Artwork, History Boards, Information Panels & Murals
Kent Community Rail Partnership has worked with a wide range of partners in our communities to add artwork, history boards, information panels and murals to brighten our stations and highlight the local area.
Kent Downs Line
The Kent Downs Line is the most recent addition to the Kent Community Rail Partnership. We are working to introduce artwork that celebrates communities along the line today, their history and the natural beauty of the Kent Downs National Landscape.
North Downs Way Information Boards Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Lenham, Charing
Working in collaboration with Kent County Council, we aim to increase sustainable tourism along the North Downs Way, by promoting rail to trail routes from and to Charing, Lenham, Harrietsham and Hollingbourne stations. All four stations along the Kent Downs Line are in easy walking distance of the trail and so provide ideal locations for installing interpretation boards and promoting walks between these stations, offering a choice of distances to suit a wider audience.
Ashford International
In 2019 Network Rail commissioned Lionel Stanhope to create two stunning murals for the Newtown underpass.
The first was one of Lionel’s familiar works, the station name in a traditional style.
The second resulted from a design competition held at the local North School, whose pupils use the underpass every day.
The winning designs were recreated on the wall, with images celebrating Ashford’s rich history.
Ashford College adopted Ashford International station in March 2022 and work collaboratively with Kent CRP to improve the passenger experience whilst using the station. Their first improvement was to add Platinum Jubilee designed community artwork to the station underpass. The students and tutors undertook a massive community engagement project whereby they connected with 26 community groups. Each group submitted a piece of Jubilee artwork to replace the existing tired and peeling panels.
Sixty one panels were designed and fitted to form an exciting and interesting entrance from the station’s front foyer to the platforms.
The grand unveiling took place on Friday 27 May 2022 when 140 community members lined the underpass to rip off the paper coverings to expose the impressive Jubilee bonanza.
In 2023, Leah Bunting and Claudia Otto, Students from Ashford College designed “A Fish out of Ashford”, creating a fabulous welcome to the town for people arriving by rail.
The artwork was inspired by the flow and movement associated with Ashford as a transport hub. The flow of the trains coming and going, the flow of the Great Stour River, that runs through the town and past the station.
Kent Community Rail Partnership were delighted to work with the students and Southeastern to create a warm welcome to the town by refurbishing a tired set of planters outside the station.
The artwork formed part of the acclaimed Ashford Unframed art trail.
In 2026, it felt time to replace the May 2022 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee community artwork in the station underpass and what better choice than to design artwork to celebrate Railway 200. Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) enthusiastically engaged to design panels of carefully selected train photos and information on trains which would have travelled through Ashford International through the ages. The College engaged their 5 East Kent College (EKC) primary schools to colour train templates provided by AIMREC and to design their own trains of the future. The 5 schools undertook to provide ‘Railway 200 lessons’ whilst the pupils coloured the train templates. The local graphic design agency, Cactus Design Ltd expertly reproduced the artwork from AIMREC and the 5 primary schools onto decals which they carefully installed in 72 panels forming an exciting and interesting entrance from the station’s front foyer to the platform.
In 2026, it felt time to replace the May 2022 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee community artwork in the station underpass and what better choice than to design artwork to celebrate Railway 200. Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) enthusiastically engaged to design panels of carefully selected train photos and information on trains which would have travelled through Ashford International through the ages. The College engaged their 5 East Kent College (EKC) primary schools to colour train templates provided by AIMREC and to design their own trains of the future. The 5 schools undertook to provide ‘Railway 200 lessons’ whilst the pupils coloured the train templates. The local graphic design agency, Cactus Design Ltd expertly reproduced the artwork from AIMREC and the 5 primary schools onto decals which they carefully installed in 72 panels forming an exciting and interesting entrance from the station’s front foyer to the platform.
Charing
Adoption of the station by both Charing Parish Council and Heath Farm School has brought opportunities to engage both communities and Ashford College in work to brighten the station environment.
One simple and impactful change has been the whitewashing of the stones that spell out the station name, showing that the community values and cares for this space once again.
Maidstone East
Major improvement works of Maidstone East station were completed by Network Rail with the official opening taking place in December 2021.
An impressive 3.5m by 2m high sculpture of ‘Iggy’ the dinosaur was also unveiled at the opening event, as a nod to the 125 million-year-old dinosaur fossils discovered in the town in the Victorian era. Long before Jurrassic Park people were fascinated by dinosaurs, so much so that the Iguanodon even features on Maidstone Borough’s coat of arms.
Valley Park school have become station adopters at Maidstone East, creating displays of students’ artwork, adding colour and interest to the walkways.
