We’re getting better at communicating with our 25 million neighbours thanks to our new digital notification system.
It helps us give anyone living within 500 metres of the railway accessible, clearer and accurate information on any nearby works in a timely way.
Communicating with people living near the railway
Our railway covers 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges and viaducts, and thousands of level crossings and signals and stations, touching every corner of Britain. Essential works doesn’t just impact the millions who travel by train everyday but also the millions of people living near the railway.
For many years, we’ve been notifying you of any nearby works with a printed letter sent through the post. This system is slower than we’d like – a letter can take as long as three to five days to reach you. It’s also a costly, less environmentally friendly method and less accessible form of communication.
A smarter, faster and better system
That’s why we began trialling a digital email notification system in 2023 across some projects. These included our Midland Main Line upgrade and the Bolton to Wigan electrification scheme, with 207,114 notifications sent to neighbours. Doing this saved £362,988.
The digital notifications can save us £1.65 per print letter – funds that we can instead reinvest elsewhere on the railway. And our emails can reach you in seconds rather than days. Plus, you can zoom in or out of text and use a screen reader to access the content if needed.
Following successful trials, we’ve rolled out the system for every project.
Sarah Sanders, head of contact and community at Network Rail said: “We are working hard providing as much notice as possible about our projects, whether its general maintenance or engineering upgrades.
“Our digital notification system is a step-change in the way we engage with our communities and neighbours as part of our vision to deliver a simpler, better, greener railway.”
Signing up
You can opt into digital notifications by visiting www.networkrail.co.uk/railworknearme and signing up. The email service will keep you up to date with the latest information about any rail works going on in your neighbourhood that may disturb you.
Digital notifications work on an opt-in basis. We’ll use letters for anyone not able to access online systems.
You can manage your preferences and the type of emails you’d like to receive by clicking the link at the bottom of the emails we send you. For information on how we store and use your data, check our privacy policy.
