Achievements of community rail champions from across the country applauded at 2018 Community Rail Awards

  • Rock Rail

The awards event, held annually and organised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), took place on 4 October in Glasgow and was attended by industry and government representatives and community rail partnerships from across the country.

This year saw an exceptional range of innovative and inspiring community rail projects with over 180 entries across 14 award categories. Severnside Community Rail Partnership was triumphant on the night winning the top award ‘Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail’ for their far reaching programme of activities helping connect the railways in the west of England to the heart of the communities they serve.

Other category winners were:

  • Involving Children and Young People – Conwy Valley Railway Partnership for Rail Safety Video;
  • Involving Diverse Groups – Community Rail Lancashire for The Railway Confidence Programmes;
  • Community Art Schemes – Permanent – Severnside Community Rail Partnership & Crimestoppers for The Fearless Four Seasons Mural;
  • Community Art Schemes – Renewable & Smaller – Kent Community Rail Partnership, Bradfields Academy & British Transport Police Kent for British Transport Police Text Number Poster Campaign;
  • Most Enhanced Station Buildings and Surroundings – Friends of Buxton Station for Heritage-friendly life-saving improvements;
  • Small Projects Award – Under £500 – Friends of Ally Pally Station for Hop on a Train;
  • Best Community Engagement Event – Community Rail Lancashire for Women Who Wander;
  • Best Marketing or Communications Campaign – Poacher Line Community Rail Partnership for 100 years of aviation along the Poacher Line;
  • Influencing Positive Change – Women in Community Rail for Women in Community Rail – ‘Achieving Change Together’;
  • Photo Competition | “Community Rail in Action” – Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership for “Carefully does it! Face painting on the Santa Special;
  • It’s Your Station – Friends of Glossop Station
  • Outstanding Volunteer Contribution – Neil Williams, Chair of Friends of Glossop Station;
  • ACoRP Award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail – Severnside Community Rail Partnership;
  • ACoRP Lifetime Achievement Award – Chris Austin OBE.

 

Nick Watson, Commercial Director Rock Rail, attended the awards night and said:

“We are delighted to sponsor the Community Rail Awards and join all those involved in celebrating and congratulating the tremendous achievements of the many individuals, groups and organisations in benefiting their communities and local railways.

“Rock Rail is committed to helping build a better rail industry and so we are particularly pleased to be able to acknowledge the vital role of community rail groups in stimulating growth and shaping the UK rail industry to better serve communities across the country.

“Huge congratulations to all the winners and entrants for all their achievements and efforts.”

 

For more information on each of the category winners please click here.

To find out more about the Association of Community Rail Partnerships please click here.

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Driving Net Zero: How Rock Road 
Is Funding the UK’s Bus Transition

Accelerating the shift to clean, affordable, zero-emission transport

Year
2025
Category
Rock Road
Share

The Challenge

The UK bus network is at the heart of everyday travel – but over 30,000 diesel buses still need replacing to achieve a fully zero-emission fleet.

While around 5,000 battery-electric buses are already on the road, the high upfront cost of electric vehicles and depot electrification continues to slow the transition. Traditional funding routes — such as government grants or short-term bank finance – have helped start the journey but cannot support decarbonisation at the scale required.

A new, sustainable funding model was needed: one that could attract long-term capital, spread costs fairly, and give operators and authorities confidence in the future.

The Solution

In 2021, Rock launched Rock Road to deliver exactly that –  applying its proven infrastructure financing approach from the rail sector to the UK’s clean bus revolution.

Working with Aviva, the National Wealth Fund, and HSBC, Rock created a dedicated investment platform that channels infrastructure-style finance from pension funds and institutional investors directly into zero-emission bus projects.

This model provides:
  • Access to billions in long-term private capital for fleets and depot electrification.
  • Low-cost, sustainable finance tailored to public-sector needs.
  • Comprehensive risk transfer, including residual value and battery performance, supported by Rock’s in-house team of engineers and asset managers.

Impact

The platform has already raised £100 million, with capacity to scale to £1 billion per year over the next decade – providing a consistent source of affordable capital for local authorities and operators.

Rock’s model ensures that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric buses can now be lower than diesel equivalents, thanks to both cheaper long-term finance and reduced operating costs.

In London, Rock has financed 120 zero-emission buses under 7-year leases aligned with Transport for London’s contract lengths. This structure gives operators flexibility and certainty:

  • Buses can be returned, renewed, or upgraded at the end of term.
  • Lease rates are predictable and capped.
  • Ownership and residual risks sit with Rock, not the operator.

The Future

Rock Road’s ambition is to support the rollout of zero-emission fleets across the UK – helping local authorities and operators meet climate goals without overextending public budgets.

By leveraging limited government funding to attract large-scale private capital – for example, £10 million of public investment unlocking over £250 million in total funding – Rock’s model accelerates decarbonisation while keeping costs low for the public sector.

Our ambition is to make electric buses the default choice - not because of subsidy, but because they are the best economic and environmental option.
Louis Swindell
Commercial Director, Rock Road