Community rail initiatives across Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire have received national recognition after securing one first-place and two second-place honours at the Community Rail Awards 2026.
Gloucestershire Oxfordshire Community Rail Partnership was recognised for three projects: the Youth Transport Forum, Exploring LGBTQIA+ Gloucestershire, and The Story Express.
Each initiative began by engaging communities whose views are often absent from transport planning and developed practical responses based on what participants shared.
The Youth Transport Forum won first place in the category for involving children and young people. The programme brought together 11 delegates aged 16 to 25 from across both counties for four youth-led workshops, where they identified accessibility, education and affordability as the main barriers affecting travel.
The workshops also informed a wider Youth Transport Survey completed by 913 young people. Findings from that work contributed to the 2025 Youth Transport Report, which is now being referenced by regional and industry partners in discussions on improving mobility for younger passengers.
For Hannah McDonnell, the award reflects growing recognition of youth voices in transport planning.
“Young people are the next generation of rail travellers, and they told us exactly what they need to travel with confidence. We gave them the tools to turn that into evidence that decision-makers and our industry partners can consider and where possible act on.
“Having these projects recognised is really significant to us and demonstrates the importance nationally to ensure more voices are heard and that confidence is built where it is most needed.
“Our next phase of work is dedicated to supporting young people who might not yet have the travel confidence to access jobs and work experience. If we can remove that barrier, we open up their options.”
A second-place award for empowering diverse groups went to Gloucestershire Community Rail Partnership for Exploring LGBTQIA+ Gloucestershire.
Working with Great Western Railway, Pride in Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire Archives, the project gathered 67 personal stories and travel experiences that were later presented in an exhibition at Cheltenham Spa railway station during Pride Month.
GCRP also secured second place for Most Effective Communications Campaign through The Story Express, created with Aurora Children’s Theatre and funded by CrossCountry.
The project saw 27 young people create geo-located audio stories for a sold-out rail event attended by more than 60 families, with many participants reporting greater confidence in train travel afterwards.
