Welcome to our 2025/26 annual review, which contains reports about our continuing development, activities at stations along our routes and information about our projects. We hope you enjoy the read!
Hampshire Community Rail Partnership has this year grown in size and range with more station adoptions, building renovation schemes and a multitude of community outreach projects being undertaken. Together these activities continue to encourage increased passenger usage of our cherished local train services, enhanced station buildings and infrastructure, better onward journey opportunities, improved local economies and more cohesive communities around stations.
Of note this year, we have in coordination with other Community Rail Partnerships and rail industry partners, celebrated Railway 200 through a wide variety of events and promotions. In the country that invented the railways, it is only right to celebrate the impact rail travel continues to have on our communities; economically, socially and politically.
We will continue to campaign for and look forward to rail’s continued development in this part of the world, including the possible reopening of the Fawley Branch Line, a new station at Welborne, a doubling of the Fareham – Eastleigh line and other improvements highlighted in our work with Network Rail on the Solent Area Strategic Plan. We hope like minded people will join in with these aspirations to make them realities as soon as possible.
The rail industry is in a period of transition and we believe the future for our railways is bright. In partnership with others we will continue to do our best to help maintain and enhance this wonderful form of transport.
We are truly grateful to our staff, partners, supporters and volunteers who together continue to promote and enhance our railways as a local, regional and national asset. Thank you for all you do and we look forward to another successful year ahead.
Who we are
While our directors have remained the same throughout the year we have had a change in Rail Officer staff. Special thanks must go to Lucy Lomax, who left us last year after achieving so much. In her stead we now have two Rail Officers covering the whole partnership with assistance from Jennyfer Assis, who used to be a station adopter at Ash Vale Station!
Nick Farthing
Director
Mark Miller
Director
Veronika Moore
Director
Charlene Arrondeau
Community Rail Officer
Mikey Nevitt
Community Rail Officer
Jennyfer Assis
Community Rail Officer Assistant
Thanks to our funders
We are deeply appreciative of all the partners who have contributed to our activities this year and thank them for their continuing support and encouragement.
In this time of financial pressure for all, we also express our heartfelt thanks to the members of public and organisations who have increasingly donated funds to direct to Hampshire Community Rail Partnership. This has helped us undertake even more work than anticipated and is contributing to our long term sustainability. Thank you!
Our Community Rail Partnerships
Passenger numbers
No Community Rail Partnership can survive without a thriving railway. The Covid pandemic badly affected passenger numbers on all our services but ever since, we have seen a steady recovery. The tables below from the latest Office of Rail and Road Station usage confirm this steady rise, which we hope you find informative and hopeful.
The figures
Over £100,000 of grant funding and public donations over and above the core Train Operator funding levered in to support our projects last year.
For every £1 spent through the work of Community Rail Partnerships nationwide, there is a return of investment of £17.89
Achievements
Our refurbishment work of station buildings for community usage continues apace with internal redecorations and floor replacements of Swaythling and Petersfield freeshop rooms, and a major window replacement of Crewkerne Station Old Pumphouse on behalf of the Blackmore Vale CRP.
Planning permission has finally been approved for our project at Romsey Station House, where we are putting together the required £1.5m funding package and the long awaited refurbishment at Rowlands Castle is set to start in July 2026 where Charity Making Space will be taking residence with a selection of craftspeople who will undertake community outreach work from the station house.
With the support of Network Rail and Southampton City Council, Woolston Signal Box is now protected by a new roof – an important step in securing the future of this much-loved local landmark.
Work is now under way to assemble a wider funding package, including a GoFundMe public donation page, to help bring the building back into meaningful use. The long-term aim is to create a welcoming local heritage and education centre, where visitors can discover the story of the signal box, the railway and the community it has served.
Plans to transform the redundant Haslemere Signal Box into a local museum and visitor attraction progressed significantly this year. In partnership with the Haslemere Signal Box Trust, Network Rail officially handed over the historic building, celebrating the restoration of the signal box and the opening of the new Railway Museum.
The occasion recognised the dedication of the Trust, its volunteers, railway professionals, local dignitaries and supporters who have helped bring the project to life. Visitors were able to explore the restored lever frame, signalling equipment and museum collection, while the arrival of the Clan Line steam locomotive provided a memorable reminder of the area’s rich railway heritage. The project will help ensure future generations can discover the important part railways have played in shaping local communities.
We were pleased to work with partners on the Isle of Wight to ensure the continuation of the Brading Station and Signal Box Museum. Under threat to closure, Hampshire Community Rail Partnership stepped in to take a lease on Brading Station Community Buildings and help local volunteers reopen the facilities for public open days and ad hoc community events. This has proved the right thing to do as visitors continue to flock to Brading to enjoy this historic heritage station.
Future plans for stations include the refurbishment of Rowlands Castle Station Master’s House for use as a charity and community outreach centre, the development of a Serenity Garden at Aldershot, the opening of ad hoc community projects in the ground floor of Woolston Station Master’s House and the refurbishment of volunteer toilets at Netley.
Lastly, Hampshire Community Rail Partnership has published a Regenerating Railway Stations book, which outlines best practice in our approach to the subject. Produced with assistance from e p Architects, this book has been promoted through Rail Magazine and copies have been distributed to all CRPs, and even handed to railway historian, Tim Dunn and the Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, themselves!
Travel with Confidence
Our programme of taking different community groups through a Journey Planning workshop and Try the Train programme to increase independent use of trains has gone from strength to strength. This year we have provided the training to 19 groups including Scouts, schools, those with disabilities or economic disadvantage, and isolated immigrant groups as well as others. In all 398 individuals have benefitted from the training, which should increase train travel in the future as well as develop community cohesion at grass root levels.
To complement this training we have reprinted our Travel with Confidence booklet as a step by step guide to train travel and produced a short film, both of which are available on our website or by request.
Black History Month
For the first time, Portsmouth & Southsea Station came alive with music, culture and community spirit as local residents, families and visitors joined us to celebrate Black History Month. The event featured an energetic drumming performance from Drum Nation Tribe, alongside live music, creative activities, storytelling and contributions from local community organisations. Visitors were also able to enjoy delicious African food. Staff from South Western Railway participated with the youth in a fashion show highlighting traditional fabrics worn in countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Zambia and Nigeria. We created a welcoming space to learn about Black history & culture and celebrate the diversity of our local community.
Rambler buses
Once again our popular Test Valley and South Downs Rambler Bus services were operated throughout Summer Sundays in July, August and September thanks to funding from South Western Railway. Provided by Bluestar Buses, they link the rail stations at Andover, Romsey, Winchester and Petersfield with rural tourist buses running alongside major walking routes in Hampshire. This year they carried just shy of 1,000 passengers between them. These buses are running again in Autumn 2026 thanks to funding from CrossCountry Trains.
Reading Winter Warmer & Summer Donation Drive
Reading Station has become a major site for community focussed events, thanks to the provision of a Community Hub Space by Network Rail. This year we held two significant events in co-operation with the Reading Business Improvement District. In January there was a Winter Warmer event where we collected spare inter clothing and accessories with a view to giving them out to those in need during the coldest part of the year. Over 1000 items were generously donated through public and corporate donations and 850 were handed out to nearly 200 visitors who attended the community hub.
Such was the success of this that Reading BID asked if they could work on a similar joint project in Summer, seeking donations of spare summer clothing and accessories which would be collected at the Community Hub and then distributed to charities working with families in need. This idea resulted in 8 large boxes of products being donated and distributed. Volunteers from GWR, CrossCountry Trains, HCRP, Network Rail and local businesses all helped set up and run these events, for which we were truly grateful.
Tipples, Treats & Trails
If you want to know where to find a great café, pub or local walk close to railway stations, then our new Tipples Treats and Trails publicity is for you. Launched in Alton and Salisbury with some great guided walks, the leaflet, with accompanying beer mats, is available in hard copy or on our website, providing QR code links to a countywide database. Through this we aim to increase tourism throughout our rail network, promote access to our beautiful and interesting countryside and help develop our local visitor economies to create greater long term sustainability.
Publicity
Continuing with our rebranding and refreshing of publicity, this year we reprinted our Hills to Harbour Line Guide in hard copy or online. It is packed with information about the line and local visitor attractions to help you get out and about in the area.
In addition, we have produced a bespoke walking leaflet for Bramley and Mortimer Stations on Great Western Railway’s Reading to Basingstoke Line. The leaflet outlines several rural walks starting and finishing at these stations and provides interesting views of local attractions such as Silchester Roman Town, bucolic landscapes, fantastic pubs and a wide variety of wildlife.
All publicity is automatically put onto our websites as they are published, so please take a look.
Railway 200
Being the anniversary of the first passenger railway line to open in the world, much attention was drawn to the date through a series of celebrations and events throughout the country. We were no exception with events held throughout the year at Ash Vale, Netley, Petersfield, Bentley, Bitterne, Haslemere, Alton, Basingstoke, Micheldever, Aldershot, Guildford and Chandlers Ford. These ranged from art installations at Southampton to guided walks and history tours at Netley and Chandlers Ford, theatre productions at Bitterne, a Remembrance service at Haslemere and of course anniversary parties at many stations including the provision of vast quantities of cake. To round off the celebrations Network Rail’s Inspiration Train visited Southampton Central and Salisbury.
Art
Brightening up stations through the provision of art has been a mainstay of community involvement with the railways, and this year has been a sensational one for new installations. Waiting rooms at Aldershot, Farnham, Petersfield, Bentley, Havant and Basingstoke have all benefited from local colleges and schools getting involved in a rolling programme of installations.
Larger projects include murals and vinyls at Southampton on internal and external bridges, an installation in a station underpass at Romsey by local Romsey Secondary School children, a renewed Electrification celebration plaque at Fareham by local volunteers, artwork in the windows at Aldershot Station and mosaic artwork at Basingstoke Station.
Thanks to our volunteers
Apart from the dedicated work of our staff Hampshire Community Rail Partnership could not operate without the help of its station volunteers. They work tirelessly in all types of weather to provide litter picks, look after planters, run community refreshment stalls, install second hand book exchanges and much more. Several have entered their stations into the South East in Bloom competition with significant success!
New volunteers have come forward at Witley, Chandlers Ford, Hilsea, Portchester, Swanwick, which has added to our family.
To all who volunteer with us – a big thank you!
If you know of anyone who wishes to volunteer with us, please contact one of our rail officers who will warmly welcome you.
Walking
Hampshire and the surrounding counties have some of the most picturesque countryside in the country and the physical and mental health benefits of outdoor exercise are well established.
Our publicity and websites draws special attention to the amazing number of walks available, many from local railway stations. To complement this, we have worked with towns and villages eager to promote their local walks including the Alton Walking Festival, a new walks leaflet for Bramley and Mortimer on the Reading Basingstoke line, a station to station walks leaflet on the Hills to Harbour line and the Petersfield Walking Festival. To complement this we worked in partnership with the Isle of Wight CRP to produce a series of Rail to Trail walks which were well attended. In addition, we ran a joint project with the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to map out accessible walks in the area with Hampshire Disabled Peoples Voice and Sight Loss Hampshire.
Lastly, through funding provided by Portsmouth City Council and Community Rail Network Community Rail Development Fund a series of 15 walks was created to offer people who live along the Waterloo to Portsmouth line the opportunity for an affordable day out in the countryside accessible from stations on the line.
Free Shops
Our long running Free Shops at Swaythling and Petersfield continue to thrive with major donations being received from Fareshare and Neighbourly charities, Marks and Spencer, Asda, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Co-op and local shops as well as public donations. With an average of 50 – 70 visitors at each opening session these shops are popular and well used as a means of reducing food waste which would otherwise end up in landfill.
Over the past year the concept has been extended at Swaythling to include a bric a brac recycling point, which has proved extremely popular. Southampton University now donates to us any spare food, equipment and utensils left at the end of each academic year by departing students. Such recycling in action is becoming known as Unicycling!
In addition, a Community Pantry has started operating at Bitterne Station Community Hub on a Friday morning, using the same concept of utilising and distributing donated food. It now attracts around 25 people each week. The byproduct from these services, is that people often attend as much for the community chats and interactions as for the food itself.
Here's to the next year ahead!
Thanks for reading.