The Group services a number of information boards and publicity racks in station booking halls, town and village centres and in Post Offices etc. in the catchment area.
The Group has organised a series of meetings in various locations along the line to enable members or other train users to put forward their views to the various train operators and Railtrack.
The Group organises or participates in various local events throughout the year and occasionally charters a train to a destination not normally served by through services. The Group aims to cater for those who recall those glorious days in the 1960s and 1970s when British Rail ran its "Merrymaker Excursions" at very modest fares. They are an excellent way of introducing the delights of rail travel to those who seldom, or never, use normal services. We hope that further trips can be arranged in future years if the amount we have to pay for them is kept to a reasonable level. For a summary of previous charter trains organised by the CLPG - click on the "Special Trains" tab, above.
On 11th June 1994, the CLPG organised a ramble ending at Finstock
station, which was, at that time, under threat of closure.
The launch of "From the Thames to the Wye" at Moreton-in-Marsh Show
on Saturday 5th September 2009.
Left to right: Ray Jones (Editor), Glynis Dray (Illustrator) and Tony Hirtenstein (Layout and Design).
Photo: Brian Clayton.
In February 1998, the Group published an "Appraisal and Development Plan" for the Cotswold and Malvern Line, as it considered that merely maintaining the status quo was no longer an acceptable option if the line is to properly serve the needs of the local community.
In January 1999, the Group was instrumental in the formation of the "Cotswolds and Malverns Transport Partnership" between train operators, Railtrack and local authorities. The first action of the Partnership was to commission a £26,000 report on the demand for extra services on the line and the improvements required to the infrastructure in order overcome current capacity problems and cope with any such extra services. The report has been released to the Partnership a decision has now been made regarding action to be collectively be taken to resolve the problems of the line and to provide it with adequate infrastructure and train services for the next 10 years or so. From this initiative has come the decision by Network Rail to re-double a large section of the Cotswold Line and work is now underway, with a view to completion by September 2011.
In 2003, the Group led the celebrations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the line between Oxford and Worcester in 1853. This has been followed by celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the reopening of Honeybourne station in 1981, the 75th anniversary of Finstock station in 2009 and Worcester-Malvern 150 in 2010.Combe station celebrated its 75th anniversary on 8th July 2010.
Later in 2010, the CLPG took part in celebrating the redoubling of 20 miles of track. It helped with the funding of two concerts, one at Evesham and one at Charlbury. A recording of one song - "The Old Worse and Worse" from the Charlbury concert is available on YouTube.