More and more community groups and individuals have adopted their local station. It’s all about local pride and seeing the station as an important part of the community. 

In the adoption of Bletchley Station by the Friends of Bletchley Station we hope to add value to what is already there and helps make the station more welcoming and attractive: a vital part of the local community! Often it is the station that lets down a community in ‘Tidy Town’, ‘Britain in Bloom’ and similar competitions. We see this as an opportunity to make sure this won’t apply to “our” station. To this end, Friends of Bletchley Station was originally formed over five years ago and reformed earlier this year. 

One of Scotrail’s managers with responsibility for station adoption, John Yellowlees, said:

"Stations can help form first impressions of a community, whether among visitors or people passing through - and these could range from Britain in Bloom judges to inward investors! They may showcase community organisations like Rotary Clubs, helping them to recruit new members, and can provide beneficial activity for people with special needs. The involvement of schools can introduce the next generation to rail travel. 

Enlightened self-interest can bring on board nearby businesses, competitive groups may relish the opportunity to show that their town is best - and people with a lifelong interest in railways can seize on station adoption as a means of connecting with the network. Whatever their motive, by putting stations at the heart of their community adopters promote awareness of the journeys that are on offer and inspire the routine of commuting with delight in the joys of the changing seasons."

Train companies have large networks with hundreds of stations. They cannot hope to visit every station often enough to make sure that issues as seen by the users get noted and resolved. This is why the work station adopters do is essential to them. By spotting problems as they occur, the necessary action can be made much sooner. We can keep a watchful eye on our station, report any problems and look at doing other things which might improve the station’