
- By Greg
- In Rail, Community, Social Value
AW RAIL SERVICES – WHITE CLIFFS COMMUNITY RAIL PARTNERSHIP
With our base of operations here in Folkestone we are right on the doorstep of several stations that are covered by the The White Cliffs Community Rail Partnership, with the coverage running from Sandwich to Westenhanger we are sort of placed right in the middle.
There are several key objectives that fall under the Community Rail Partnerships across the UK:
- Providing a voice for the community
- Promoting sustainable, healthy and accessible travel
- Bringing communities together
- Support diversity, inclusion plus social and economic development
We have been lucky in supporting events along this route at Folkestone West and during the early part of September 2024 they has been several guided walks departing from stations along this section of the line.
The rail community partnerships are not just about reinvigorating our stations, they are an opportunity for people living in these communities to get together for educational walks and social gatherings, along with encouraging those from outside the area to “take the train” to the starting points of these events.
This small corner of Kent is rich in history dating back hundreds of years, or in the case of The Warren and its many fossils, quite a few thousand. Guided walks, interspersed with snippets of local and historical information are a great way to educate people what they have on their doorstep.
With the start of CP7 and Network Rails commitment to local communities under this control period we are proud to support WCCRP in their endeavours and look forward to attending more events over the coming months.
Below is just an example of the guided walks that have taken place this week, if you’re reading this now then you might be just in time to catch the last two!
- Minibeasts and a Fortress Sun, 1 Sept, 10:30 – Dover Priory Train Station
- From the Sea to the Source – The River Dour Tue, 3 Sept, 11:00 – Dover Priory Train Station
- The Three Peaks of Folkestone Downs Wed, 4 Sept, 10:30 – Folkestone West Railway Station
- Fort Burgoyne Explorer Fri, 6 Sept, 11:00 – Dover Priory Train Station
- A Wild Walk to the Warren Sun, 8 Sept, 10:00 – Folkestone Central Station
More details can be found here on future events and how to book, or even how to become involved within your local community:
AW Rail Services have been delivering rail projects for several years right across the Rail & Construction sector.
Our extensive rail experience of over 120 years, combining decades of hands-on knowledge, providing building enhancements and maintenance solutions, improving infrastructure for passengers and operators, delivering major projects, and fulfilling long-term maintenance contracts really sets us apart.
Our services are varied from structural maintenance on tunnels, bridges, foot crossings, signal gantries, to station refurbishment, platform enhancements, civils works on and around the track, the mechanism management of lineside vegetation and further afield, painting of all types of structures and lastly but perhaps most importantly the provision of rail labour, not only supporting the projects we carry out for our projects but for the provision of labour to other clients.