Tag: Community Rail

Valley Line Partnership Gets Up and Running!

by HADRAG’s Richard Lysons, Calder Valley Line Community Rail Partnership steering group member

Four years ago, at the launch of the Electric Railway Charter at Calderdale Industrial Museum, I expressed my hope that not only would the Calder Valley line be electrified, but it would become a community rail partnership!

Well, after years of patient campaigning, liaison and behind the scenes work by local authority elected officers and officers, the Calder Valley Community Rail Partnership (CRP) has arrived!

The partnership is jointly supported by Calderdale and Rochdale councils. Route covers (for now) the stations in the two boroughs from Mills Hills to Halifax and Brighouse. Market towns, villages and district centres are included as is the planned station at Elland on the Halifax-Huddersfield and Sowerby Bridge-lower Calderdale routes. (Extensions to into Bradford, Leeds and Manchester might be a future possibility.) 

Karen Hornby has recently been appointed rail officer for the partnership. She brings with her over 30 years’ experience of working for Network Rail in the north west. Karen has already started meeting volunteers and station adopters along the route, building working relationships.

The DfT’s community rail strategy aims to provide a voice for the community, promote sustainable and healthy travel, bring communities together and support social and economic development. There are more than 80 community rail partnerships around the country, supported by the Community Rail Network. Railway lines with such a partnership have seen growth in passenger numbers, improvements at stations and socio-economic development.

Red spots are in Calderdale and Rochdale and so are in the CRP area. Elland should join in 2024. Low Moor (Bradford) could join later.

Promoting Green Tourism

There is great potential for the Calder Valley Line partnership to encourage green tourism with the possibility of walking guides, especially using the adjacent Rochdale Canal and Calder & Hebble Navigation.

Many community rail partnerships have line-based artwork and link up to work with young people and disadvantaged groups. In many cases a clear “line identity” has been created with slogans (such as “The Poacher Line”) and printed timetables have been sponsored by the rail partnerships to encourage tourism and greater off-peak travel.

Our friends and colleagues at Community Rail Lancashire are supporting the new partnership and we can learn from their many successful initiatives. HADRAG is represented on the partnership’s Stakeholders’ Group and looks forward to supporting the various projects that are planned. There are huge opportunities to both build on current good practice along the route and start on new initiatives to involve local groups and communities. The Calder Valley Community Rail Partnership’s Prospectus is available to download at Calder Valley Line Partnership Prospectus (rochdale.gov.uk).

Working Together

From Brighouse to Mills Hill, station adoption groups are already doing fantastic work. They all have their own themes, creating diversity along the line. The CRP will take a more regional perspective linking across the Pennines and developing whole-line themes interacting with a wider community. That is not a threat to the station groups’ valuable and continuing work. Long may they thrive! – JSW

Header Image: “Todmorden Station” flickr photo by Tim Green aka atoach https://flickr.com/photos/atoach/51362234511 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

Community rail partnership for Calder Valley Line – moving ahead

Much progress has been made on setting up a Calder Valley Community Rail Partnership. A draft prospectus was discussed with stakeholders at an online meeting in January, attended by representatives of Rochdale and Calderdale councils, Network Rail, user groups and station friends groups. The meeting was positive, with support for the idea almost unanimous. Work continues led by officers at Rochdale and Calderdale councils.


Highly acclaimed Amazing Women by Rail is a project supported by Community Rail Lancashire and the MidCheshire Line CRP

After over five years of patient campaigning, HADRAG committee member Richard Lysons (who is also chair of Friends of Littleborough Stations) said, “I am delighted to hear of the genuine keenness and positive moves by Rochdale and Calderdale Councils. The time is absolutely right for such a partnership to be set up. Great strides in line identity were made by the highly acclaimed Discover Amazing Women by Rail, a project that highlighted the tourism potential for our Line. One only has to look at railway lines that have developed community and tourism projects – the Penistone line, Bentham line and Settle-Carlisle – to see the value of community rail.

“With backing from our local councils and elected councillors, the future is bright for a Calder Valley CRP. A draft prospectus will be launched in the New Year and interested parties encouraged to give feedback. A CRP aims to connect the railway closer to local communities and stakeholders. The current pandemic has caused a drop in passenger numbers can hopefully. Rebuilding, we hope to reverse that drop an emphasis on serving the community, encouraging sociable and sustainable travel.”

The council officers have been working closely with the Community Rail Network (formerly ACoRP) who are linked with nearly 70 community rail partnerships and an even greater number of station adoption groups around the country. HADRAG looks forward to continuing to support and develop a Calder Valley CRP.

This is about complementing and supporting, not competing with, active and successful station groups such as those at Brighouse, Low Moor, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge. – RL

Spots on our route map show a possible area that could be covered by a community rail partnership. A CRP could work with local businesses and leisure groups, as well as town councils and boards, train companies, and local/regional authorities. Travel on the line, and attractions around it, would both be promoted.

Station adoption groups are already doing magnificent work. Supported by a CRP, they should go from strength to strength.

Getting Halifax Connected

Anne Lister, Shibden Hall, and the BBC drama Gentleman Jack have put Halifax on the map. Thousands of fans will descend on the town for the Anne Lister Birthday Weekend on 1st– 5th April this year. Would it not be wonderful if lots of them came by rail?   Women in Community Rail and Discover Amazing Women by Rail are doing a stall in the Piece Hall on Saturday 4 April at the Makers Fair. Most of the weekend’s paid events are already sold out with people coming from the USA and beyond. Some events are at the Minster right next to Halifax station.  Shibden Hall could be extremely crowded that weekend.

Maybe choosing a less busy time, for walkers it’s an invigorating climb (give yourself an hour) from Halifax station to Shibden Hall and Park via Magna Via, the ancient packhorse route over Beacon Hill, with spectacular views. The route also links to a 9km Anne Lister Walk around the delightful Shibden Valley (map and guide for sale  from www.christophergoddard.net).

For the less adventurous a shuttle bus would help. And actually we could do with a permanent “hopper”, linking stations, town, Dean Clough and heritage attractions such as Bankfield Museum as well as Shibden Hall. With regeneration plans in the pipeline for both bus and train stations and new round-town bus circulation, let’s hope inter-modal links will be transformed over the next few years. —RL/JSW