The winners by category are listed below.

Involving Young People - sponsored by Northern Rail

1st Place Brian Haworth for Explore the Ribble Valley Line DVD and Teachers Pack
Explore the Ribble Valley, starring Brian the Bull is the title of the educational DVD developed by the Clitheroe Line Community Rail Partnership following successful work with Daisyfield Primary School, Blackburn. The DVD takes pupils on a train journey between Blackburn and Clitheroe introducing them to the structures, history and geography of the line and is linked to the curriculum requirements of key stage two. Supporting the DVD is a colorful pupil pack and visits by the Community Rail Partnership officers to the school. Pupils have been taken out by train to visit places seen on the DVD and to NRM, York.

2nd Place Severnside Community Rail Partnership, Worle Secondary School, and Milton Park Primary School for adoption of Weston Milton Station
Weston Milton is an unstaffed station near Weston Super Mare. Initial work at the station was undertaken by young offenders under the Probation Service Community Payback scheme. This was followed by the station being adopted by Worle Secondary, Milton Park Primary and Westhaven Special Schools. Community art has been installed, the station area has benefited from environmental clean ups, and young people from Westhaven School are creating new flower beds. The community has benefited from the involvement of the schools as it now has a much improved station and the young people have gained experiences they would not have had if they had not taken part in the station adoption project.

3rd Place Sussex CRP, Southern & Rye Primary School  for Rye Primary Schools Focus on the Marshlink Line 2009
This project was set up to use the children’s local railway – the Marshlink Line in Kent - as a teaching resource. 93 children aged 9 to 11 from Rye Primary School visited the line over a five week period to work on curriculum areas such as geography and ICT. They also learned about the jobs done by station staff, safety around the railway, how to plan a journey, and the final part was undertaking the journey they had planned on the line.

Shortlisted - Helping young people to help the community

Shortlisted - S2 and S3 Enterprise Groups and `Hollybrook School for adoption of Queens Park Station

Community Art Schemes - sponsored by First TransPennine Express

1st Place Southern, Oxted School and Oxted Railway Station Staff for the Oxted Artwork Competition
The Oxted Artwork competition was conceived by former Station Manager Eddie Gordon. The Station had been refurbished earlier in the year, resulting in a lot of unused wall space.
The School is the biggest in Oxted and nearest to the station, with 100 students using it daily. Eddie’s approach to the school resulted in ‘A’ level students producing five paintings which then went on display.. At this point, users of the station were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite and in a four week period 450 people voted. The winning painting is now hanging in the booking hall for the 11/2 million passengers that use the station a year to enjoy. The judges loved this entry, combining as it does the efforts, in their own time, of Southern Railway staff, the local schools talented students and the input of station users.

2nd Place Phil Davenport for Northern Brass
This concert was inspired by the 2007 Newton Heath Depot Community Open Day. Northern Rail wanted to do something different, a concert inside a working train depot. Local composer Lucy Pankhurst was commissioned to write the ‘Newton Heath Variations’, performed to a audience of 300 by The Royal Northern College of Music and the Wardle Anderson Brass Bands,

3rd Place The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line and sculptress Joel Walker for the Ruswarp Statue at Garsdale Station
When co-founder of the Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line Graham Nuttall died whilst hill walking, his faithful collie dog Ruswarp stayed with his masters body for eleven winter weeks. Ruswarp’s paw print had been among tens of thousands of signatures of objection to the closure of the line.

Shortlisted - Friends of Handforth Station for A Platform for Art

Shortlisted - University of Creative Arts for Maidstone West Station Community Art Project

Local Transport Integration- Sponsored by Lancashire County Council

1st Place Oxfordshire County Council for Cotswold Line Railbus
Since 2004 Oxfordshire County Council has funded a number of dedicated rail feeder bus services. Two of these services are marketed as the Cotswold Line Railbus and link local towns and villages in a rural part of Oxfordshire to Charlbury and Kingham stations on the Cotswold line. Both services are timetabled to connect with trains, offer easy interchange adjacent to platforms and feature guaranteed evening connections.
The judges are pleased to see, in these times of rural bus service cuts, a well thought out, integrated bus/rail service coupled with excellent marketing materials, doing what it was designed to do, provide passengers with a seamless journey!

2nd Place David Wilson for Pendle Connect & East Lancashire Day Ranger
Pendle Connect and the East Lancashire Day Ranger are two tickets developed by the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership in together with Northern Rail and local bus operator Transdev. Pendle Connect reverses the traditional Plus Bus scheme; in that the ticket is purchased on the bus in the Pendle area with a rail add on to Accrington, Blackburn or Preston. The East Lancashire Day Ranger is an off peak day ticket that allows travel on buses and trains throughout East Lancashire and the surrounding area. These innovative tickets see bus and rail working together in harmony rather than in direct competition.

Shortlisted - The South Croydon Partnership for the South Croydon Railway Station Cycle and Pedestrian Link

Shortlisted - Docklands Light Railway for the Woolwich Arsenal Extension

Best Station Garden or Floral Display - sponsored by National Express

1st Place Lewes Station Gardens
Lewes Station platform assistant Steve Hodgkins has for the last two years dedicated much of his free time to transforming Lewes stations previously overgrown and neglected gardens. The creative use of shrubs, planters and dozens of hanging baskets have transformed the station area into a vibrant and colorful space. Both passengers and local residents have given help and support to Steve and his work as has Southern Railway. The judges, in coming to their decision in this category, were very impressed by the layout of the planters that lead the eye from one to another, the fantastic hanging baskets on the footbridge area, and just when you think you have seen everything you discover the garden on the Brighton Line side of the station! A truly worthy station gardens winner.

2nd Place Kathleen Egglestone and Brian Harker for Drigg Station Gardens
In 1984 Kathleen Egglestone purchased the Drigg Station building on the Cumbrian Coast Line to create a Craft and Gift Shop. They initially started improving the station house approaches and grounds.Next Kathleen and Brian Harker turned their attention to the station platforms. The overgrown beds have been planted with evergreens, roses, and perennial flowering plants which give a great year round display. On the south bound platform raised beds have been installed and planted up. The whole effect is of an attractive and well loved station, where it is a pleasure to wait for a train

3rd Place Tony Day and Friends of Lympstone Village Station for Lympstone Village Station Gardens
Over the last year the station gardens at Lympstone Village on the Exeter to Exmouth line have been transformed from an overgrown mass of weeds and brambles into an asset to village life. Numerous community organisations and individuals have worked to transform the area into a fabulous garden that the community can be proud of. Another feature at Lympstone are the small garden patches where villagers who don’t have gardens of their own can get creative.

Shortlisted - Gina Simpson for Hutton Cranswick Station Garden Re-furbishment

Shortlisted - Lymington & Brockenhurst Station Teams for Lymington Line Floral Displays

Best Station or Train Retail Outlet - sponsored by Govia

1st Place Mike Day for the Stationmasters Café, Barnstaple Station
The Stationmaster’s Café at Barnstaple is not just a pleasure to eat in, it’s a testament to the tenacity of Mike Day who, over a four  year period, has refurbished a boarded up Victorian building and converted it into the vibrant heart of the Tarka Lines northern terminus. On the day of our visit the food service was excellent, delivered with a smile, by willing staff. There was clear evidence of a great deal of community involvement going on and loads of information on the local area. The Station Master’s Café has greatly improved customer provision at Barnstaple and we recommend you take a trip to the Tarka Line and try it for yourselves.

2nd Place The Amatt Family for Chu Chus Restaurant, West Kilbride Station
Chu Chus Restaurant is a stunning surprise, sleek and stylish situated within a beautifully restored, listed station building at West Kilbride on the line to Largs. Chu Chus showcases locally sourced fresh produce on its menu which changes weekly to reflect the seasonal variety of locally sourced foods. The judges were very impressed with the overall quality of both service and food at Chu Chu’s, and will be returning soon to try it again.

3rd Place Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company for the Trolley Service operating on Settle-Carlisle Line trains.
The provision of refreshments on rural train services has for many proved a less then successful enterprise. However since 2004 the Settle-Carlisle Development Company has been providing a trolley service on Northern Rail services over the Settle Carlisle route
Based at Appleby and Settle the trolleys cover nine services Monday to Saturday and four on the Sunday services. The aim from the beginning was to source as many products as possible locally, with biscuits from Country Fare at Mallerstang being a very good

Shortlisted - Jeremy Joslin, Sterling Rail Link for St Erth Station Café

Shortlisted - Marion Armstrong for Café Express at Skipton Station

Station Development - sponsored by Railway Heritage Trust

1st Place Southern Railway, Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Trust for
Bexhill Station
After years of wear and tear, Southern Railway, Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Trust came together to complete the ambitious project of restoring Bexhill station to its former glory. It was a big task, which started in 2005 when Network Rail undertook repair work to the footbridge, ramps and platform canopies.
Southern then started work on restoring the main building, retaining many of the Victorian features. New waiting areas have been provided, security improved, staff accommodation upgraded, and unused space utilised. What made this project stand out is that a Coffee Shop has been created in an old flower shop and a state of the art Pharmacy incorporated into the building. Operated by South East Health it boasts two treatment rooms offering a range of services including well-persons’ clinic, cardiac and blood pressure checks, podiatry services and weight loss clinics. The judges were very impressed with this project; especially the attention to historic detail and the provision of services other than travel which will help make the station a local community hub.

2nd Place The Amatt Family for Chu Chus Restaurant and West Kilbride Station
The station at West Kilbride was a derelict mess.However the Amatt family saw the potential in this beautiful 1906 listed building and bought it in 2005. Over the following years it has been totally restored as Chu Chus Restaurant. You might expect a cluttered railway theme, but no, what they have achieved is a clean, fresh, sleek style for the interior allowing the building itself to be seen as the true work of art. The platform area also has a clean fresh look with colourful bedded flower boxes. All in all a welcoming place to wait and enjoy a coffee or a meal.

3rd Place The Arkwright Society,  Tim Collis and Ryan Phelps for Cromford Station Redevelopment
The Arkwright Society’s Cromford Station project and Messrs Collis and Phelp’s restoration of the former Cromford Station up side waiting room have rescued the only railway buildings within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site. In the case of the 1874 main station building, the space has been adapted for new and viable economic uses with the minimal alteration to the historic fabric of the main rooms. Meanwhile the 1860 waiting room has had its clock tower, roof finials, cast iron diamond pattern windows and the superb chimney stacks restored. The interior retains many of its original features while providing up to date quality facilities as required by its new use as high quality holiday accommodation.

Shortlisted - Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line, Network Rail and RailwayHeritage Trust for Garsdale Railway Station

Shortlisted - Severnside Community Rail Partnership and First Great Western for Severn Beach Line Stations Developments

2nd Place The Giant Pasty, Rebecca Catteral Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership

3rd Place Cantley Station Adopters Tea Break, Ian Dinmore – Bittern and Wherry Lines CRP

The Local Station Environment Award sponsored by Devon County Council

1st Place South Croydon Railway Station - Andy Blake and TfL, Dayral Hall Southern Railway
The South Croydon Station project undertaken by South East London Transport Strategy and Southern Railway has radically improved the environment around the station. The approaches to the station are quite unusual in that there are many walking routes, most of which were along overgrown footpaths. The project sought to clear these, while considering the many neighbours’ for whom the bushes where providing a sound break, improve the footpaths, add lighting and improve cycle parking provision. By removing many of the nooks and crannies and creating clear sight lines crime has been reduced and just as importantly the fear of crime. Operational land has been cleared and secured and CCTV provided. Finally and most importantly all the work was planned to be carbon neutral.

2nd Place Cotehele Walks from the Railway Project - The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and the National Trust
The Cotehele project has seen the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership working with the National Trust to increase visitor numbers that access the estate in a more environmentally sustainable way. The project has put on a bus link from Gunnislake and produced a guide to walking to the Cotehele estate using Calstock station as a gateway. It has not only produced leaflets and interpretation boards, but the National Trust have improved signage around their estate to aid visitors who walk to Cotehele.

3rd Place Cary Sustainable Tourism Group
The Castle Cary Sustainable Tourism Group consisting of Castle Cary Town Council, the local Living History group, businesses and residents have been working to develop Castle Cary station as a gateway to the area. Work completed so far has included substantial improvements to signage along a little known scenic walk to the station, a new map of the route produced for use on a series of interpretation boards and a new ‘insiders’ guide to local attractions and facilities

Shortlisted - Rural Stations Project - University of Plymouth Student Union and The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership

Shortlisted - Explore the Yare Valley, promoting countryside access by train - National Express East Anglia, Widen the Choice Partnership

Best Marketing Publication sponsored by First Great Western

1st Place The Tarka Line Walks Booklet - Tarka Rail Association
Promoting access to the countryside by rail is essential for the continuing success of many community rail lines. With full and standing loads on the busiest services, filling empty seats on quiter trains is the current challenge for many. The Tarka Rail Association’s new walks booklet is an excellent example of promoting the railway to a growing leisure market. This high quality publication has a real wow factor about it, it looks great and has walks for a range of abilities from all Tarka Line stations. The guide has been backed up with a poster and leaflet campaign across the region, promoting the line and the guide.

2nd Place A Brief History of Docklands - A station by Station Guide - Docklands Light Railway
This was the big surprise of this category, To commemorate the opening of their 40th Station at Woolwich Arsenal, Docklands Light Railway have produced a well researched, accessible booklet, that gives readers an informative and entertaining insight into the history of each dockland site served by a DLR station. The booklet has had some interesting spin offs, from tour companies using the guide as a basis for walking tours around the railway, to a local school using it to support pupils learning about local history as they travel using the DLR.

3rd Place Oxford Canal Line Guide - North Oxford Canal Partnership
The north Oxfordshire Canal Partnership was established in 2006 and aims to encourage more people to visit and stay in North Oxfordshire by promoting access to the Oxford Canal by train.
The promotional guide produced as part of a wider marketing activity, is an excellent example of a printed guide giving all the information intending visitors might need to make the best of their visit to the North Oxfordshire area.

Shortlisted - New Hythe Station Guide - Medway Valley CRP, SouthEastern

Shortlisted - DalesRail Brochure 2009 Richard Watts, Lancashire County Council

Best Marketing Event sponsored by First Great Western

1st Place Best Marketing Event Award is ‘Wouldn't you rather be on this train?' Paddington Station - The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership
‘Wouldn’t you rather be on this train’ was a one day marketing event to raise the profile of the Looe and Tamar Valley lines to the thousands of people passing through Paddington Station. Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and the tourism agencies for the lines, staffed the stand for 13 hours. Centrepiece was a banner depicting the scenic Tamar Valley line and a competition to guess the weight of a giant pasty. Getting the pasty to Paddington from Plymouth in one piece is a story in itself!  The prize, a weekend for two in the South West.
During the day 3000 ticket wallets were handed out and 400 people entered the competition. The press covered the event extensively and after the event South East Cornwall Tourism Association reported a 10% increase in hits on their website

2nd Place Goth Music Train - Esk Valley Railway Development Company
The Esk Valley Railways first ever Goth Weekend Music Train leaped into the dark on 30th October last year. Trailing skeletons, bats, cobwebs, spiders, a Ceilidh band, real ale and a good load of passengers from Whitby to Middlesborough and back.

3rd Place Lymington - Brockenhurst Line 150 Year Celebrations
On the 12 July 2008 the newly formed Lymington Brockenhurst Community Rail Partnership burst onto the New Forest scene with their 150th Anniversary Celebrations. Working with colleagues from South West Trains and local partners, the day was a tremendous success with over 5000 people traveling on the line and a huge range of activities taking place at all the stations.

Shortlisted - Rail Ale Launch Event - Penistone Line Partnership, Northern Rail

Shortlisted - Balloon Magic Train - Sussex CRP

Department for Transport ‘Passengers  Matter’ Award

1st Place Harrington Hump - Jerry Swift & John Kelly Network Rail; David Hibbs DfT; Chris Cutts Northern Rail; John Kitchen, Cumbria County Council
The Harrington Hump is a great success for Community Rail and represents a major development solving the long standing problem of low platforms at lightly used stations. The solution devised is low cost, practical, and can be installed without a line closure by four men using hand tools. The exceptional cross-industry co-operation has seen this project go from idea to installation in just 14 months. Customer and operator feedback has been very positive and the ‘Harrington Hump’ is now starting to roll out nationwide.
The Harrington Hump project has been entered for the Civil Service Diversity awards, where it has been selected as one of the three final entries from the 500 entered.

2nd Place Esk Valley Line Website - Esk Valley Railway Development Company  and Envoy Web Design
The Esk Valley Railway Development Company and Envoy Web Design joined forces to produce a new website for the line with a firm focus on visitors and residents, especially those new to rail. Attention has been paid to ease of use and accessibility; links are supplied to all transport and many accommodation providers along the line. Green options and maximising the benefits of not using the car in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park are also priorities. In the judges view this website will bring real benefits to Esk Valley line customers and potential users alike.

3rd Place Ribble Valley Line Blockade Bus Replacement - Simon Clarke
With the prospect of a three week blockade and bus substitution looming on the Ribble Valley Line, the Clitheroe Line Community Rail Partnership embarked on a mission to ensure that the replacement bus services would run reliably and passengers would be kept fully informed of what was happening. Meetings with operators were arranged and replacement timetables agreed along with location of temporary bus stops. When agreed, timetables were produced and cases supplied and the information flow set up. Planning was key to the operation which ran well, but most importantly customer confidence was maintained throughout the blockade.

Best Station Adoption Group. sponsored by Network Rail

1st Place Best Station Adoption Group Award is Friends of Glossop Station
It’s hard to imagine Glossop Station without its friends group. They are always striving to bring a little magic to their station, be it the maturing garden and seasonal flowers in boxes and baskets that now greet all who visit, or the new poetry platform. Events have always been central to the friends’ activities drawing in new people whether it is Christmas, to the sound of jingle bells, or the May 2009 Community Rail Day when the station was bedecked in blue and white to see hundreds of Glossop North End fans off on their way to Wembley. The friends have a lot of plans such as a tidy up of the adjacent railway embankment making use of the Network Rail Community Groups Scheme.

2nd Place Maghull Station Volunteers
The Maghull Station Volunteers formed to involve the community in environmental issues, reduce crime and to improve the quality of life in Maghull. They are tireless in their efforts to keep the station looking its best. They litter pick several days a week, as well as landscaping and planting the station interchange area. They have transformed a dilapidated shack into a very smart cabin where they can rest and store their equipment. They are the flagship of the Merseyrail Station Adoption scheme and have made a huge difference to their community and station.

3rd Place Friends of Dronfield Station
In three short years the friends of Dronfield Station have been instrumental in totally transforming the station, local awareness of the opportunities for rail travel and passenger numbers. The group has created new flower beds at the station front, planters adorn the platforms, and there are weekly litter picks and lawn-mowing. With the station now enjoying its best ever train service continuing publicity and promotion play a big part in their plans. Dronfield and its adopters are now firmly on the railway map!

Shortlisted - Egton Station Partnership

Shortlisted - Friends of Brierfield Station

Outstanding Volunteer Contribution  sponsored by Network Rail

1st Place David Greening - Heart of Wessex Line
David is a founder member and Vice Chair of the Heart of Wessex Line volunteers Community Rail working party and has played a key role in the development of the partnership. He has led the adoption of two stations and made a significant input to the partnerships ‘Station Watch’ customer information and survey work. Known to train crews as the flying gardener as he helps out at many stations along the line, he has also given help and guidance to new station adoption groups. David has also made a particular contribution with respect to access, facilities and information for cyclists along the route.

2nd Place Peter Chesher – Green Road Station
Peter Chesher has been looking after Green Road station on the Cumbrian Coast Line for 28 years, an amazing achievement. Green Road station is a pleasure to visit with a fantastic display of flowers and plants, which is down to Peter. He also looks after the buildings and can be found when needed cleaning up graffiti attacks and smartening up the place.

3rd Place Tim Sparrow Chairman, Sussex Community Rail Partnership
Tim has been chair of the Sussex Community Rail Partnerships for the last five years. However over the last 18 months he has been particularly busy working to reconstitute the organisation not to mention leading guided walks and delivering line guides. He does all this with a massive amount of patience and dedication. He is a natural leader and always has a good word for volunteers and staff alike. The Sussex CRP would be a lot poorer without him.

Shortlisted - Ian Wilson – Uddingstone Station

Shortlisted - Peter Craske – Tarka Line Association

Outstanding Railway Staff Contribution sponsored by Network Rail

1st Place Laura Englestone, Crowborough Station
Laura is a ticket office clerk with a big difference. Famous locally, loved by her customers, recognised at a national level, she know the value of great customer service.. She also knows how to make the station a truly welcoming place. Not only is Crowborough station clean, tidy, bright and looked after, it’s community focused. Laura has added a children’s play area, local information boards and book shelves. Laura has helped Sussex Community Rail Partnership with many of its projects, organising events for Community Rail Week and distributing information. She is a credit to the railway industry and to her employer Southern Railway

2nd Place Phil Davenport, Newton Heath Depot
Phil has played an outstanding role in developing a highly innovative approach to community engagement at Northern Rail. It’s very unusual for a manager of a major depot to become so closely involved with local communities. However Phil led Northern’s first ever Depot Community Open Day at Newton Heath in September 2007 and went on to organise Northern’s remarkable brass band concert ‘Northern Brass’ inside the depot. Both events have led to ongoing involvement with local community organisations and charities, involving many depot staff.

3rd Place Graham Blake, Holmes Chapel Station
Graham’s infectious enthusiasm for Holmes Chapel railway station has created a welcoming and relaxing environment where customers can browse a vast array of literature at the station which includes fiction, nonfiction and rail related material. Graham’s efforts to integrate the railway station with the local community have proven uniquely effective and this has been demonstrated through the increase in numbers of passengers travelling from the station.

Shortlisted - Gair Urwin, Chathill Station

Shortlisted - Julian Crow, General Manager, First Great Western

Richard Burningham - Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnerships (top image)


Richard Watts - Lancashire County Council (bottom image)

The Overall Winner sponsored by Association of Train Operating Companies
The overall winner’s award is presented to the group, CRP, individual or train operating company - or any combination -  that in the judges’ view has contributed the most to community rail development in the past 12 months.

Southern Railway and Sussex Community Rail Partnership