Published on: Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
The successes of some East AnglianCommunity Rail Partnerships (CRPs), of which Abellio Greater Anglia is the mainfunding partner, are highlighted in a new report published today by theAssociation of Community Rail Partnerships (ACORP), which shows that CRPs andstation adopters are making rail travel a vastly improved experience for localpeople in the UK.
The East Suffolk line between Ipswich andLowestoft and the Gainsborough Line between Marks Tey and Sudbury were bothpart of the research project, which shows that local routes with CRPs areseeing a higher growth in passengers than other local routes whilst volunteerstation adopters are making a real difference by transforming local stationsinto a pleasing environment.
The main findings of this national report are:
2.8% additional growth on community raillines compared to other regional lines.
CRPs add value and ‘pay for themselves’.
3,200 community rail volunteers give250,000 hours of their time worth £3.4m
Station adoption leads to improved stationenvironments and stronger communities.
The research was commissioned by theNational Community Rail Development Steering Group. This partnership comprisescentral and local government, infrastructure owner Network Rail, the commercialsector Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and the voluntary sectorAssociation for Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP).
As well as promoting local railways andencouraging more people to travel by train, CRPs add economic, social andenvironmental value to their lines, by bringing together local people and therail industry to develop solutions. Their collective initiatives provide accessto jobs, schools, shops, tourism attractions and other services, contributingto sustainable communities.
Financial appraisal shows that the 11 CRPsassessed in the study achieved a cash surplus showing that CRPs create moreincome than they cost to run.
The report makes specific mention of theEast Suffolk CRP's role in promoting the hourly service along the Ipswich toLowestoft line, which has seen a 92% increase in passenger journeys over thepast 5 years and the introduction of the Halesworth to Southwold Bus link in2013 to connect the seaside town with the nearest station on the East Suffolkline. It also looked at wider developments on the East Suffolk line and on theMarks Tey to Sudbury route.
Abellio Greater Anglia is a passionatesupporter of Community Rail initiatives and has increased train operatorfunding for CRPs across its network by 140% since it began running services inthe region in February 2012. The company has also committed to a number ofSunday service improvements on community rail routes during its new shortfranchise to October 2016 including the Norwich to Sheringham, Marks Tey toSudbury, Ipswich to Lowestoft and Norwich to Lowestoft lines.
The first of these upgrades was launchedlast October when the Norwich to Sheringham line gained an "all yearround" hourly Sunday service for the first time. Then, in December 2014, later last trainswere introduced on the Marks Tey to Sudbury line on Sundays and the Norwich toSheringham line on Fridays and Saturdays. The community rail lines across EastAnglia continue to thrive, with proactive work by CRPs and an impressivenetwork of station adopters at stations whose voluntary efforts improve theappearance of over 90 stations across the region with flower displays, gardens,murals and small scale station regeneration projects.
Commenting on the report Baroness KramerMinister of State for Transport said: “Community Rail Partnerships have a vitalrole to play in building a stronger economy and a fairer society, asdemonstrated powerfully by this research. By encouraging more people to travelby train, they bring real economic, social and environmental benefits to theirareas, and support the record investment we are making in the rail network. Ihope this inspires more people to set up partnerships and develop their owncommunity railways.”
For Abellio Greater Anglia, Head ofCorporate Affairs, Jonathan Denby said: "We are pleased to see that thisnational report illustrates clearly the value of Community Rail Partnerships.Abellio Greater Anglia is a committed supporter of the Community Rail approach.We have markedly increased funding support for our CRPs, helped launch the newHereward CRP and been active participants in community-focused initiatives.
“We have also developed one of the mostsuccessful station adoption networks, played a positive role in the developmentof national CRP strategy and been pivotal players in joint projects with CRPswhich have increased passenger numbers, fostered community involvement andreceived national recognition - such as the development of services andfacilities on the East Suffolk line. We will continue to champion and supportcommunity rail developments across our network, to the benefit of customers andcommunities alike."