West Midlands Trains recognises the hard work and dedication of station adopters

Friday, 29 June 2018

The hard work and dedication of station adopters has been recognised by West Midlands Trains, on a day out on the Severn Valley Railway.

On Thursday 28 June, 85 volunteers enjoyed a return journey from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth as a thank you for their efforts in brightening up stations across the rail network.

Station adopters are volunteers who run a range of community projects at stations, from gardening, to art installations and engaging with local schools.

As well as being a day for volunteers to relax and enjoy the scenic journey through the West Midlands countryside, the event was also a great opportunity for adopters meet together, share ideas and discuss their plans for the future.

West Midlands Trains currently works with around 150 volunteers, but would like to double that number in the future. Station adoption has proved to be beneficial to local communities and regular travellers alike, making stations more welcoming and helping to reduce issues such as anti-social behaviour.

Richard Brooks, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway said: “We couldn’t have chosen a better day to enjoy some time out on the railway with our dedicated adopters. The railway presents a unique opportunity to engage with local communities, and we’ll be looking at how we can continue to develop this and show our appreciation for our volunteers into the future.”

Andrew Conroy, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway said: “There are some really great projects taking place with our adopters and it’s important to appreciate the hard work it takes to make these happen. Our volunteers particularly enjoyed meeting one another, and we’ll be looking at how we can keep these conversations going.”

Paul Webster, operations manager at The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) said: “It was good to meet so many of the volunteers who make Community Rail run so smoothly across the West Midlands Franchise. I want to pass my thanks on to all the team at West Midlands Trains who made today happen. It was well received by all and the future for Community Rail looks good too.”

Notes to editors

For further information on West Midlands Trains, London Northwestern Railway or West Midlands Railway call our newsroom on 03300 955150.

About West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains Ltd. will be running the West Midlands rail franchise from 10 December 2017 until 2025/6. Abellio has a 70.1% share of the company, East Japan Railway Company (JRE) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) own the remaining 29.9% in a 50:50 split.

About Abellio
Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. Every day our people provide rail, bus and tram services to 1.7m customers across the UK, Germany and in the Netherlands. In the UK we operate buses through Abellio London, as well as ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, and Merseyrail in a joint venture with Serco. In Germany we operate Abellio Deutschland, serving communities in North Rhine Westfalia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse and Thuringia. Our role in transport extends beyond the journey from a-to-b. With our international heritage and our policy of sharing best practice, not just amongst ourselves, but across the wider transport industry, we provide thought leadership and truly innovative ideas which make a positive contribution to the communities we serve. For more information on Abellio visit www.abellio.com

About Mitsui
Mitsui is one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises in the world with 139 offices in 66 countries as of March, 2017. Utilising our global operating locations, network and information resources, we are multilaterally pursuing business that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure Projects, Integrated Transportation Systems, Chemicals, Energy, Food Resources, Food Products & Services, Consumer Services, IT & Communication, and Corporate Development Business. Mitsui is actively taking on challenges for global business innovation around the world. For more information, visit www.mitsui.com .

About JR East
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) was established in 1987, when Japanese National Railways was divided as part of a package of railway reforms. JR East’s railway business covers a 7,500 km (approx. 4,660 miles) network in the eastern part of the Japanese main island, including Tokyo Metropolitan area, and provides transportation services, comprising urban, suburban and high speed operations, for 17 million passengers on a daily basis. JR East also undertakes non‐transport commercial activities, which account for more than 30% of the total revenue of JR East Group. JR East contributes to passengers and communities it serves by delivering high degrees of punctuality, reliability and comfort and also continues to pursue higher levels of safety and service quality through technical innovation. For more information, visit www.jreast.co.jp/e .