ACoRP awards 2014 - Outstanding Volunteer Contribution - our submission

[whole diary]

[grahame]

ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) awards 2014 Entry - / Category 9

Outstanding Volunteer Contribution - Lee Fletcher
Door to door publicity to boost train service use

Submitted by the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership.

Services were increased last year on the Westbury - Swindon line (the TransWilts). The TransWilts Community Rail Partnership has been helping with the marketing of the new total service (old + new) - looking to boost journey numbers from under 60 to over 320 per day in the second year.  A major CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) project up to March 2014 was making people in the town of Melksham aware that they had a train station in the town, and that there was a useful, and life-changing for some, service calling there.

Lee Fletcher has been volunteer on our community team for many years, joining at a time when there was no recognition outside our area that an enhanced service on the TransWilts line was appropriate or desirable. He has been key in applying his knowledge, logic, and physical effort on the ground to making the case for what is now the current service. And he's been key in helping with the hard work of getting the message about the new service out to a community of 24,000 in Melksham, and in coordinating the message too.

Virtually single-handed, Lee visited every house in the town through the winter, delivering letters and First Great Western leaflets. Last winter was particularly wet and windy.

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See full submission, with references from First Great Western, the Community Area Partnership, and Wiltshire Council - at http://atrebatia.info/acorp_lee.pdf

Since that was written in early June, I've had confirmation that as we suspected we're exceeding the second year target in the first year - just over 400 passenger journeys on a typical working day, and an even higher figure (just over 500) on a half term day.  Saturdays and Sundays are busy too.  And much of that's down to Lee's contribution - it's become rather regular to talk to people at the station and offer them timetables to be answered with "no thanks - one was delivered to my home.  That's what encouraged e to try the train today".

Sadly, due to a submission error on my part ({details}), the entry wasn't even put before the judges - but in my view this entry's very much a winner, and it's a winner for the TransWilts too!