Working Together to Make a Difference Through Rail
At North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership, we believe railways can contribute far more than journeys from one place to another. They can connect communities, support local economies and encourage sustainable travel. They can also improve wellbeing and help people feel proud of the places where they live, work, study and visit.
Our vision, Everyone Proud of Our Railways, guides the projects we develop. It also shapes the partnerships we build across North Cheshire, Halton and Warrington.
Through collaboration, we turn ideas into practical community rail projects with lasting local value. We work with community organisations, local authorities, the rail industry, educational partners, volunteers and other stakeholders.
Our work focuses on four strategic themes:
Together, these themes help us identify opportunities and develop partnerships. They also help us create projects that respond to the needs and ambitions of the communities our railways serve.
Our recent projects show what can happen when communities, organisations and the railway work together. Although every project is different, each supports our wider aims. Together, they help make railways more accessible, relevant and connected to everyday community life.
Working collaboratively with the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society and other local partners, the Ellesmere Port Discovery Days brought together rail, waterways, heritage and community engagement.
The project encouraged people from across Ellesmere Port’s diverse communities to discover more about their local transport heritage while creating opportunities for young people, community groups and veterans to participate.
Importantly, the project also helped establish new relationships between community organisations, schools, local authority teams, the Canal & River Trust and the railway. These connections provide a foundation for further collaborative projects and sustainable visitor experiences.
The Friends of Helsby Station initiative is creating new opportunities for local people to play an active part in the future of their railway station.
By bringing together volunteers, community organisations and railway partners, the project aims to strengthen the station’s connection with Helsby while helping create a welcoming environment that reflects local identity.
The initiative supports our Stations in Their Place theme and demonstrates how community participation can help put stations at the heart of the places they serve.
Our developing Friends of Ellesmere Port Station initiative provides another opportunity for residents, volunteers and local organisations to become involved with their railway.
The project is focused on building community pride, improving connections between the station and the surrounding town, and exploring opportunities to celebrate Ellesmere Port’s distinctive identity and heritage.
Furthermore, the station provides an important gateway for sustainable journeys to local attractions and the wider area, creating opportunities for collaboration between rail, community and visitor organisations.
Working with the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society and Canal & River Trust, we supported a family volunteering event aboard and around the historic steamship Daniel Adamson at Sutton Weaver.
Families were able to take part in practical and creative activities while discovering more about volunteering, heritage and their local environment.
As well as providing an enjoyable community activity, the event demonstrated how collaboration between railways, waterways and heritage organisations can create new ways for people of different ages to participate in their communities.
Working with Elton Parish Council, we supported the installation of outdoor gym equipment for the local community.
Although rail services at Ince & Elton Station are currently limited, Elton and Ince remain important communities within our Partnership area. Supporting local wellbeing initiatives enables us to build stronger relationships while maintaining connections between communities and discussions about the future development of sustainable transport.
Our ongoing collaboration with Beyond the Tracks is exploring how music, culture and creativity can bring communities closer to their railways while encouraging sustainable travel.
In early 2026, Music Trains brought live performances onto Northern services between Widnes and Liverpool, transforming everyday journeys into shared cultural experiences. Building on their success, we supported and funded a further Music Trains event in May, this time bringing live music to Transport for Wales services between Runcorn and Chester, travelling through Frodsham and Helsby.
The collaboration forms part of the wider Beyond the Tracks initiative, which includes an accessible music trail connecting Widnes Station and Runcorn Station through 17 locations celebrating Halton’s musical heritage.
Together, these activities demonstrate how community rail can provide more than transport. By bringing culture into stations and onto trains, we can create welcoming experiences, celebrate local identity and encourage people to see rail as an enjoyable and sustainable way to connect with the places around them.
Our involvement with Beyond the Tracks continues to develop, with opportunities to explore further creative projects that connect local talent, communities and the railway.
We were delighted to support the Thomas Brassey Society and partner organisations in bringing a statue of pioneering railway engineer Thomas Brassey to the entrance of Chester Station.
Born near Chester in 1805, Brassey became one of the world’s most influential railway builders of the nineteenth century. Today, his story provides an important connection between the area’s railway heritage and the engineering, technology and career opportunities offered by the modern railway.
The installation therefore celebrates the past while helping inspire curiosity about the future.
Working with Frodsham Town Council, Cycle North Cheshire and Transport for Wales, we helped facilitate the installation of active travel information at Frodsham railway station and town centre bus stops.
The information encourages residents and visitors to explore Frodsham and the surrounding area on foot or by bicycle. At the same time, it strengthens connections between rail, bus, walking and cycling.
The project demonstrates how railway stations can become effective gateways to their communities while supporting healthier and more sustainable travel choices.
We continue to work with the Frodsham Festival of Walks. Through this partnership, we promote railway stations at Runcorn, Frodsham and Helsby as convenient starting points for a wide range of walks.
In 2025, the festival included 29 walks and attracted more than 450 participants, supported by volunteer walk leaders. We were pleased to continue our involvement in 2026.
Once again, we encouraged people to consider travelling by rail. We also highlighted the connections between local stations, walking routes, communities and the surrounding countryside.
By linking rail with walking and local events, this ongoing collaboration supports healthier and more sustainable travel choices. It also demonstrates how railway stations can act as gateways to local places. As a result, residents and visitors can discover more of North Cheshire without relying on the car.
In partnership with the University of Chester, we supported research exploring how visitors travel to and from the Sandstone Trail.
The research considered travel behaviour around one of Cheshire’s best-known walking routes, which can be accessed directly from Frodsham Station.
The findings provide valuable evidence that can help inform future work around active travel, sustainable tourism and better connections between railway stations and visitor destinations.
The full report has now been published. Click here to download.
Following the upgrading and reopening of the Halton Curve for passenger services between Liverpool and Chester via Frodsham and Helsby, redundant railway signals were relocated to Castle Park in Frodsham.
We helped facilitate their installation as a permanent feature, preserving an element of local railway heritage for future generations.
There is also potential to develop interpretation around the signals, helping residents and visitors understand their significance and the wider role railways have played in the development of the area.
Community rail is always evolving. Therefore, alongside delivering projects today, we continue to listen to communities and partners. We also explore new ideas and identify opportunities where collaboration could make a difference.
For some people, travelling by train can feel difficult or unfamiliar. Therefore, we want to work with health, wellbeing and community organisations to help more people travel independently.
Through supportive and inclusive activities, the project could help reduce barriers to rail travel. In turn, this could improve access to employment, education, healthcare, leisure and social opportunities.
We are developing a growing programme to research, record and share the stories of the railways across North Cheshire.
Working with volunteers and community partners, the project will explore how railways have influenced local communities, employment, industry and everyday life.
Over time, these stories will create an accessible historical resource. As a result, we can connect today’s railway with the people and events that shaped it.
Railway stations can provide valuable spaces for their communities.
Therefore, we are exploring opportunities to bring underused railway buildings and land back into positive use. Working with partners, these spaces could support community, cultural, environmental or wellbeing activities.
This creative community project will explore how local people see and experience their railways. Their ideas will then inspire visual representations that reflect the identity of Runcorn and Warrington. In turn, this could strengthen the connection between stations and the communities they serve.
Art and creativity can help stations reflect the identity of the communities around them.
For example, future collaborations could include installations, performances, exhibitions and other creative activities within the railway environment. These projects could also create new opportunities for local artists, community organisations, schools and residents to participate.
We are exploring opportunities to celebrate and promote our local railway stations through the Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards. In particular, this can recognise the work of volunteers, communities and partners who help make stations welcoming places to visit and use.
The railway offers a remarkably diverse range of careers and skills opportunities.
We want to develop activities that give young people opportunities to discover the industry first-hand. For example, these could include visits, educational projects and engagement with railway professionals.
By connecting schools and colleges with the railway, we can help young people understand the opportunities available to them. At the same time, they can discover the continuing importance of rail to sustainable transport and the economy.
Railway stations can provide excellent starting points for discovering North Cheshire.
We want to continue developing walking, cycling and visitor experiences that connect stations with attractions, heritage, countryside and town centres.
Through collaboration, we can make sustainable days out easier to discover. We can also help rail contribute to local visitor economies by working with tourism organisations, local authorities, businesses and community groups.
Our project programme continues to develop as we listen, learn and build new relationships across North Cheshire, Halton and Warrington.
If your organisation has an idea that connects with one of our four strategic themes, we would like to hear from you. Equally, there are many ways to become involved if you are interested in volunteering, supporting a project or sharing your experience.
By working together, we can create welcoming stations and encourage sustainable journeys. We can also support healthier, more connected communities and preserve the stories that make our railways part of the places they serve.
Our projects may begin with different ideas, communities and partners. However, they share one ambition: creating railways that people value, use and feel proud to call their own.
Get involved and help us shape the next chapter of community rail in North Cheshire.
