Partnership retains DfT accreditation status
8 June 2021: Surrey Hills to South Downs Community Rail Partnership – of which Haslemere Community Station is the founding member – has won accreditation from the Department for Transport for a second consecutive year.
This means the CRP meets standards required by DfT, monitored through Community Rail Network, the nationwide umbrella body. The news, announced by Line Officer Lucy Lomax, coincides with the launch of the CRP’s new website which promotes the area served by the five Portsmouth line stations in south-west Surrey. It also encourages sustainable travel by South Western Railway’s electric trains. With up to four services an hour each way, and journey times of about 60 minutes from Waterloo, the area is ideal for Londoners’ days out. Other easy connections mean the area is also in easy reach for people from elsewhere. The CRP was one of the quickest to achieve first-time accreditation a year ago – a tribute to the hard work and foresight of the Haslemere committee and the strength of its volunteers’ support. This includes staffing Haslemere Information Hub and working to achieve various other improvements in and around Haslemere station, to enhance the travel experience of visitors and commuters. The CRP began as a Haslemere project, but with interests of principal partners also accessible from Farncombe, Godalming, Milford and Witley, transition to a ‘line’ CRP was a logical progression. This led to the launch of Haslemere Community Station as a semi-autonomous body within the wider CRP. |