Northern shines light on work of region's railway volunteers

More than 20 rail partnerships and hundreds of station adopters and volunteers work with Northern to help make the rail environment more appealing for customers and local communities.

From Cheshire to Northumberland, hundreds of volunteers give their time – through station adoption, ‘friends of’ groups and community rail partnerships – to improve the environment in and around many of Northern’s stations.

Carolyn Watson, Director of Stakeholder and Community Engagement at Northern, said: “Our community partners are the heartbeat of the railway and we’re extremely proud to work closely with them to deliver such a wide-ranging positive impact for the north of England.

“As well as making improvements at our stations, the community groups and volunteers are also working hard to help us deliver a more inclusive railway. Not only does their work improve the environment for customers, it also helps tackle isolation through involving the wider community and engaging with diverse groups.”

Carolyn added: “Customers – and the diverse communities we serve – are at the heart of all we do and there is no doubt that the volunteers across our network help to engage with those communities and support the delivery of more sustainable futures.

To recognise the tireless work of the community volunteers, Northern is featuring highlights of their recent efforts on its social media channels.

Projects at Driffield, Bishop Aukland, Hindley, Disley, St Annes-on-the-sea and Bradford have already been showcased, detailing work that has taken place to develop, among other things, community gardens, station allotments and educational hubs.

Martin Keating, Community and Sustainability Manager for Northern, said: “Our aim is to make sure our services link with the communities we serve, and our stations reflect those same communities.

“We are absolutely committed to working with volunteers to help them deliver projects and improvements that not only enhance the station environment, but also cement the bond between the railway and local people.”

For more information about the community work carried out by Northern and the volunteers across the network visit northernrailway.co.uk/community.