A call for compassion on the rail network during mental health awareness week
Railway Children and Govia Thameslink Railway partner to raise awareness of young people’s mental health across the rail network.
Date: 11/5/2026
CROSSCOUNTRY DONATES £10,000 TO STRENGTHEN RAILWAY CHILDREN’S YOUTH PLATFORM AND YOUTH AMBASSADOR PROJECT
Railway Children is proud to announce a significant £10,000 donation from CrossCountry, supporting the ongoing development of the Railway Children Youth Platform and Youth Ambassador Project. This contribution has already transformed the opportunities available to young people, enabling them to shape safeguarding practice, empower them and develop their own leadership skills across the rail industry.
Author: Amy Wright | Date: 19th February 2026
Turning Ideas into Action
Before receiving this funding, many of the ideas generated by young people could not be brought to life due to financial constraints. The CrossCountry Community Fund has changed that completely – elevating the Youth Platform’s capacity and helping the service progress towards its strategic goals to empower young people.
Thanks to this support, the Youth Platform has been able to achieve an impressive range of outcomes, including:
- Running multiple youth forums, both online and face-to-face, incorporating social activities that build confidence and team cohesion.
- Delivering the first ever Youth Forum Away Day Conference, bringing together young people, rail professionals, and the British Transport Police (BTP).
- Supporting the Christmas forum celebration, attended by the CrossCountry team.
- Designing and producing branded hoodies and resources to strengthen group identity and representation.
- Creating a stronger partnership between Railway Children and CrossCountry, opening the door to new collaborative opportunities.
- Enabling young people to represent the charity at national events, deliver training, support media work (including being part of a national BBC News item), and conduct youth friendly rail audits)
These achievements reflect not only the impact of CrossCountry’s funding, but also the commitment of the young people who continue to shape the future of safeguarding across the rail network.
Case Study: Turning a Youth-Led Podcast Idea into Reality
At the Youth Forum Away Day in September, the young people expressed a strong desire to create a rail themed podcast – a youth led platform to talk about their experiences of travel, safety advice, and positive stories from across the network. The idea captured their imagination, but the team initially lacked the experience, equipment, and resources needed to get started a themed podcast led platform to talk about their experiences of travel, safety advice, and positive stories from across the network.
CrossCountry stepped in to help make it happen.
Following discussions at grant update meetings, CrossCountry’s contract manager, Thomas Lambe, who had already met the young people during the Christmas celebrations, explored how the organisation could support the podcast vision. He later reported that CrossCountry would kindly provide access to a professional recording studio whenever the group needed it.
This offer has transformed the project from an ambitious idea into a realistic, achievable opportunity.
What began as a simple conversation during the Youth Away Day is now developing into a fully youth produced podcast series – giving young people a new platform to share their insights, creativity and lived experience with the wider rail industry.
A Partnership Creating Lasting Change
Railway Children’s Youth Platform exists to ensure that young people with lived experience of vulnerability have a genuine voice in safeguarding practice. CrossCountry’s generous support is playing a crucial role in making this possible.
By investing in participation, creativity, and youth leadership, this partnership is helping young people develop confidence, new skills, and a sense of ownership over changes happening across the rail network.
We look forward to continuing this important work together and building even more opportunities for young people in the months ahead.
Other news and blogs
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Date: 30/4/2026
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Railway Children will join partners from the Rooted Futures collaboration at the 2026 Skoll World Forum to lead an interactive session on family strengthening and child protection reform.
Date: 07/4/2026
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Learn about safeguarding and how it relates to child protection on transport networks.
Date: 28/4/2026
Helping children and young people build a life away from the streets
No child wants to survive on the streets. And, through understanding and empowerment, together, we can ensure no child has to.
Date: 10/4/2026
Becoming Julia
Julia, 24, grew up as a boy but knew, early on, that the gender she’d been born into was not who she was. Here, she talks to Youth Platform about her journey, and what she wishes she’d know as a ten-year-old boy.
Date: 31/3/2026
