NATIONAL Express East Anglia has been shortlisted in seven categories of the Community Rail Awards 2008, which celebrate outstanding achievement in community rail development.

In the Best Station Retail Outlet category, David Turner’s Brief Encounter café at Wymondham station has been shortlisted for its sustainable business offering excellent quality and service in a nostalgic and comfortable setting.

The recent renaissance of Woodbridge station supported by Network Rail, Suffolk County and Coastal District Councils and Woodbridge in Bloom has secured its nomination in the Most Enhanced Community/Heritage Station category.

The company has featured twice in the Best Marketing Publication category with its ‘East Suffolk Line Walkers’ Guide’ and ‘Explore the Yare Valley’, a ‘Widen the Choice Partnership’
publication produced as a joint initiative with the RSPB, National Trust and Natural England. It was also shortlisted twice in the Best Station Garden category for horticultural partnership achievement at Sheringham and Sudbury.

In the Passengers Matter category, shortlisting has been for part-time staffing at the rural stations of North Walsham, Wymondham, Brundall and Attleborough  for the first time in more than 40 years, and Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership’s Janet Cloke has been shortlisted for her long standing commitment to the Crouch Valley line in the Outstanding Volunteer category.

Finally, the ‘Widen the Choice Partnership’ has been nominated in the Transport Integration category for its initiatives to promote the use of Buckenham and Lakenheath stations as gateways for walkers and cyclists.

National Express East Anglia’s business director Andrew Goodrum said: “Our extensive shortlisting reflects our deep-seated commitment to creating sustainable local train services, and I thank our staff, partners and volunteers for all their hard work.”

The Community Rail Awards will take place later this month.