Community Rail group highlights environmental savings from exploring Sussex's Coronation connections by train

Southern Railway train with Arundel Castle in the background

The benefits of taking the train rather than driving a car to locations in Sussex with Royal connections are being promoted to coincide with the Coronation.

With 40 days to go until the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, Community Rail representatives have selected various places on their railway lines which have links to the British Royal family and its rich history.

They have calculated how much less a train journey emits in greenhouse gases compared with taking the same trip by car.

The average emission levels are 70% lower by using the train rather than driving, according to their analysis.

Southeast Communities Rail Partnership is using the figures to encourage anyone coming to London for the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla to explore the venues on its nine Community Rail lines and discover the wider area by train.

The rail partnership will be posting regularly on its social media channels in the run-up to the Coronation on 6 May. The posts will detail the individual savings in greenhouse gas emissions from train versus car journeys from London to 12 venues on its lines with Royal connections.

Tim Barkley, chair of Southeast Communities Rail Partnership Community Interest Company, said: “The King has a long-standing interest in the environment and the Coronation is the perfect opportunity to promote the green credentials of travelling by train.

“We hope people use the Coronation as a chance to discover the Royal history in our area and it’s so much better for the environment to discover our Community Rail lines by train rather than driving. We believe our ‘Community Rail Coronation Connections’ will show the benefits of train travel.”

The full list of 12 locations chosen by Southeast Communities Rail Partnership with Coronation connections is:

Anne of Cleves House on the Sussex Downs LineArundel Castle on the Arun Valley LineBattle Abbey on the 1066 LineBognor Regis on the Arun Valley LineGuildford Castle on the North Downs LineHastings Museum on the Marshlink LineHever Castle on the Uckfield and East Grinstead - Oxted LinePenshurst Place on the Tonbridge - Reigate LineReading Abbey on the Windsor - Reading LineRoyal Pavilion Brighton on the Sussex Downs LineRoyal Tunbridge Wells on the 1066 LineWorthing on the Sussex Coast Line

The average emissions from a train journey from central London to these locations is calculated at 2.68kg of carbon dioxide equivalent while a trip by car emits on average 9.07kg of CO2e. This means taking the train instead of driving creates 70% less in greenhouse gas emissions.

Social media posts will appear between now and the Coronation on the rail partnership’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Southeast Communities Rail Partnership works to connect communities to places and opportunities. It has nine Community Rail lines and works with five train operators across East and West Sussex as well as parts of Surrey, Kent and Berkshire. The partnership works with train operators, Network Rail, local authorities, community representatives and dedicated volunteers at stations on its lines.

It is part of the wider Community Rail Network which is a growing grassroots movement made up of community rail partnerships and groups across Britain. They engage communities and help people get the most from their railways, promoting social inclusion and sustainable travel, working alongside train operators to bring about improvements, and bringing stations back to life.

More details of the various Community Rail lines and guides to discover each line in the South East are at southeastcrp.org