Community rail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A community rail line is a local railway which is specially supported by local organisations. This support is usually through Community Rail Partnerships (CRP) – comprising both the railway operator and local councils – or sometimes by Rail User Groups (RUG). Community railways are managed to fit local circumstances recognising the need to increase revenue, reduce costs and increase community involvement.
The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) supports the CRPs in the United Kingdom and also voluntary Station Friends groups that support their local stations through the Station Adoption scheme. Since 2005 the UK's Department for Transport has formally designated a number of railway lines as community rail schemes in order to recognise the need for different, more appropriate standards than are applied to main line railway routes, and therefore make them more cost effective.
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[edit] ACoRP
The Association of Community Rail Partnerships is funded by the Department for Transport as an umbrella group to support CRPs and Station Friends groups. The Association shares ideas and best practice among its members through various channels including regular newsletters and Community Rail Days which are held in the autumn on a different community railway each year.[1]
There are more than 40 CRPs in the United Kingdom, [2] most supporting just one line but some, such as the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership encompass several nearby routes.
[edit] Designated lines
The Department for Transport announced a pilot project in 2005 under their Community Rail Development Strategy,[2] with the intention of having seven differing lines test out different types of community rail schemes. The aims of these schemes[3] are to:
- establish the contribution of Community Rail Development in achieving locally set objectives such as reducing road congestion and increasing accessibility;
- establish the costs for the line and services;
- establish the effectiveness of different methods for reducing the net financial loss of Community Rail lines by increasing revenue and reducing costs where practicable.
Designation does not physically separate a line from the rest of the network or remove it from either Network Rail or franchise operation. It is not generally intended to be used as a mechanism to reopen lines or create "microfranchises", although these options may be investigated on some routes.
In addition each line has a remit agreed in a "Route Prospectus" which gives more detailed aims and objectives for each scheme, such as infrastructure improvements, new ticketing arrangements, or cooperation with other local transport operators. Each designation is normally expected to last for five years.
The DfT has identified about 50 routes in England and Wales that would benefit from designation, covering 10% of Network Rail and some 390 stations. [2] Some routes will only be designated as community rail services as the infrastructure may be used by other operators in a way that precludes designation. The routes designated so far are:
- July 2005.
- Esk Valley Line – Middlesbrough to Whitby (pilot scheme)
- St Ives Bay Line – St Erth to St Ives (pilot scheme)
- Abbey Line – Watford Junction to St Albans (pilot scheme)
- September 2005
- Penistone Line – Barnsley to Huddersfield (pilot scheme)
- Looe Valley Line – Liskeard to Looe (pilot scheme)
- Tamar Valley Line – Plymouth to Gunnislake (pilot scheme)
- March 2006
- July 2006
- Poacher Line – Grantham to Skegness (service only; pilot scheme)
- Derwent Valley Line – Derby to Matlock
- September 2006
- Tarka Line – Exeter Central to Barnstaple
- Atlantic Coast Line – Par to Newquay (service only)
- Maritime Line – Truro to Falmouth Docks
- November 2006
- Marston Vale Line – Bletchley to Bedford (service only)
- East Lancashire Line – Preston to Colne
- Gainsborough Line – Sudbury to Marks Tey
- February 2007
- Wherry Line – Norwich to Lowestoft (service only)
- Wherry Line – Norwich to Great Yarmouth (service only)
- Barton Line – Cleethorpes to Barton-on-Humber
- March 2007
- Clitheroe Line – Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe (service only)
- September 2007
- Medway Valley Line – Paddock Wood to Strood (service only)
- Bittern Line – Norwich to Sheringham
[edit] Station friends
A number of smaller stations have been supported by local voluntary groups for many years. The concept has now been formalised by many train operating companies which operate Station Adoption schemes.
Station "friends" groups or "rail user" groups care for their local station in various ways such as planting flower beds and litter clearance. Many of them actively promote the train service by printing and distributing timetable leaflets, maintaining community noticeboards at their station, and even operating websites.
[edit] References
- ^ ACoRP website
- ^ a b c Department for Transport, Rail Group (2005), Introduction to Community Rail
- ^ Department for Transport, Rail Group (2005), Route prospectus for the … St Ives Bay Line
