Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership has collaborated with its many partners to host a Rail Safety and Careers Event for local Secondary School Students.

Over 100 Year 8 students from secondary schools along the Bishop Line attended the event at Locomotion. They spent the day learning about rail safety and potential careers in the rail industry so they not only could become rail safety ambassadors but also be inspired to consider rail when choosing their GCSE options.

They engaged in interactive sessions covering rail safety with virtual reality headsets and drones, potential rail careers and understanding their personality with a MySkills quiz, looking after their mental well-being, designing anti-trespass messaging and understanding the impact of anti-social behaviour.

There was even an opportunity for all the students to find out what it’s like to work in the rail industry from Drivers, Travel Safe Officer and British Transport Police Officers, as well as those behind the scenes in roles like train performance, planning and strategy.

They also met representatives from local colleges who introduced the students to relevant courses to access roles in the rail industry.

The world-famous Flying Scotsman even made an appearance, but it was fair to say that four-month-old trainee police dog, Bruce, stole the show!

Jess Young, Rail Education Officer for the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership said, “I hope that the pupils now have an understanding of the reasons why they need to stay safe around the railway and why that’s so important, and help us to spread that message, but also that they realise the breadth of career opportunities within the rail industry and that they go away today thinking – I didn’t know that role existed in rail and actually that really inspires me, and I’ve met somebody today who does that role and I can see myself in that role in the future.”

A film of the event is below, please watch it and share it.

A huge thanks to all those that supported the event – Bishop Auckland College, British Transport Police, CAF Rail, Community Rail Network, CrossCountry, Darlington College, Illumination Wall Art, Locomotion, Lonely Tower Film & Media, LNER, Network Rail, Northern, North East Combined Authority, the Railway Children charity, Shildon Station Adopters, TransPennine Express, Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership and Weardale Railway.

Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership is looking to recruit an interim volunteer chairperson who has the enthusiasm and drive to support the CRP through a task and finish review of the partnership’s governance until 31^st March 2025.

We are seeking an individual who brings strong experience of governance to work with the partnership’s steering group and offer support and direction to the partnership officer to review and update key partnership documents and processes.

The individual should be able to effectively set the agenda and chair steering group meetings and be able to work with all partners to ensure the continued success of the CRP.

New expressions of interest to be received by 15th November 2024. 

If you are interested in this voluntary role and feel you can demonstrate you have the characteristics below and proven experience required, please email chair@bishopline.org . Please include a statement of interest highlighting your suitability for this role and how you would approach the interim role’s governance review. If you would like an informal chat about the role with a partnership member please also email chair@bishopline.org and we can put you in touch with a representative.

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Key characteristics and requirements of the Interim Volunteer Chairperson:

 1. Characteristics required for the task and finish review of the partnership’s governance:

• Proven strong experience of governance.
• Proven leadership skills and a willingness to lead this partnership.
• Proven Collaborative working/Team building.
• Enthusiasm/drive.

 2. Additional characteristics beneficial to chair the CRP:

• Commitment to attend and give full attention to meetings and matters of partnership business.
• Advantageous to have experience of the rail industry, community development or sustainable travel.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Impartiality, fairness, and the ability to respect confidences.
• Ability to ensure decisions are taken and then actions followed-up.

3. Requirements to ensure the partnership functions properly:

• Meet with the CRP Officer on a monthly basis to check progress on each element of the action plan, to provide any support needed to overcome any challenges.
• Ensure meeting matters are dealt with in an orderly, efficient manner, actions are taken, carefully considered decisions are made and to arrange for accurate minutes to be recorded.
• Bring impartiality and objectivity to meetings.
• Facilitate change and address conflict within the steering group.
• Review governance performance and skills.
• Ensure the steering group has representation from all partners and communities covered

 4. Requirements to ensure the steering group is managed effectively:

• Coordinate with the CRP Officer and secretary quarterly regarding steering group meeting agendas and ensure meetings are run in accordance with the Constitution.
• Ensure financial reports, progress reports and metrics are circulated to steering group members at least 7 days before the quarterly steering group meetings by the CRP Officer/Secretary
• Ensure the CRP is meeting its contractual obligations with funding partners and vice versa
• Ensure the CRP Code of Conduct is always being adhered to

5. Requirements to represent the organisation:

• Act as an ambassador and effectively communicate the vision and purpose of the community rail partnership to external partners in the rail industry, public sector bodies and the media at external meetings and events.
• Be aware of current issues in rail and local communities that might affect the organisation.

 Time Commitment:  The role of interim voluntary chair requires an estimated average commitment of 8 hours/month.  These hours will be Monday – Friday during the working day, however there may be a few occasions where events are in the evening or at weekends.

Additional opportunities – There will be the opportunity to attend additional events such as the Community Rail Network (CRN) awards, CRN chair meetings and industry conferences/webinars and training can be made available through CRN.

Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership joined forces with rail industry partners to deliver a rail safety event for primary schoolchildren at the historic Locomotion museum in Shildon.

The event took place on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 May and saw 200 children from primary schools in Darlington and along the Bishop Line visit the iconic museum and learn all about railway safety.

The children took part in educational sessions and workshops which covered a wide range of topics. These included how to plan a journey and use trains safely, as well as how dangerous trespassing on the railway is and why it is really important never to do so.

They also designed rail safety graphics which will be entered into the Backtrack Anti-trespass competition, which is organised by the Community Rail Education Network and will be used in rail education lessons and assemblies across the country. The children also spent time exploring British Transport Police’s (BTP) and Network Rail’s operational vehicles, and observed a drone in operation. All of the sessions took place in and around Locomotion’s Main Hall, which houses historic rail vehicles.

The sessions were delivered by a range of rail industry partners, including Network Rail, BTP, Northern, The Railway Children Charity, CrossCountry and Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership.

The event was supported by volunteers from LNER, TransPennine Express, ISS, Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership, Newcastle College’s Rail Academy and Weardale Railway.

Northern also arranged for some of the children to arrive and leave the venue by rail, helping them to gain experience of travelling on the railway, and to understand how the information which they have learned can be put into practice.

Rob Merry, Community Safety Manager for Network Rail’s East Coast route, said: “We’re really passionate about spreading the railway safety message, so we’re absolutely delighted to have taken part in this event.

“Over the past few days, the children have learned how to stay safe whilst travelling on trains, as well as the dangers which trespassing on the railway has. The event has been a great success, and we look forward to holding more days like this in the future, helping to reach even more children.”

Mary-Anne Snowdon, inspector for the BTP said: “What better venue to host this event than Shildon’s Locomotion Museum, where children can really get to grips with learning about the railway, as well as our vital safety messages.

“The children were incredibly receptive to the presentation and, with the help of our drone, really seemed to grasp the dangers of the railway and how to stay safe.

“Events like these are key to reaching a young audience and making railway safety lessons fun and accessible.”

Simon Heritage, Deputy Head at Gurney Pease Academy in Darlington said: “This was a fantastic day, superbly organised and thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils and staff. Hopefully we can come again next year. Many thanks to all involved.”

Felicity Machnicki, Officer for the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership said “It was fantastic to host this event with the support of so many partners from the rail industry, It shows how well the industry can work together to have an positive impact on our young people along the Bishop Line.

“ The schoolchildren were able to see just how important rail safety is to everyone who works on the railway and that we’re all here to help our young people grow up to be safe and confident rail users.

“We look forward to organising another event in our area and welcome more schools to take part.”

Are you looking for a career change?

Do you have a passion for teaching and are you open to delivering education in a different way?

Do you thrive on developing life skills and confidence in our young people?

This job could be just what you’re looking for.

The Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership are seeking to recruit a Rail Education Officer to deliver a programme of skills, awareness and confidence sessions in schools and community settings along the rail line from Darlington to Bishop Auckland part-time over a 2-year period.

The successful applicant will deliver sessions working in collaboration with rail industry partners such as Network Rail, British Transport Police and Northern.

The role will be supported locally by the Bishop Line’s Community Rail Officer and by colleagues around the country who are very supportive of each other and working towards a joined up message to build confidence in rail travel and keep young people safe on the railways.

This role is expected to be delivered 18.5 hours per week between Mon-Fri 09:00-15:00, but there may be occasional weekend work.

If you think this is a challenge you’re up for please read the full job description and person specification.

Rail Education Officer (2 Year FTC – Hosted on behalf Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership) – Darlington Borough Council – North East Jobs