East Midlands Railway (EMR) has officially opened a new £39,000 customer shelter at Spalding Station.

The shelter was made from sustainable resources, designed to take into account feedback from local customers, and in keeping with the rest of the station’s environment, including the dagger boards on the station canopy.

Wheelchair access and lighting have also been incorporated in the shelter’s design, as well as a rainwater harvesting and storage unit. These are provided with easy access for volunteers to help them maintain the station’s flower planters.

The use of renewable and finite resources was considered in the shelter’s components, and particular attention was paid to the use of materials that could be reused or recycled and have a low end-of-life impact.

Jan Whitbourn, who volunteers as a Station Adopter at the Spalding, said “Adopters give up their time to help look after their local station. From keeping an eye out for any unusual activity and reporting any faults and issues, to maintaining the gardens and making sure the station is presentable, they make a huge difference to every single passenger.

“EMR has gone above and beyond in its efforts to provide us with our wonderful new shelter. It went up professionally and has made a massive difference to us all – exceeding our expectations.

“We are really impressed in how the team from EMR researched what needed doing and made every effort to determine the exact feature and options that customers most wanted.

“The watering facility, in particular, is going to be very useful and is going to make our job of watering the hundreds of plants which we put in last year a lot easier. After seven weeks with no rain, it became a tedious job fetching water from across the platforms.”

Fellow volunteer David Bradley was also impressed by the new shelter. He said “It is way beyond our expectations and is a great addition to the station. It perfectly complements the new lifts and fits in well with the rest of the station.”

Station Adopter, and Councillor for South Holland District Council, Elizabeth Sneath, said: “I’m delighted to see the new shelter is now installed, it will make waiting for a train so much more comfortable. The integral water harvesting system will be such a great boon to the Station Adopters too, as last year the volunteers had to carry many buckets of water over the bridge to the new plants.”

Lisa Angus, Transition and Projects Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “In choosing the sustainable materials, features, and design of the shelter, we made sure to listen to local customers, and its great news to hear they are happy with the final product.

“The new shelter fits in well with the existing architectural features of the station and the built-in water harvester will enable our Station Adopters to keep up their great work in looking after the flower beds at the station.”

EMR welcomes station adoption at stations it manages around the network. To see which stations it looks after and more information visit its website at http://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/stationadoption