Published on: Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Abellio Greater Anglia is appealing forcommunity volunteers to get involved with their local railway stations to helpdrive improvements and make them more welcoming to passengers.
Vacancies for ‘station adopters’ currentlyexist at rail stations along the Southend Line from Billericay to SouthendVictoria and
on the West Anglia routes from Cambridge,Stansted Airport, Hertford East and Cheshunt to London.
The train operator hopes that individuals,community organisations or local councils who have an interest in improvingtheir local rail station and bringing it into the heart of the community willcome forward with their ideas.
Abellio Greater Anglia provides funding tohelp station adopters keep their stations looking bright, clean and tidy. Thefund can help cover the costs of small projects, the creation of stationgardens and help to purchase flowers, tubs, hanging baskets, tools andmaterials to help improve the station environment.
Anyone interested in joining the Adopt aStation scheme should contact [email protected]
The ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme started in 2003 andenables individuals or groups to adopt their local railway station andcontribute to its presentation and welfare for the benefit of the localcommunity.
The voluntary scheme was originally created to improve lines ofcommunication between the train operator and station users however, over theyears it has grown to become much more, with station adopters now playing anactive role in keeping stations looking good through inventive gardeningprojects, creative community art projects, taking part in station ‘healthchecks’ or being the eyes and ears of their station.
Over the years, station adopters have also played a key role in raisingmoney for new initiatives, such as improved waiting facilities or plantingbeautiful station gardens.
Abellio Greater Anglia nowhas over 183 adopters at over 90 stations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex,Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.