On Thursday 14th September we invited our members and friends, both past and present, to join us at Masters House, Sheerness to celebrate the first 20 years of the Kent Community Rail Partnership. The day started with a train trip along our Swale Rail Line, where the partnership began. Along the way Jonathan Fryer kindly…
A huge thank you to Southeastern for arranging new group travel passes to support our project work. Our previous group travel passes were restricted to use with school groups and were only valid for travel on our three lines. Southeastern have agreed to lift both the school group and line restrictions, meaning the new group…
Yesterday I joined our station adopter, Dave Mitchelmore at Wateringbury to help with some weeding. We worked methodically to take weeds out of the planters and up from the rear edge of the platform, collecting a little litter as we went. Job done, Dave kindly took me to see the old railway signals…
A huge thank you to volunteers from Queenborough in Bloom for their fantastic work tending for the planters and hanging baskets at the station, in collaboration with Mary Jane in the Southeastern ticket office. It looks blooming marvellous.
Sometimes a project does not go quite according to plan. Unfortunately the deck on the model of the Kingsferry Bridge created by Sheppey College has not stood up to the weather. Southeastern had understandably expressed concerns about its appearance and since our Sheppey College station adopters were away for their holidays we reached out…
Kent Community Rail Partnership are always looking for ways to make it easier to make onward journeys from our stations without needing to use a car. Buses are an excellent way to explore further afield but it’s not always straightforward to find the bus stop. Working with Medway Council we have delivered some…
The first of 29 refurbished high-speed trains on Southeastern’s flagship route between London St Pancras and Kent has re-entered service – heralding a £27 million upgrade for Britain’s fastest passenger trains as part of the train operator’s commitment to deliver a better, more reliable, and more sustainable service. Unit 395012, well-known to many…
We recently put out a request to our volunteers on the Swale Rail line for help updating the noticeboards at Sittingbourne and Sheerness stations. The response was overwhelming and after some basic guidance we have issued keys to Dominic Noades who has carried out the first updates and will continue to look after the…
Today saw the opening of Kent’s first new station in eight years, and whilst it’s not on one of our lines, improving rail connectivity between East Kent, London and the wider south-east region is still something to celebrate. Kent’s first new railway station in eight years, Thanet Parkway, has today opened to customers bringing…
The Borough Green & Wrotham station adoption group meet regularly to tend to the garden verges at the station. They are an informal group who arrange their meet ups via WhatsApp. On 7th July the team met for one of their regular gardening sessions and planted the Hebe donated by Kent CRP. They are…
Additional Learning Support (ALS) Students from Ashford College joined us for train travel training to Charing Station on 4 July. The station adopter Councillor Susan Easun met us at Charing station to greet the students and encourage them in their planting. This was the second train travel training session which gave the students further…
On out most recent visit to Tonbridge station we were delighted to discover some new planters on the platforms. Southeastern Communities CRP have arranged for The Oaks Specialist College to become station adopters. Read more about their project on the Community Rail Network website.
Queenborough Station Adopters, led by the Town Council have begun work to replant the platform planters, forecourt planters and hanging baskets a the station as part of Queenborough in Bloom. Photos – Linda Brinklow The added colour makes the station more welcoming and is great for pollinators and other wildlife. You can see more photos…
Sheppey College adopted the 5 stations from Sheerness-on-Sea to Sittingbourne 5 years ago. We held assemblies with twenty two students during the morning and nineteen students during the afternoon to introduce them to the Kent CRP project and discuss rail safety. The assemblies focused the students on what has been achieved at and around the…
The week before #RSW23 (to fit in with school timetables) Kent Community Rail Partnership has gone into Catch 22 College and Sheppey College with support from Network Rail and Southeastern to highlight: The importance of planning for safe rail travel Positive behaviours around stations and on trains Assistance available through BTP via ‘61016’ and Railway…
A small group of walkers assembled at Halling station for another Go Green By Train adventure into the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this time exploring some of the beautiful landscapes around the Medway Valley. The forecast thunderstorms had clearly put-off some of those who had booked. We had been keeping a watchful…
On one of the hottest days so far this year, we set up our stall in Jubilee Square as part of Maidstone Cyclefest 2023. There were stalls from Kent County Council, promoting their Adult Cycle Training offering courses to give people the skills and confidence to cycle more often, Maidstone Cycle Campaign Forum looking for…
The awesome, amazing and beautiful mural panels at Swale station are now all complete. Working with Shepey College and drawing on inspiration from the local community, the murals showcase visitor attractions on the Swale Rail line and celebrate the diversity of people who use the railway. The final set of panels are…
Ashford College SEN students Train Travel Training. Orientation morning at Ashford International Station 9 May 2023, Train Travel to Maidstone East, 16 May 2023. Special education needs (SEN) students and their tutors from Ashford College were guided around Ashford International station to help familiarise them with the station. The students have high anxiety and it…
We were absolutely delighted when Hollingbourne Station was one of just 48 stations nominated from a total of 2575 stations in England, Scotland and Wales to take part in the World Cup of Stations 2023. As soon as the website and twitter voting portals went live for the Southeast heats on Monday morning, we…