Railway Stations at Alsager, Belper, Matlock Bath and Willington are set to benefit from brand new CCTV with installation taking place by Spring 2022.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) is carrying out the work at the four stations with a cost of more than £120,000. The project is being undertaken in a bid to improve the environment at each of the stations.

Station adoption teams and local community groups have worked together with EMR to pinpoint the areas in need of camera coverage for all four locations. The cameras will work towards dealing with anti-social behaviour, vandalism and graffiti whilst providing passengers with more confidence.

As part of EMR’s Stations Social and Commerical Development Plan, the project will also give station adoption teams and local community groups an opportunity to raise issues, promote and suggest improvements for stations.

CrossCountry is the train operator for Willington Station and has contributed £15,000 towards the improvement work at the station.

Councillor Trevor Ainsworth, Chair of the Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership, said: “It is important to take rail users’ security very seriously, so I am pleased to see this project completed which should help safeguard them and their possessions, while they use the stations.

“The message is clear. If you are intending to commit a crime at a railway station, the CCTV will provide very clear footage that will help to identify and prosecute you. Hopefully, this additional security will provide passengers with more confidence using the stations and complement the efforts of our station adoption groups, who take great pride to make their stations welcoming and attractive environments for both local residents and visitors to the area.”

Lisa Angus, Transition and Projects Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “We work closely with our station adoption teams and local people across our network to fully understand the issues at their local station and address areas of concern.

“Many of these stations are gateways to communities and quite rightly people are very proud of their appearance. We hope these new CCTV cameras will help to cut down anti-social behaviour, graffiti and vandalism and help customers feel reassured when they use the station.”