Peer review: Peter Wilkinson
Managing Director, Rail Executive – Passenger Services
The origins of community rail can be traced back to the days when there was real fear for the future of rural railways. Fast forward 20 years and Community Rail Partnerships have played their part in turning many lines from moribund backwaters into thriving feeders to the rest of the network of today.
CRPs have successfully harnessed the support of local communities as well as the rail industry, creating the impetus for generating funding for development and improvement of these lines. The key question is how can community rail build on the success of the last 20 years? Success that has resulted in higher growth on these lines, making a positive contribution to the bottom line. Success that has helped to restore redundant station buildings and bring the railway back to being the focal point of the local community.
But having secured the long-term future of these lines we still have some way to go to ensure that they contribute more to the local economy, as well as meeting government’s aspirations on accessibility, the environment and social inclusion.
There is now the case for re-opening and reconnecting parts of the railway lain to the cobwebs, such as Wisbech, Blyth and the missing link between Colne and Skipton. Through combining the managerial skills and finances of franchises with local community endeavour, I firmly believe such partnership will lead to a renaissance of local services and support local economic rejuvenation.
I want to see community railways (and indeed some enthusiast railways) supported through franchising. I believe that we can and should create Social Enterprise businesses within franchises to support these now vitally important railways. Who today would question the value of the Settle- Carlisle Line? And yet not so long ago, the British Railways Board argued for its outright closure. Social Enterprise businesses are not for profit, and at the same time give local communities and innovator/investors a real stake in these railways, from which they can create an investment return, thus allowing new funding to enhance these railways.
I am in favour of seeing a limited number of safe, well-maintained and reliable heritage trains in passenger timetable service on local routes operating within franchises. The public love to travel on these for leisure, pure interest or as part of a holiday. Who should deny them?
Through future franchises, we at Passenger Services are aiming to create the right environment that allows local social enterprises to flourish through taking a stake in their local railway. This is not about fragmenting our network, simply driving down costs; it is about getting greater value, allowing the British entrepreneurial spirit to drive innovation to ensure communities prosper.
Community rail has an important role to play as a catalyst for wider growth and building greater social cohesion and government will play its part to ensure that it flourishes.
