WCRP welcomes new Chair
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WCRP 2022 Annual Report published
Contents include:
Chair’s Report
Anniversary Event
Platform
WCRP Activities 2021-2022
Remembrance Day
Wheels2Rails
Try the Train
New Station adoption
Gallery
WCRP Aims & Objectives
Partner Information.
Read more…
WCRP sends wreaths to Paddington carried by GWR
WCRP pays tribute to the Armed Forces for their service and sacrifice on Remembrance Day.
Our Vice Chair, Colin Major, seen here with Cllr. Alex Sinton, Chair of Wychavon DC, sent wreaths to Paddington carried by GWR on Remembrance Day, 11th November 2022.
The wreaths were then laid at the station’s war memorial.
The Poppies to Paddington event, organised by The Veterans Charity and Great Western Railway, started in 2020 as memorial services had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership Annual General Meeting 2022
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership will be held on Friday, 18th November 2022 at 10.45am at The Guildhall, High Street, Worcester WR1 2EY.
Nominations are sought for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Steering Group.
These should be sent by email together with a CV to Fiona Saxon, Community Rail Partnership Officer, Fiona.Saxon@tfwm.org.uk by no later than Thursday, 10th November 2022.
If any person wishes to attend the AGM in person or online they should also notify Fiona by the same date.
On behalf of Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership
William Whiting
Chair
Dated this 27th day of October 2022
Rail Trails
A new collaboration to help develop a set of ‘Rail Trails’ in the region has begun between the Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership, the Worcester Ramblers and a University of Worcester academic.
The trails are walking routes that link railway stations. The idea is that the public either walk a stretch of new path and come back to the start point on the train or do it the opposite way round.
The trails will be developed utilising the existing knowledge of the area’s walking routes supplied by Worcester Ramblers’ Lyndon Bracewell, the walking guide design and mapping expertise of the University’s Graphic Design Lecturer, Andy Stevenson, and the funding support of the Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership.
Key figures in the Worcestershire Rail Trails project
Left to right: Andy Stevenson, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design at the University of Worcester, Lyndon Bracewell, a member of the Worcester Ramblers, and William Whiting, Chair of Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership.
To date the team – who all work part time on the project – have been developing, assessing and testing the individual walks to be involved in the project’s first phase while also evolving a visual identity that will now percolate through all further project outputs.
William Whiting, Chair of Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership, said: “I am very excited to promote linear walks trails from stations in Worcestershire. Many other areas of the country have walks from stations as a way of encouraging use of local rail services and at the same time promoting healthy lifestyles. As a keen walker I believe the best way to see the countryside is by walking and these rail trails will provide the opportunity to explore some lovely parts of Worcestershire.”
The first phase is a 42-mile-long walking trail linking all 8 stations on the Worcestershire section of the ‘Cotswold Line’ between Great Malvern and Honeybourne. Further phases will link Worcester to all stations in the north of the County.
Lyndon Bracewell of Worcester Ramblers is developing and checking the routes with the help and local knowledge of other local members as well as the County Council’s Public Rights of Way team.
“I was keen to find a way to encourage more people to explore the County’s wonderful countryside and in a healthy and sustainable way,” he said. “Providing walking opportunities using the existing local rail network was an ideal way of achieving this. Even though I already knew the area quite well, I’ve been really surprised at how scenic and interesting the routes are.”
The team is aiming to have an initial tranche of outputs ready as downloadable pdf guide sheets and corresponding GPX files that can be used on walking apps in the New Year.
Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design at the University, Andy Stevenson, said: “This is a lovely ‘live’ collaboration between local organisations that fits with the Graphic Design course’s initiative to evolve ‘Design for community good’ where we aim to support charitable or community organisations with our various skillsets. In addition, this project’s aims, and outputs are also allied to some of my own research interests within my part-time PhD studies. As such it’s also an example of how ongoing research in the design and visual communications area at the University can provide practical help via knowledge exchange projects within the community too.”
A new development blog helping to document the project’s progress has also been developed and this can be seen at rail-trails.blogspot.com
Rail Trails – developing, assessing and testing the individual walks progresses
Key figures in the Worcestershire Rail Trails project
Left to right: Andy Stevenson, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design at the University of Worcester, Lyndon Bracewell, a member of the Worcester Ramblers, and (the late) William Whiting, Chair of Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership.
A new collaboration to help develop a set of ‘Rail Trails’ in the region has begun between the Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership, the Worcester Ramblers and a University of Worcester academic.
The trails are walking routes that link railway stations. The idea is that the public either walk a stretch of new path and come back to the start point on the train or do it the opposite way round.
The trails will be developed utilising the existing knowledge of the area’s walking routes supplied by Worcester Ramblers’ Lyndon Bracewell, the walking guide design and mapping expertise of the University’s Graphic Design Lecturer, Andy Stevenson, and the funding support of the Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership.
The team – who all work part time on the project – have been developing, assessing and testing the individual walks to be involved in the project’s first phase while also evolving a visual identity that will now percolate through all further project outputs.
William Whiting, Chair of Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership, said: “I am very excited to promote linear walks trails from stations in Worcestershire. Many other areas of the country have walks from stations as a way of encouraging use of local rail services and at the same time promoting healthy lifestyles. As a keen walker I believe the best way to see the countryside is by walking and these rail trails will provide the opportunity to explore some lovely parts of Worcestershire.”
The first phase is a 42-mile-long walking trail linking all 8 stations on the Worcestershire section of the ‘Cotswold Line’ between Great Malvern and Honeybourne. Further phases will link Worcester to all stations in the north of the County.
Lyndon Bracewell of Worcester Ramblers is developing and checking the routes with the help and local knowledge of other local members as well as the County Council’s Public Rights of Way team.
“I was keen to find a way to encourage more people to explore the County’s wonderful countryside and in a healthy and sustainable way,” he said. “Providing walking opportunities using the existing local rail network was an ideal way of achieving this. Even though I already knew the area quite well, I’ve been really surprised at how scenic and interesting the routes are.”
The team is aiming to have an initial tranche of outputs ready as downloadable pdf guide sheets and corresponding GPX files that can be used on walking apps in the New Year.
Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design at the University, Andy Stevenson, said: “This is a lovely ‘live’ collaboration between local organisations that fits with the Graphic Design course’s initiative to evolve ‘Design for community good’ where we aim to support charitable or community organisations with our various skillsets. In addition, this project’s aims, and outputs are also allied to some of my own research interests within my part-time PhD studies. As such it’s also an example of how ongoing research in the design and visual communications area at the University can provide practical help via knowledge exchange projects within the community too.”
A new development blog helping to document the project’s progress has also been developed and this can be seen at rail-trails.blogspot.com
From Bromsgrove Station: The Vintage Bus is back for the 2022 Father’s Day weekend!
Transporting passengers arriving by train from Bromsgrove railway station to Avoncroft throughout the weekend, the bus will be there to take visitors not only to the museum but also back in time.
The bus will run back and forth between the station and Avoncroft so visitors can start and end the day with a mix of modern and historic transport.
Advance booking for entry to Avoncroft is recommended as it will be a popular weekend. No booking necessary for the vintage bus journey from the station.
Provided by The Transport Museum Wythall working together with Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership (WCRP) and Avoncroft Museum of Buildings, the vintage bus will pick up passengers from Bromsgrove Railway Station between 10am and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday (18th & 19th June) and take them to Avoncroft where there will be several exciting demonstrations including milling flour, nail and brick making.
All this, together with tractors and engines on display alongside the historic buildings, is sure to make a memorable day out for all (whether a Dad or not!).
Names and Winners announced – Name the Line competition 2021
The Wyre Valley Line
The line from Hagley to Droitwich Spa forms part of the route from Great Malvern to the West Midlands.
The Saltway Line
The line from Barnt Green to Droitwich Spa is part of the Worcester to Birmingham New Street route.
The Arrow Valley Line
The line from Barnt Green to Redditch is part of the CrossCity South commuter network.
Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership have announced the three winners from their Name the Line competition.
The line to Droitwich Spa via Bromsgrove to Barnt Green was named by Sue Lloyd and her winning suggestion was the Saltway Line. The Wyre Valley Line was named by Peter McNougher and covers the route serving the towns of Hagley, Blakedown, Kidderminster and Hartlebury. Last, but by no means least, is the line including the stations of Barnt Green, Alvechurch and Redditch which has been named the Arrow Valley Line by Margaret Evans. The winners were announced at Worcester Guildhall during the Rail Partnership’s second Anniversary event on Friday 12th November. They received a commemorative memento from Alan Amos, Worcestershire County Council Cabinet member for Transportation.
Colin Major Vice Chair Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership said, “We are delighted that all 18 stations in Worcestershire are now linked to named lines enabling the Community Rail Partnership to promote travel by rail and the stations not only to the local communities, but also to attract visitors to the businesses and places of interest served by the lines.”
The Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership are working with local communities to create Station Adoption Groups of volunteers who enhance station environments and build local pride in the facilities. One of the latest groups is the Friends of Droitwich Spa Railway Station who started in May and have already cleared and planted flowers in the flower beds and have exciting plans to make the station a more warming and friendly environment to catch a train.
Enjoy safe cycling with Wheels 2 Rails event
Wychavon residents are invited to take part in a fun and free cycling event at Westlands Community Centre next month.
Wychavon have joined forces with Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership and the Community Rail Network’s “Integrated Sustainable Transport in Community Rail Fund”.
Wheels 2 Rails, which runs between 10am and 3.30pm on Saturday 26 February, is encouraging safer cycling for adults and children.
The event features two-hour family cycle training sessions led by a qualified Bikeability instructor, starting at 10am and 1pm.
The sessions are designed to build cycling confidence in different situations, such as heading out on local roads or to the railway station.
Wheels2Rails includes safety check drop-in sessions, and the chance to get your bike security marked, so it can be tracked if it’s stolen.
Cyclists can also test their pedal power, and earn a tasty reward, on the GreenApe smoothie bike.
Places are limited, so sessions must be pre-booked at: https://wheels_to_rail_droitwich.eventbrite.co.uk
Cllr Tony Rowley, Executive Board Member for Climate Change, Environmental Policy and Regulatory Services on Wychavon District Council, said: “We are excited to see the return of Wheels2Rails, which helps cyclists to build their confidence with the support of a qualified instructor.”
Colin Major, Vice-Chair of Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership, said: “We are proud to support these events and see our local railway stations continue to provide a safe venue for families to enjoy cycling.”
WCRP send wreath to London via GWR for Remembrance Day
The Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership was pleased to take part in the laying of a wreath on a Hereford to London Paddington train on the 11th November at Worcestershire Parkway Station.
Pictured on Platform 3 is William Whiting (Chair) Colin Major (Vice Chair) and a member of staff from GWR. This was part of our commitment to engaging with the railway community.
November 2021