Rail Delivery Group

Awards recognise work fuelling cycle-rail revolution
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date 27 October 2016
source Rail Delivery Group
type Press release

Award-winning work by the rail industry and its partners is oiling the wheels of a cycle-rail boom across Britain.

Better bike facilities at stations and on trains are helping to fuel a rapid rise in the number of people combining cycle and rail to get to work or to make leisure trips, with around 50million ‘cycle-rail’ journeys last year, up 40 per cent on 2010.

The number of cycle-rail journeys where a bike is parked at a station has increased by 70% per cent since 2010. The number of cycle spaces at rail stations has risen from 23,500 to more than 70,000 in the last six years, with that number is set to rise to 75,000 in 2017.

The National Cycle Rail Awards, run by the the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on behalf of the Cycle Rail Working Group, are sponsored by CyclePods and are now in their 12th year. The Awards play a key part in increasing cyclists’ access to the railway by improving communications and spreading best practice.

This year’s winners, judged in tandem with cycling stakeholders and campaign groups, include: 
o Best Customer Experience - East Midlands Trains for ‘A Cyclist’s Experience’,
o Partnership Working - Sustrans Scotland for the Links to Borders Rail and Haymarket Station Cycle Facilities,
o London Cycle Parking - Waltham Forest Council for Cycle Hubs,
o Innovation – Bainton Bikes and Great Western Railway -  Introducing a First for the UK -  in cycle hire
o Station of the Year - Abellio Greater Anglia for the Cambridge CyclePoint, and
o Operator of the Year – East Midlands Trains

The awards were opened by All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group Chair Ruth Cadbury MP and presented by Transport Minister, Paul Maynard, MP at a ceremony hosted by the APPCG sponsored by Cyclepods.

Jacqueline Starr, Managing Director for Customer Experience at the Rail Delivery Group, said:   
“Record numbers of people are using cycles as part of their rail journeys and this growth is down to the dedication, determination and joint work of the Department of Transport, train operators, Network Rail and our partners both inside and outside the rail industry.

“This year’s awards winners have made outstanding contributions to cycle-rail covering everything from new and improved station facilities to better passenger information and customer service.” 

A full list of award winners, photographs and more information is available by contacting the RDG media team .

Notes to editors
Judges included: Tom Bogdanowicz, Senior Policy and Development Officer, London Cycling Campaign; Martyn Brunt, National Cycling Network Development Manager, Sustrans; Phillip Darnton OBE, Executive Director, The Bicycle Association of Great Britain and Chair of the Cycle-Rail Working Group; Martin Key, Campaigns Manager, British Cycling; Conrad Haigh, Head of Integrated Transport, Rail Delivery Group, Carol McKinley, Operations Director/ Deputy Chief Executive, Cycling UK; Mark Peyton, Project Manager, TfL Rail, Transport for London; Andrew Garnett, Deputy Editor, Passenger Transport; Sandra Iles, Policy Adviser, Department for Transport; Dr Tom EllertonResearcher, Urban Transport Group; Jimmy Hall, Cycling and Walking Policy Advisor, Department for Transport and Julie Onwukegu, Head of Crime Reduction, British Transport Police.

The Cycle Rail Working Group is a cross industry working group that encourages implementation and best practice development of strategic policy in relation to the delivery of cycle-rail integration. The Group is chaired by Phillip Darnton of the Bicycle Association and the secretariat role is fulfilled by RDG.

Group members include: The Rail Delivery Group: Network Rail, Transport for London, Department for Transport, Urban Transport, and UK Cycling Alliance, with representation by Sustrans, Passenger Focus, Rail Safety Standards Board, British Transport Police, Rail Safety and Standards Board and Historic England.

Railhub Archive ::: 2016-10-27 RDG-001