THE Settle-Carlisle Railway Community Rail Partnership has been shortlisted in the national Community Rail Awards.

Its free line guide leaflet gained it a place in the final few in the tourism and leisure category of the awards, which will be announced in the autumn.

The Community Rail Awards, now in their 18th year, recognise the important work carried out by an army, often of volunteers, who work across Britain’s rail network to make stations welcoming spaces for passengers and visitors alike.

Many of the groups also carry out vital community engagement work with schools, colleges, and other group in their areas to help educate and secure passengers of the future, which is critical to ensuring the railways are an inclusive, sustainable, healthy way to travel.

The Settle-Carlisle Railway’s shortlisted project is its line guide which is produced twice a year. The line guide is a free leaflet which contains the timetables for the Settle-Carlisle line and The Bentham Line, as well as containing information about places in the area - such as the Ribblehead Viaduct.

John Moorhouse, chairman of The Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company said: “We’re very proud that our line guide has been shortlisted for a community rail award.

"The line guide is a result of ongoing comments received on the benefit of having a paper timetable, especially from the communities along both the Settle-Carlisle line and The Bentham Line.

"Rather than just printing timetables for the two lines, The Settle Carlisle Railway thought that the line guide could serve a dual purpose, and be used to promote the local area, local businesses, and encourage socio-economic activities within our communities.”

Jools Towsend, chief executive of Community Rail Network said: "Our community rail awards showcase the amazing projects, initiatives, and people across Britain, that make community rail.

"This year we’ve received over 230 submissions and as always, the standard of entries has been extremely high. We’re looking forward to joining our community rail colleagues and industry partners to celebrate their hard work, positivity, and dedication at our awards evening in October.’

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Manchester on Wednesday October 5. The event is jointly sponsored by Northern and Transport for Greater Manchester.

Community rail is a grassroots movement spanning Britain that is made up of community rail partnerships, which work along whole railway lines or in specific regions, and volunteer station ‘friends’ or ‘adoption’ groups to connect communities with their railways.