TransWilts is celebrating national recognition after winning silver in the Small Projects category at the 21st Community Rail Awards, for its innovative work engaging communities with their local railway, including work with Swindon’s Brimble Hill School and Swindon Borough Council’s Live Well project supporting refugees.
The event, organised by Community Rail Network and supported by headline partner East Midlands Railway, took place in Derby on Thursday 19 March. A record-breaking 610 guests attended, including volunteers, community leaders and rail industry figures from across England, Scotland and Wales.
Judges reviewed more than 300 entries showcasing the extraordinary work taking place across Britain to connect communities with their railways.
TransWilts won the silver award for its Bingo Train project, which combined rail safety, education and fun to empower new rail users. The Bingo Trains took groups of students, young people, and refugees on trips to explore the local area and promote travelling by train, whilst also having fun.
More broadly, TransWilts delivers a wide 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.
Sophie Martin, Community Partnership Manager for TransWilts, said: “Being able to introduce rail travel to groups of people in our community who, for a variety of reasons, may not have travelled by train before is a real joy.
“To now have also won the silver award at the Community Rail Awards for this too is a great acknowledgement of the delight that the train travel brings, and the opportunities and experiences that we can give to members of our community young and old.”
Kelly Winter, Ash class teacher at Brimble Hill School said “My class loved their experience on The Bingo Train! The staff were amazing, really helpful and friendly. The children loved playing bingo on the train and winning the lovely prizes. It was a great experience for them to learn about how to stay safe at the train station and the process of getting their train tickets stamped.
“It was definitely one of our favourite class trips!”
Across Britain, the community rail movement continues to grow. There are now 76 community rail partnerships and around 1,300 volunteer station groups working with train operators, councils and local organisations to make rail travel more accessible, sustainable and connected to local communities.
Community Rail Network chief executive Jools Townsend, added: “Our awards celebrate the volunteers, community groups and local partnerships helping transform Britain’s railway stations into welcoming gateways to their communities.
“From supporting young people to travel independently, to creating greener stations and vibrant community spaces, these projects show how powerful local action can be.
“As the railway celebrates its 200th anniversary, community rail is helping ensure the network’s future is just as much about people and places as it is about trains and tracks. Our congratulations to TransWilts and to all our winners, and thanks to everyone who supports and champions community rail, helping the movement to go from strength to strength.”
Full details of all winners can be found here. For more information on TransWilts, visit www.transwilts.org.
