A selection of seven case studies which showcase successful local rail partnerships across England have been launched by the Urban Transport Group and Shadow GBR.

The case studies have been chosen to reflect the diverse range of projects that partnerships between places and the railway are delivering, from individual stations to whole programmes of work.

The case studies were launched today (15 May 2026) to coincide with the official opening of the multi-million-pound upgrades at Darlington Station, which is one of the featured case studies.

The seven case studies (and their partners) are:

• Darlington Station redevelopment (pictured) (Tees Valley Combined Authority, Department for Transport, Network Rail, Darlington Borough Council, Transport for the North, LNER)
• Northumberland Line (Northumberland County Council, North East Combined Authority, Department for Transport, Network Rail, Northern)
• Midlands Rail Hub (West Midlands Rail Executive, Midlands Connect, Department for Transport, Network Rail, West Midlands Rail, Chiltern Railways and Cross Country)
• West of England Combined Authority and the railway (WECA, Network Rail and GWR)
• Bee Network Rail Integration (Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail, Department for Transport, and train operating companies)
• Yorkshire Plan for Rail (West Yorkshire Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, Network Rail, Northern and TransPennine Express)
• Devon Metro, including the Dartmoor Line (Devon County Council, Network Rail, West Devon Borough Council, GWR and UK Government).

The case studies document complements the practitioners' guide for building partnerships, launched in January 2026.

Rebecca Fuller, Assistant Director of the Urban Transport Group, said:

“We’re excited to share this collection of case studies which shows that there are already great examples of partnerships between local areas and the railways that we can learn from as we move towards a new statutory role for local leaders in our rail network.

“Our members are eager to continue this collaboration on the journey towards Great British Railways.”

Further case studies will be added as more examples of partnerships are captured.