Accredited Partnership 2025
We are pleased to announce the Department of Transport have awarded ESSCRP a Community Rail Accredited Partnership Award for 2025
What is community rail?
Community rail is a grassroots movement working to engage communities in their local railway. Initiatives range from people helping to maintain station gardens to major refurbishment schemes.
Although some community railways provide a tourism service, they are largely separate from heritage and private railways which function solely as tourist attractions.
Community rail takes the form of community rail partnerships and station adoption groups.
Community rail partnerships accreditation
Community rail partnerships bring together local groups and partners from the rail industry with industrial groups to deliver a wide range of rail activities. The partnership usually represents a number of stations and services operating over a railway line.
Read more here
The Value of Community Rail
Community rail is a unique and growing movement comprising 75 community rail partnerships and 1,300 volunteer groups that help communities get the most from their railways. It is about engaging local people at grassroots level to promote social inclusion, sustainable and healthy travel, wellbeing, economic development, and tourism. This involves working with train operators, local authorities, and other partners to bring improvements to rail services and stations, helping communities to have a voice in rail and transport development.
Community rail contributes high levels of social, environmental, and economic value to local areas, and many stations have been transformed
into hubs at the heart of the communities they serve. Evidence also shows community rail delivering life-changing benefits for individuals
and families, helping people access new opportunities through sustainable travel by rail.
Read more here
Our Governance
The Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership benefits from an active and engaged steering group that provides strategic oversight and collaborative leadership. Along with a Chair, it is comprised of representatives from Essex County Council, Greater Anglia, local authorities, and community stakeholders. The group meets regularly to guide priorities, review progress, and ensure alignment with regional transport and community goals.
Their input helps shape initiatives that enhance station environments, promote rail use, and strengthen local engagement. The steering group’s diverse perspectives and shared commitment are vital to ESSCRP’s continued success and its ability to deliver meaningful, grassroots impact across Essex and South Suffolk.