Suffolk Rail Station Volunteers Recognised

Greater Anglia has recognised volunteers in Suffolk who have been working with the train operator to help care for their local rail stations.

At its annual Station Adoption Awards event, the outstanding achievements of Greater Anglia’s 340-strong team of volunteer station adopters were celebrated.

The awards recognise the dedication and creativity of volunteers who work with the train operator to make their local stations more welcoming, attractive and beneficial to their communities. Adopters have created wildlife-friendly gardens and colourful floral displays, developed community partnerships and introduced innovative environmental initiatives, making a significant difference at stations across the Greater Anglia network.

Among this year’s award winners in Suffolk are:

Lowestoft

Lowestoft station jointly received the award for Best Tubs and Hanging Baskets, impressing the judges with their vibrant displays of tubs and hanging baskets, carefully planted and refreshed to reflect the changing seasons. Four volunteers at Lowestoft have worked hard to maintain its colourful displays supported by the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership.

Woodbridge – Halesworth – Trimley

Woodbridge was highly commended in the category Best tubs and hanging baskets. Halesworth was joint highly commended for Most Improved Station whilst Trimley was joint highly commended for Best Small Station. Each station supported by the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership.

Somerleyton

Sue Cox, adopter at Somerleyton station along the Wherry Lines received the Best Personal Contribution Award. Sue has been caring for the gardens at Somerleyton station since the early 1990s.

Alan Neville, Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager, said:

“We are incredibly grateful to our fantastic team of station adopters for everything they achieve at their stations. Their hard work and dedication make a real difference, and their efforts are valued and appreciated by the communities they serve.

“Our adopters know their stations and local communities exceptionally well, and we are pleased to support their ideas and ambitions through small grants and by helping to facilitate improvements.

“I would like to thank every one of our station adopters for the time, enthusiasm and care they give so generously, helping to make our stations welcoming places for passengers and valued assets within their communities.”Greater Anglia’s Station Adoption scheme enables individuals or groups to adopt their local railway station and contribute to its use and welfare for the benefit of their community. Station adopters work with Greater Anglia and, on some branch lines, also with the local community rail partnership, to bring about improvements or care for gardens and floral displays to benefit local wildlife and make stations more welcoming.

Greater Anglia provides funding to help station adopters cover the costs of small projects, such as the creation of station gardens and/or to purchase materials to help improve the station environment. The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership contributes additional funding and support.

The voluntary scheme was introduced by Anglia Railways in 2003 and was built on similar initiatives elsewhere in the UK, to improve lines of communication between train operators and station users, but extended it to involve station adopters who playing an active role in keeping stations looking smart – initially through gardening projects and station presentation improvements.

As the scheme evolved, adopters expanded their activities to encompass wildlife-friendly initiatives, creative community art projects, local promotion of the railway and participation in station ‘health checks’, as well as being the eyes and ears of their station and encouraging links between the station and local communities.