Fixing the Link – working collaboratively with community partners in Ely

On 02 July we joined colleagues from Community Rail Network, EMR, Greater Anglia and LNER at a ‘Fixing the Link’ day in Ely. The event, co-hosted by Hereward Community Rail Partnership (CRP) and local tourism officers from Visit Ely, was designed to give train operating company Community Rail representatives an experience of some of the many attractions that historic Ely has to offer tourists. The need to improve integration between the railway station and the city is often highlighted as an issue by visitors and local residents. This project therefore provides part of the solution to Fix the Link between the station and its tourist attractions.   

Recent joint research work between the CRP and Visit Ely has shown a significant interest from people to travel by train to the City for tourism purposes but wayfinding between the station, city centre and principal attractions is poor. Visit Ely and the CRP want to involve the train companies in a collaborative action plan to promote a new Visit Ely App, which gives details of all the attractions and how to get there on foot or by bike from the station, plus some collaborative promotional marketing activity to encourage people to visit Ely by using direct regional train services from the Midlands and the North, as well as from within the Greater Anglia area.        

David Jones, Stakeholder Manager, East Midlands & East Anglia said: “Ely station is served by CrossCountry’s Birmingham – Cambridge/Stansted Airport service and is a key interchange for a significant number of destinations.  In the city of Ely there is a strong focus on tourism and tourist attractions by the local authorities and Visit Ely want to do more to encourage visitors into the city. We are delighted to be invited to work collaboratively with our industry and community partners to promote Ely as a destination and to devise some initiatives to encourage people to use our services from the Midlands to visit this little gem of a city”.  “There really is so much to see and experience in Ely, from the stunning cathedral with its unique stained glass window museum and Green Man trail to Oliver Cromwell’s house and the nearby Ely Museum.”