Vicars from Norfolk and Suffolk churches will be joining National Express Group’s ‘one’ railway and the Bittern Line & Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) at Norwich station on Monday 29 October at 10.30 to launch the new ChurchRail Trail, an innovative, educational and exciting way to visit the region’s array of churches by train.

David Hayden, Archdeacon of Norfolk commented: “Norfolk has 659 medieval churches - the largest concentration in the world. The Diocese of Norwich which includes part of Suffolk covered by the Wherry Line is also a fine resource for wonderful church buildings. I am delighted that 'one' railway are coming into partnership with us in this ChurchRail Trail to enable more people to have the opportunity to visit these historic churches.”

‘one’ railway has teamed up with the Bittern and Wherry Lines CRPs - which promote the Norwich to Sheringham and Norwich to Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft rail lines in conjunction with Norfolk County Council and other partners – with the launch of a colourful and informative ChurchRail brochure, designed to encourage both visitors and local residents to visit over 20 churches, situated close to railway stations on the Bittern and Wherry CRP routes. As well as enjoying a unique day out, visitors can win prizes by accumulating stamps each time they visit a church on the trail, winning Anglia Plus and London rail tickets depending on the number of visits made in a 12-month period.

Adrian Gunson, Cabinet member for Planning and Transportation at Norfolk County Council, said: "We welcome this latest initiative of the Bittern and Wherry Lines in working with the local churches, to encourage more people to use our local railways and visit these historic and important buildings. These local rail transport initiatives are very popular with travellers locally and have lead to great increases in patronage particularly on the Bittern Line. All of these projects clearly demonstrate the benefits of Partnership working to achieve best results for passengers across the county"

To help launch the ChurchRail Trail, vicars from various churches on the trail will join Clive Morris, Business Director Rural for ‘one’ and Peter Lawrence, Chairman of the Wherry Lines CRP at Norwich station on Monday 29 October. Churches within the trail include the picturesque buildings at St. Margaret’s, Herringfleet, St. Mary’s at Wroxham, St. Nicholas at Great Yarmouth and Cromer’s St. Peter & St. Paul, and other attractive churches near to the intermediate stations, plus Norwich’s historic Catholic and Anglican Cathedrals.

Commenting on the launch of the ChurchRail Trail, Clive Morris, Business Director Rural for ‘one’ said:“Following the success of tea rooms and real ale trails on our Community Rail Partnerships, we are again delighted to team-up with Norfolk County Council with the launch of another exciting initiative designed to encourage train travel on the Bittern and Wherry Lines. ChurchRail will appeal to visitors and local residents alike and what better way to explore the wonderful Norfolk and Suffolk countryside than a relaxing journey by train while taking in a visit to the many historic churches.”