Webinar 'Encouraging and enabling modal shift through community engagement'

This webinar, for community rail partnerships, station groups and our rail industry and third sector partners, will explore how we can support modal shift from private car to rail, other public transport, and active travel, through effective local engagement and community-led activity.

It will consider opportunities and insights for community rail to play a crucial role in achieving more sustainable transport behaviours, and how it can deliver local engagement and empowerment most effectively, according to behavioural research. Drawing on good practice within and beyond community rail, as well as research, we will discuss how partnerships and groups can focus on activities that work, to deliver positive change as we emerge from the pandemic, and support and advice available from different organisations.

This webinar is free for Community Rail Network members, corporate partners, and government and third sector partners.

Our panellists will cover topics such as:

• Why community engagement may hold the key to achieving sustainable transport behaviours

• What principles and engagement techniques can be used in community rail to influence modal shift

• Evidencing and promoting positive outcomes in behavioural change

View the full programme here

The webinar will be hosted by Sarah Chilton from Community Rail Network, with panellists:

• Richard Walker - Visiting Research Fellow, DecarboN8. Seconded from Department for Transport/University of Leeds. Richard is a geographer and town planner with 29 years’ professional experience in transport planning. A specialist in transport planning policy and strategy, he has worked on North of England transport strategy since 2014, including time on loan to Transport for the North. He is a former Chair of the Transport Planning Society

• Jools Townsend - Chief Executive of the Community Rail Network: empowering and championing 1,000+ local groups and 70 community rail partnerships. These groups promote sustainable travel by rail, deliver local place-making and volunteering, give communities a voice in transport development, and bring people together. Jools has nearly 20 years’ experience in community engagement and communications, with a focus on sustainable travel. She has an MA in Political Communication, through which she focused on promoting and enabling sustainable development and behaviours.

• Professor Paul Salveson - Paul is the founder member of Community Rail Network (then ACoRP) and is a visiting professor at the Universities of Bolton and Huddersfield. His professional life has been split between railways and adult education. He is active in Bolton's voluntary sector and chairs the Bolton and South Lancashire Community Rail Partnership.

There will also be interactive discussion sessions for everyone to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences.

Booking and joining information

This webinar will be hosted on Zoom. Once you've booked your place via Eventbrite, full joining instructions including the Zoom access link will be emailed nearer the time.

The webinar will also be recorded and made available on our website as a resource for anyone unable to join the live event.

Please contact Hazel or Hannah via events@communityrail.org.uk if you have any queries about the format of this webinar.