Volunteers join forces to makeover Long Buckby railway station
Locals partner with London Northwestern Railway for station improvements
Long Buckby station in West Northamptonshire is set to undergo a transformation thanks to volunteers partnering with London Northwestern Railway (LNR) as part of its ‘station adoption’ scheme.
During Community Rail Week, running until the 7th June, local residents Mark Thomsen and Danielle Causebrook signed up to ‘adopt’ Long Buckby station.
The couple has begun planning a host of innovative projects to inject a community spirit into the station, including educational information boards and artwork from local schoolchildren.
Station adopters, comprising volunteers, contribute their time to help maintain their local stations through activities like gardening, painting, and installing artwork or information boards.
LNR, along with its sister brand West Midlands Railway, boasts over 440 volunteers across its network of 155 stations.
Shantel Carty, community engagement manager at LNR, expressed her enthusiasm for the adopters' plans: “This community rail week, we have been so pleased to officially welcome station adopters to Long Buckby. Mark and Danielle have wonderful plans to liven up the station, which I am so excited to see come to fruition.”
As part of Community Rail Week, Bedfordshire’s Leighton Buzzard station’s adopters earned top honours in the train operator’s annual ‘Stations in Bloom’ competition, celebrating the group’s impactful planting efforts.
Carty added, “I also want to say a huge well done to Leighton Buzzard’s adoption group, whose fabulous planting make them worthy winners of our ‘Stations in Bloom’ award.”