The Rail Delivery Group organises the annual “National Community Rail week” and Merseyrail ensures recognition of all their volunteers’ tireless efforts by taking part.
Merseyrail, in particular, extends its sincere thanks to all community volunteers who specialise in beautifying stations on their network.
By placement of artwork, murals, mosaics, planter boxes and the like, volunteers and ‘Friends Of’ station groups significantly enhance station appearances, and so enrich the travel experience of the network customers.
Here are some examples of the many projects taken on by these volunteers in 2024:
At Hightown and Bootle New Strand stations, local groups working with Community Rail Lancashire are celebrating the history of music in Sefton with a photographic exhibition.
Ainsdale station, working with Ainsdale Civic Society and volunteers, has unveiled banners designed by local schoolchildren to mark its inclusion in the Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious “Britain in Bloom” competition.
Birkdale station has installed a fabulous new mural by acclaimed local artist Paul Curtis. The mural, which highlights the links between the town and the legendary Red Rum racehorse, has been wowing travellers.
Installation was done with the help of volunteers from the community hub and library, and the civic society who maintain the planters on the station.
The Love Bebington community group recently adopted Bebington and Spital stations.
This volunteer group has already installed planters, troughs and artwork (all sponsored by Merseyrail and local firms) at Bebington station.
Love Bebington unveiled their latest artwork project at Bebington station in partnership with local mosaic artist Lou Cross, of Bad Hand Mosaics and Blooming Skull Coffee.
Merseyrail carries around 90,000 passengers per weekday and operates one of the most intensively used networks in the UK.
Merseyrail exists to provide the best possible rail service to the people of the Liverpool City Region and engaging with the communities we serve has been at the heart of our success over the last twenty years.
We’re delighted to work with volunteer groups across our network. We’ve got some of the most dedicated people in our communities who make a massive difference to the railway station and their local areas.
I’d like to thank them all for their hard work and commitment.
Neil Grabham, Managing Director of Merseyrail,
Responses
Their commitment trove the railway is diametrically opposite to ASLEF ‘s commitment to mess it up.