South Western Railway (SWR) is celebrating a landmark milestone as over 100 of its stations are now adopted by local community volunteers, cementing its leadership in community engagement.
Staines station in Surrey, which was named Medium Station of the Year at the National Rail Awards on Thursday 14 September, has become the 100th station to be adopted, meaning a majority of stations across SWR’s network are now supported by dedicated teams of adopters.
Station adopters are groups of volunteers who work with SWR on making the most out of their station spaces and environments and take a lead on imagining new and creative ways for their stations to better serve their communities and strengthening their place within their local area.
At Staines station, Incredible Edible Spelthorne has created a new, accessible community food growing space, aiming to inspire the local community to utilise space at the side of the station to learn how food is produced, sustainably grow food together and provide free food.
Station adoption at SWR began with the formal adoption by the Friends of Christchurch station in Dorset in 2007. Since then, SWR stations have been adopted in nine counties: Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, London, Hampshire, Somerset, Surrey, Wiltshire, and on the Isle of Wight.
Groups in many towns and villages around the SWR network – from Brentford in West London all the way down to Pinhoe near Exeter – have signed up to be station adopters, all brought together by a desire to do something to improve both their local station and local areas.
Across the network, station adopters have played a vital role in supporting social, cultural, and economic development in their local areas, creating a sense of community and inclusion, and enhancing the customer experience.
Station adopters include community groups, charities, and businesses. SWR funds their membership of the Community Rail Network, the national body of over 1,000 station adopters across different train operators, which provides access to grant opportunities from the SWR station adoption fund and the Community Rail Network, as well as additional training, advice, and resources.
In May, the Community Rail Network launched the third annual Community Rail Week at SWR’s Tolworth station in South West London, adopted by the Community Brain in 2018. The Rail Minister, Huw Merriman MP, later attended Community Rail Week celebrations at SWR’s flagship terminus, London Waterloo.
The Community Brain has delivered successful enterprises at Tolworth including a sustainable creative space equipped with a professional kitchen and meeting space for 20 people, as well as a flourishing community garden which brightens up the station and provides a haven for nature.
Other adoption groups have been involved in a wide range of activities, such as: delivering meals to vulnerable people on the Isle of Wight during the pandemic; installing welcoming art displays in waiting rooms at Kingston and Aldershot; and running free shops at Swaythling and Petersfield, supplying surplus foods and seasonal goods to those in need and cutting down on unnecessary waste.
Peter Williams, Customer and Commercial Director of South Western Railway, commented:
“The bond between South Western Railway and the communities we serve is of great importance to us and our fantastic station adopters have been vitally important in cultivating and deepening that relationship.
“Our station adopters are an integral part of the wider railway family, and it has been wonderful to see the many creative ways that they have contributed to local communities across the network as the number of adoption groups has expanded.
“I congratulate volunteers at Staines on becoming our 100th station adoption group and I look forward to seeing everything that they will achieve at our award-winning station.”
Nick Charalambous of the Staines Station Adoption Group said:
“We are really proud to be South Western Railway’s 100th station adopter. Working with Staines station we are able to connect it with the local community through our community garden project.
“This is the borough’s first community garden and to achieve this at Staines station, which is the main transport link in the borough, is great. We are indebted to South Western Railway for their help and funding through their station adoption fund to lease the land for the garden.”
A video marking the milestone of 100 station adopters and highlighting some station adoption groups on the SWR network can be watched here.
More information about station adoption, as well as details regarding how local communities can volunteer to adopt their station, can be found on the SWR website here.
Stations adopted by county:
Berkshire
- Ascot – The Arts Society Ascot
- Bracknell – The Arts Society Englemere
- Sunningdale – The Arts Society Englemere
- Windsor & Eton Riverside – Optalis Ability Travel
- Winnersh – Winnersh Sustainable Transport Group
- Winnersh Triangle – Winnersh Sustainable Transport Group
- Wokingham – Optalis Ability Travel and Learning Disability Partnership Board Wokingham
Devon
- Axminster – Axminster Station Adoption Group
- Feniton – Friends of Feniton Station
- Honiton – The Friends of Honiton Station
- Pinhoe – Pinhoe Community Hub
- Whimple – Friends of Whimple Station
Dorset
- Christchurch – Friends of Christchurch Station
- Dorchester South – Dorchester South Station Adoption Group
- Gillingham – Friends of Gillingham Station
- Hamworthy – Friends of Hamworthy Station
- Hinton Admiral – Hinton Admiral Station Adoption Group
- Parkstone – Lilliput Sea Scout Group
- Sherborne – Friends of Sherborne Station
- Upwey – Friends of Upwey Station
- Wareham – Friends of Wareham Station
- Weymouth – Weymouth Station Adoption Group
- Wool – Friends of Wool Station
Greater London
- Chessington South – Chessington Community Matters
- Barnes – Bee Friendly Trust
- Brentford – Air Quality Brentford
- Feltham – Feltham in Bloom
- Kingston – The Arts Society Kingston
- Malden Manor – Malden Manor Station Adoption Group
- New Malden – Friends of New Malden Station
- Putney – Bee Friendly Trust
- Raynes Park – Raynes Park Station Adoption Group
- Richmond – Bee Friendly Trust
- St Margarets – St Margarets Station Adoption Group
- Surbiton – Friends of Surbiton Station
- Tolworth – The Community Brain
Hampshire
- Aldershot – Aldershot Station Adoption Group
- Alton – Adopt Alton Station Group
- Andover – Andover Station Adopters
- Ashurst – Ashurst & Colbury Community Group
- Basingstoke – The Arts Society Basingstoke
- Beaulieu Road – Beaulieu Road Station Adoption Group
- Bentley – Bentley Station Adoption Group
- Bitterne – Bitterne Station Adoption Group
- Brockenhurst – Friends of Brockenhurst Station
- Bursledon – Bursledon Station Adoption Group
- Chandlers Ford – Chandlers Ford Station Adoption Group
- Eastleigh – Eastleigh Station Adoption Group
- Fareham – Friends of Fareham Station
- Farnborough – Farnborough Station Adoption Group
- Grateley – Natural Grateley Station Adoption Group
- Hamble – Hamble Station Adoption Group
- Havant – Havant Station Adoption Group
- Hedge End – Friends of Hedge End
- Hook – Hook Station Adoption Group
- Liphook – Liphook Station Adoption Group
- Liss – Liss Station Adoption Group
- Lymington – Friends of the Lymington to Brockenhurst Line
- Micheledever – Micheldever Station Adoption Group
- Mottisfont & Dunbridge – Mottisfont and Dunbridge Station Adoption Group
- Netley – Netley Station Adoption Group
- Petersfield – Petersfield Community Garden
- Romsey – Romsey Station Adoption Group
- Sholing – Sholing Station Adoption Group
- St Denys – St Denys Station Adoption Group
- Swanwick – Friends of Swanwick Station
- Sway – Friends of Sway Station
- Swaythling – Swaythling Station Adopters
- Totton – Totton Rail Station Community Group
- Whitchurch – Whitchurch Station Adoption Group
- Winchester – The Winchester Sport Art and Leisure Trust
- Woolston – Woolston Station Adoption Group
Isle of Wight
- Brading – Brading CE Primary School – Brading Community Kids
- Lake – Broadlea Primary School – Lake Community Kids
- Ryde St Johns Road – Dover Park Primary School – Ryde Community Kids
- Sandown – The Bay CE Primary School – Sandown Community Kids
- Shanklin – Green Towns Shanklin
Somerset
- Crewkerne – Friends of Crewkerne Station
- Templecombe – The Friends of Templecombe Station
- Yeovil Junction – Yeovil Junction Station Adoption Group
Surrey
- Ashford – Ashford Station Adoption Group
- Ash Vale – Ash Vale Station Adopters
- Bookham – Bookham Station Adopters
- Brookwood – Brookwood Garden Community Group
- Effingham – Friends of Effingham Junction Station
- Egham – Friends of Egham Station
- Farncombe – Godalming Town Council
- Godalming – Godalming Town Council
- Guildford – Guildford Station Adoption Group
- London Road Guildford – The Arts Society Shalford
- Longcross – Longcross Station Adoption Group
- Haslemere – The Arts Society Haslemere
- Horsley – Friends of Horsley Station
- Milford – Witley Parish Council
- Staines – Staines Station Adoption Group
- Thames Ditton – Thames Ditton in Bloom
- Virginia Water – Virginia Water Station Adoption Group
- West Byfleet – West Byfleet Community Gardening Group
- Weybridge – Weybridge Community Rail
- Worplesdon – Worplesdon Station Adoption Group
- Woking – The Lightbox and LinkAble
Wiltshire
- Dean – Dean Station Adoption Group
- Salisbury – Salisbury Station Adoption Group
- Tisbury – Tisbury User Group
