and volunteers - but it's the whole rail industry (at least in the South West) with extra mention being required here for local government, and for the train operators especially Great Western Railway who's record on community support is now second to none, and their operational teams who look after the lines and the customers on a day by day basis, encouraging use and re-use of the services with an almost unflappable friendly but professional approach in almost every case.

[Chris from Nailsea]

RIP, Jo Cox, MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) for Batley & Spen.



CfN.