Focus of work
Community Rail Network builds on bottom-up initiatives in community rail and empowers communities to spearhead the change they need. It does this by advising and inter-connecting local groups, councils and operators to enable more ambitious and holistic projects to progress, connecting services, infrastructure and partners to get active travel, buses, trains and micro-mobility working in-sync.
Community Rail Network uses these insights to show national and regional policymakers and rail industry leaders how to unleash further community-led change towards integrated mobility.
In 2024, FIT funded Community Rail Network through two grants to support its activities.
Impact
Key achievements:
- Provided individual support to Community Rail Partnerships and station groups delivering, planning or considering modal integration projects – including in Kent, Brockenhurst, Buxton, Norfolk and Gloucestershire.
- Expanded its Integrated Sustainable Transport Forum, involving more members and bringing in support from partners to share best practice and learning.
- Produced and disseminated a short, accessible introductory guide for communities wanting to get started with modal integration initiatives – read the guide here and see the summary of the steps at the bottom of this page.
- Supported local partnership work, including connecting community rail with local networks such as bus.
- Shared case studies, stories and communications on modal integration initiatives with their members, partners and contacts – find out more in this report.
- Developed a policy briefing summarising common issues and barriers to modal integration. It will be used to support a range of public affairs activities as they look to shape the government’s forthcoming integrated transport strategy.
- Responded to the Integrated National Transport Strategy and promoted to members the opportunity to input into the ‘call for ideas’.
- Conducted a series of webinars to showcase integrated transport projects.