Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership (BLCRP) has once again been awarded accreditation status by the Department for Transport (DfT).
The Accreditation meeting took place in May and was chaired by the Community Rail Network. Present were the chair and officers of the BLCRP along with representatives from the CRPs Steering Group.
BLCRP officers presented a reflection of achievements including the appointment and ongoing support from Chair, Paul Winstone and Vice Chair, Rob McDonald. They also celebrated projects including the new Line boards at stations which highlight connections to the Tees Valley Line and Weardale Railway, and ‘Shildon Smart Art’ which transformed Shildon Station footbridge into a welcoming experience for rail users and residents.
The review also highlighted projects which support local charities to improve mental wellbeing in the community, such as the walks from stations delivered by ManHealth and the ‘Railways to Wellbeing’ trail around Darlington town centre delivered by Darlington Mind.
BLCRP continues to support cultural projects which celebrate the heritage of the line such as ‘Storylines’ which amplified memories of passengers on the line through poetry, art and music; the year-long programme of ‘Hark’ and ‘Big Little Gigs’ events delivered by Tracks Darlington which introduced music and spoken word performances to new audiences, ‘Write on Track’ which highlights the writing talents within our communities and of course the S&DR200 celebrations which BLCRP supported along the line.
The CRP shared its plans for 2026/27 which focus on increasing rail confidence through projects like ‘Try the Train’ and ‘Travelling with Confidence’, and supporting accessibility improvements & multi-modal connectivity, to ultimately increase patronage on the line and support social and economic growth in the local area.
Rail safety education continues to be a high priority and will continue to be delivered in person by the rail education officer, and the partnership will again deliver its annual rail safety and careers event at Locomotion with the support of its stakeholders.
The officers also drew attention to the growing support for the partnership by local attractions and organisations along the line.
Paul Winstone, Chair of BLCRP commented “We’re extremely proud to receive DfT Accreditation once again. It shows recognition of the breadth and impact of the work which our officers deliver in collaboration with our stakeholders both in the rail industry and in our communities. It is through the strong relationships which we hold with our stakeholders, that we can identify needs, bring together funding and resources and deliver projects which deliver true impact. We thank our many stakeholders for their ongoing support.”
