Bishop Line CRP fought off strong competition to be named winners in 2 categories, and placed 2nd in a third category at the 20th national Community Rail Awards in Newcastle.
Bishop Line CRP won the Community Creative Projects and Station Arts award for Shildon Smart Art. The project engaged young teens to work with local Street Artist, Dan Walls to create artwork that now adorns the footbridge at Shildon Station, enhancing the experience for passengers and making the area more welcoming. The initiative was aimed at making the station safer and more inviting for the community and for tourists visiting Locomotion.
Bishop Line CRP also received the Tourism & Leisure Award for raising awareness of attractions easily accessible by rail along their route through its ‘Explore the Bishop Line by train this summer’ campaign. Executed through print and digital media, the campaign led to an increase in ticket sales on trains and increased visitor numbers at each of the attractions on the line.
Bishop Line CRP also came second for the Involving Young People Award for the Bishop Line Rail Education Programme. In its first year the programme engaged with almost 4,000 young people along the Bishop Line and delivered over £90,000 in social value.
The event, organised by Community Rail Network and headline partnered by Lumo, was this year held in Newcastle, to honour the wider railway industries’ celebration of 200 years since the birth of modern railways.
The ceremony, now in its 20th year and organised by the Community Rail Network, celebrates the positive impact of community rail initiatives. A record-breaking 510 guests, including senior rail and transport leaders, attended the event at the city’s Civic Centre on Thursday March 13.
This year’s Awards recognised a diverse array of projects across Britain and beyond, with 20 winners chosen from 227 inspiring entries, all demonstrating how the community rail movement builds positivity and awareness between local people and their railways.
Find out more about the winning projects on the Bishop Line website. www.bishopline.org
More broadly, Bishop Line CRP delivers a range of community engagement and social inclusion initiatives, supports volunteering at stations, promotes green travel and tourism by rail, and works with railway and local authority partners.
The Awards recognise the crucial, often unsung work of community rail partnerships, station friends and other community rail groups, which continue to grow in number and impact, under Community Rail Network’s umbrella. There are now 76 CRPs and an estimated 1,300 station groups spread across Britain (and now a few beyond too).
Bill Freeman, interim chief executive of Community Rail Network, said: “Our Community Rail Awards give deserved recognition to community rail partnerships, groups and volunteers across Britain and now beyond. It’s a fantastic achievement to be able to celebrate two decades of recognising the outstanding work across community rail, especially during this special Railway 200 year. Our congratulations to Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership and to all our winners, and thanks to everyone who supports and champions community rail, helping the movement to go from strength to strength.”
Martijn Gilbert, managing director at Lumo, said: “As a North East based train company that’s proud of our region’s rich railway and industrial heritage and is actively playing a key role in the future of the railways, we’re incredibly proud to sponsor and celebrate the Community Rail Awards in their twentieth year.”
He added “Our congratulations go to all our winners, and thanks to everyone who supports and champions community rail across the rail and transport field, helping the movement to go from strength to strength.”
“This is especially fitting, as Lumo is based in Newcastle on the site of the former Stephenson locomotive works where the first railway locos were built, and our trains pass through Darlington where the first passenger railway opened in 1825.
“We are committed to helping keep the region at the forefront of great value and sustainable rail travel through creating a cleaner, greener future for the communities and customers we serve, so it’s a real moment of pride to celebrate everyone taking part in the 2025 Community Rail Awards and especially well done to all the fantastic winners.”
The Community Rail Awards celebrate the often-unsung work of community rail partnerships, station friends, and other community rail groups.
Further details of all the winners can be found at communityrail.org.uk/hall-of-fame/2025.
