Rail
On track: Delivering community support for rail
Copper Consultancy helps the rail industry navigate complex stakeholder environments, communicate important benefits and win public support for significant transport projects, ensuring communities are heard and infrastructure is delivered.
As the UK’s railways mark 200 years of service, their role has never been more critical
Indeed, increasing rail use for transport and freight is essential for sustainable growth, efficient logistics and a low-carbon future. To achieve this, effective and targeted communication is key.
Copper has delivered vital communications support for nationally significant rail infrastructure including HS2, the Transpennine Route Upgrade, and West Midlands Interchange (WMI), where we’ve helped to deliver over £2 million of social value input.
We achieved this by helping clients secure consent, engage communities and build public trust throughout construction. From early consultation to delivery-stage engagement, we’ve enabled the rail sector to tell powerful stories about connectivity, levelling up and long-term economic impact.
West Midlands Interchange
Copper led consultation, engagement and communications for the West Midlands Interchange (WMI), one of the UK’s largest rail freight and logistics developments. To address strong local concerns and misinformation, we launched a proactive media campaign and advocacy programme that clearly communicated the project’s economic and environmental benefits, including over 8500 jobs and significant road traffic reductions. We established a dedicated contact centre to keep the public informed and heard. Our transparent, two-stage consultation process secured project acceptance and positive feedback from local authorities, paving the way for development consent and ongoing construction.
Securing project acceptance and positive feedback
High Speed 2 (HS2)
HS2’s A46 main compound extension set a new benchmark for stakeholder engagement and environmental stewardship. Facing the challenge of its first Town and Country Planning Act application, strong local opposition and strict biodiversity requirements, our role involved mapping stakeholders, delivering targeted engagement and transparently communicating environmental commitments. By reducing hedgerow removal by 50%, achieving biodiversity net gain and minimising construction disruption, HS2 built trust and addressed community concerns. The project’s robust consultation, reaching 2000 households and engaging hard-to-reach groups, led to planning approval with minimal objections. This established a best practice model for future HS2 applications, demonstrating the power of collaboration and adaptive communication.
HS2 built trust and addressed community concern
Merseyrail’s Headbolt Lane railway station
Driving impactful communications for Merseyrail’s Headbolt Lane project ensured smooth public engagement through proactive letter drops, blockade communications and station-opening announcements. We enhanced emergency services capabilities by donating a Class 507 train and rail tracks to Merseyside Fire and Rescue for critical training. Our efforts also improved local sports facilities, significantly contributing to community wellbeing and supporting the principal contractor, Buckingham Group, in its Contractor of the Year nomination.
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