Hereward CRP is joining other community partnerships and volunteer groups across Britain to spearhead a national campaign highlighting sustainable travel as a key factor in tackling the climate crisis, in the build up to COP26.

Community Rail Week, organised by Community Rail Network and sponsored by Rail Delivery Group, is the first event of its kind in the UK and will see hundreds of local partnership projects and volunteers getting involved to promote green travel by train during 18 - 24 October.

Many activities during the week will be focused on youth engagement, as a new survey shows that seven in ten young people support greater use of trains in the future.

With greener transport now recognised as a fundamental part of the solution to climate change, Community Rail Week, with the tagline ‘Go Green by Train’, looks to drive change at a community level through the efforts of 74 community rail partnerships and over 1,000 station friends’ groups across Britain.

Transport has a huge role to play if the UK is to reach its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 100% of 1990 levels, or ‘net zero’, by 2050. Figures show that:
• Transport is now the largest emitting sector in the UK, making up 27% of domestic emissions in 2019
• Rail accounted for just 1% of domestic transport emissions in 2019, despite representing 10% of the total distance travelled, and is the greenest form of transport after walking and cycling
• One train can remove up to 500 cars off our roads
• For a 30-mile journey, travelling by train instead of by car can reduce emissions by up to 86%