Greater Anglia will continue to ensure rural branch lines will see a thriving future, following their annual community rail conference
The conference saw Community Rail Partnerships, station adopters, local authorities and other organisations throughout East Anglia meet with Greater Anglia for discussions on how to secure a bright future for the region's local branch lines following the huge benefits brought by Greater Anglia's new trains.
Those attending the conference also learned how Greater Anglia's team of 280 station adopters, who are volunteers that help look after their local railway stations – work tirelessly even working through the lockdowns, to keep their local area and stations welcoming ready for passengers returning following the pandemic.
The station adopters have constantly developed station gardens which have given a boost to both the wellbeing of wildlife and humans alike, making their stations an even more special part of their communities.
A key focus for discussions was how to support community rail lines get back on track following the pandemic and how to boost the positive effects of the brand new trains.
The conference also included how community rail partnerships could support their links further with local communities with the possibility of involving schools, colleges and local authorities to help create positive shifts locally, whilst also improving diversity and inclusion.
Partnerships working in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire has seen a boost in both tourism and local economies; increased passenger numbers and improvements in health and well-being, brought about by a whole range of initiatives such as the production of local area guides, guided walks, special event trains, volunteering initiatives, community art projects, wildlife initiatives, partnership projects to bring service improvements and station upgrades and wider community involvement schemes.
Jonathan Denby, Greater Anglia's Head of Corporate Affairs, said, “Community Rail Partnerships and our station adopters have continued to undertake excellent work throughout the pandemic, with recent initiatives including guides to encourage people to use the railway to access the countryside for walks and numerous biodiversity projects.
“Community rail initiatives help to bring railways closer to the communities they serve, encouraging more people to take the train and supporting local communities by making it easier for residents to travel for work, learning, shopping or leisure and for visitors or tourists to get around, with significant benefits for the local economy.
“Most community rail lines saw significant growth in passenger numbers in the years just before the pandemic and the new, high quality, longer trains being introduced, and already in place on many routes, provide a fantastic opportunity to encourage more people to take the train.
“Indeed, train travel on our community rail routes has already been recovering strongly, as travel restrictions eased and many people holidayed in East Anglia this summer.
“We'll continue to build on our strong track record of partnership working, which has seen community rail lines become more and more popular with customers, as train services and stations have become more integrated with local communities' needs, and most routes have benefitted from more frequent services, all year round.”
“A huge thanks to all involved for making the conference such a positive, effective event. We were able to build on our shared desire to ensure our local lines continue to thrive. Key priorities for the next year will include winning even more people to back to train travel, maximising the transformational benefits of the new trains and continuing the sustainable development of our routes in line with local needs.”
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Greater Anglia should slash their prices when the rail ticket prices goes up again next year.
Recent/ongoing “Hare fare” sale (£5 one way across much of the network) has done a lot for driving up use of branch lines.
If only GA could do something about better local bus connectivity to trains for onward journeys, e.g. by working with Norfolk Orbital Rail project for coordinated bus service and through ticketing (“plusbus”) to prove the demand for restoring rail from Sheringham via Holt, Melton, Fakenham, Dereham to Wymondham.
Sorting out social distancing on the all too frequent GEML replacement bus service would be good too, or fare matching the “via Ely” route when replacement buses are running. And bike provision for replacement buses (minivans with bike trailer on the replacement bus route, or coaches with bike trailer).