Ten years ago, communities often felt that they had little input into the way that railways within those communities were operated ... and to a very great extent that was true. Railway operation was seen purely on a larger regional or national basis, with little local consideration given, and that has to be right to some degree - especially on long distance lines. London to Bristol services can't be predominantly governed by the needs of individual towns that pass through such as Pangboure, Wantage and Wootton Bassett, for example.
However, for lines and services which aren't of an InterCity character, there's a huge merit in having the community work with the railway service providers within their area, for the mutual benefit of both the community (who get a pride, an ownership, and an ability to request subtle changes that can make a huge difference) and the railway operators (who can take advantage of that local knoweldge and help to make the best use of services, and to have local enthusiasm and pride help to sell and look after the services).
The designation of a line as a "Community Rail" line, or a service as as community rail service, is a formal recognition of the community and the industry working together on particular lines, or for certain services on particular lines. The Associaition of Community Rail Partnerships provides for the sharing of good practise between the groups, so that lessons learned hard in one part of the country can be more easily adoped in another without the hard learning, and provides some overall marketing and logistical support. Being something of an official body / club,
ACoRP▸ can also help local communities open doors much more easiy once they've been acceped as a member of the club. As I read this story, it's good news for the
Avocet▸ line - or rather for the people who use it, and the area it passes through.
What is the significant of community rail line "branding"?
It really indicates an official acceptance that
this line / service is worth supporting, and is mature enough to benefit from it. The Avocet line already has a strong local group that do a great deal for the line - they've been informally a Community / Rail partnership if you would like to put it like that. The new status should help them go from strength to strength - help them grow the use of services by support, marketing and fine tuning; such has lead to spectacular growth on lines such as the Heart of Wessex; I mention than one just because I know more about their figures than about the details of other
CRPs▸ .
Absence of a formal recognition of a CRP / Community Rail service does
not stop communities working with the railways that go through there areas - indeed, if you have a line that's languishing in the doldums of an inappropriate service, it requires the local authorities, the train operators, the government, politicians, businesses and the local community to work together to get it to the point at which ACoRP and the
DfT» will accept that it's become mature enough, and with a sufficient service and head of steam, to be formally recognised. There's something of an irony in this; in Wiltshire, the elements are working together on the TransWilts and we're seeing a really serious move forward, but we're not yet far enough down the line to be formally recognised ... which is a pity, because now - in the planning stage and sorting out the current somewhat peculiar service - is the time we would really benefit from being able to be a full ACoRP member and attend events such as their "realising the potential of small stations" conference on 7th November at an affordable cost; I'm sure we could learn things / get ideas for Melksham and Dilton Marsh!
So - the formal branding should be a big gain for the Avocet line - a fillip to local pride, an access to resources, and a smoother ride as all parties work together for the best of the line and the community it serves, and I offer them my congratulations on the designation.
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