Railway station volunteers to be recognised at prestigious awards ceremony in Telford this year

Railway station volunteers from across the country will be recognised at a special awards ceremony in Shropshire, later this year.

The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) ‘Community Rail Awards’ gala dinner will be hosted at The International Centre in Telford, on 3 October 2019. West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway will be headline sponsors at this year’s event.

The Community Rail Awards are an annual celebration of the important and often unsung work carried out by community rail volunteers, partnerships, station friends, and community groups at stations. These groups do valuable work in bringing local people together, by running community engagement events and championing rail accessibility initiatives. These activities help communities get the most from their local railway lines and stations.

Richard Brooks, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, said: “Community rail activities make a huge difference to across our networks, and the Community Rail Awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the work that goes on. We currently have three very active community rail partnerships across our network, with more set to start up over the coming months. There are also over 150 station adopters at our stations, with that number growing rapidly towards our target of over 300.  All this work makes such a difference to our customers, staff and most importantly the communities and volunteers themselves, which is why we are delighted to be headline sponsor for this year’s event.”

ACoRP chief executive, Jools Townsend said: “Many people aren’t aware of community rail, but it involves thousands of volunteers, and hundreds of groups, across Britain, striving to make a difference. Their vital work helps to make rail travel more accessible and user-friendly, promotes sustainable travel and tourism, and encourages people to take pride in their area and heritage. The inspiring entries we receive each year for the Community Rail Awards show the impact this work has on communities and people’s lives. The Awards are our flagship event, recognising the hard work and passion so many people put in to community rail. We’re excited to be taking the event to Shropshire this year with support of West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.”

Awards entries open on 15 April 2019 and can be made online at the ACoRP website

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