After the last bus at 3.15am on Sunday (29^th August), Stockport bus station will close so that work can begin on a brand new transport interchange.

[Read more…]

Bolton CRP are planning to hold a Mela in and around Bolton railway station and Interchange as a fringe event to the Bolton Food and Drink Festival in August 2021.

[Read more…]

Northern’s is giving people the chance to ‘Go Do Your Thing’ and travel on its network for just £1. [Read more…]

Are you good at building relationships and partnership working? Interested in supporting local communities and wanting to make a difference? Concerned about the environment and wanting to encourage public transport and other sustainable modes?

If your answer is ‘yes’, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the place for you. We have an exciting role for a Senior Officer (Community Rail) to join our Transport Strategy Team to provide a leading role in community rail activity across the borough.

For an informal chat about the role or to find out more, please contact Emily Brough, Transport Strategy Manager – emily.brough@stockport.gov.uk, 0161 474 4592.

Closing date: 20 August 2021.

To apply for the role, and for more information, visit Greater Manchester Jobs Portal.

As the Design Stage progresses for the provision of lifts at Handforth Train Station, plans continue for making the station more inclusive in other areas. The Friends of Handforth Station are hoping to welcome new rail users who have previously found rail travel from the station difficult.

Jenny Barnes, the Chair and the Arts Coordinator of FoHS, said, “Most of us welcome the return of the noise and bustle of life as the pandemic restrictions ease, but we must remember that some of our community find life’s excitement challenging. We want to make our station more friendly for them.”

The FoHS have partnered with the Seashell Trust, who support students with complex learning difficulties, disabilities and additional communication needs.

Jenny added, “The Seashell Trust have been wonderful advocates of our campaign for step-free access. They have also helped us understand what inclusivity means for their students.”

The Seashell Trust (headquartered near the border between Handforth and Cheadle Hulme) asked the fibreglass sculptor Kristian Movahed to create a soothing and reassuring seat for their students. The curvaceous and welcoming Avoseat was born.

The FoHS are now proposing to install a similar Avoseat on the Handforth Station concourse outside the ticket office.

Kristian Movahed, a fiberglass specialist who has contributed to Manchester’s Bee in the City,  will be visiting Handforth Station with his Avoseat  on Wednesday 26^th May between 10.30am and 1.30pm. “Please come along, have a look and tell us what you think,” he said.

As you will no doubt be aware, the Government has announced a new national lockdown that is expected to last to at least the end of February. Travel is of course restricted to essential travel only, looking back to previous lockdowns we expect that rail services will be impacted and temporary timetables will be published in due course.

 

In addition as rail staff can be affected by Covid just as much as anyone, it is highly likely that there could be short notice service disruptions due to staff shortages, so please ensure that you check timetables well in advance for planned changes to services and if possible consult your operator’s web site for up to the minute news of short notice cancellations. Some links to  operator sites can be found below:

 

Northern Rail

Transpennine Express

Cross Country 

Avanti West Coast

Congratulations to our volunteers who’s work was recognised in the Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards (CBKS).

 

CBKS is the country’s only County based awards event for rail volunteers. CBKS focuses on the work of grass roots volunteers and their activities on their stations and in their local communities.  You can read more about CBKS here including the full list of  winners.

Due to the circumstances created by the pandemic, the event had to move from our usual venue in Northwich to an on-line event which was broadcast on Youtube, You can watch the whole event here.

The South East Manchester CRP, working in partnership with the Crewe to Manchester CRP  and local Stockport artist Eamonn Murphy are happy to announce that their Station Connections Line Art project will be available for viewing at Stockport’s Memorial Gallery from May 15th.

On Friday 6th March SEM CRP was happy to welcome teacher Emily Roberts and children from Woodley Primary School to Woodley Railway Station so that the children could see the completed art work that they had contributed to. The banner used the school’s tag ‘CARE’

C: Confident and Creative

A: Aim high and be Ambitious

R: Responsible, Resilient and Respectful

E: Everyone matters

The Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards were recently held at the Grange Theatre in Hartford, Northwich. Several station groups from the South East Manchester CRP were recognised for their hard work and the contribution that they make to improving the travelling experience for passengers. In particular Friends of Rose Hill won the overall  award for having Cheshire ‘s Best Kept Station in recognition of the fantastic flower displays around the station and their nationally recognised multi generational art project.

A full report of the awards ceremony can be found here. The key note speakers were Kul Bassi from the DfT and Chris Jackson from key sponsor Arriva Northern.