Volunteers have contributed 47,916 hours to improving ScotRail stations and strengthening community links across Scotland during the past 12 months.
The work has been delivered through ScotRail’s Adopt a Station programme, which now involves local groups and volunteers at 214 stations. A total of 1,054 people have taken part, including community groups, schools, charities and other local organisations.
Projects reflect local communities
Activities range from restoring overgrown gardens and creating wildlife habitats to installing planters and celebrating local heritage.
At Aberdour in Fife, around 25 volunteers support the station gardens through Aberdour Community Council, the Aberdour Heritage Centre and Station Gardens. The group works alongside Duke of Edinburgh participants, school pupils, new residents and employees taking part in volunteering days.
Recent work at Aberdour includes new barrel planters and hanging baskets, replanting terraces with shrubs and flowers for pollinating insects, and installing bird boxes and insect hotels. The gardens sit alongside the village heritage centre, which occupies the former Victorian station building.
Members of the 1st Kelloholm Guide Group and community volunteers have transformed a neglected area at Kirkconnel in Dumfries and Galloway. They cleared vegetation, created raised beds and a pebble path, planted wildflowers and added tubs and bespoke planters. Recycled materials have been used for decorations, while a rainwater supply helps maintain the planting.
At Helensburgh Upper, volunteers cleared brambles and self-seeded trees before adding low-maintenance shrubs, a dead hedge, a bird box and a bee hotel made from recycled materials. Old fibreglass boxes have been repurposed as raised flower beds.
Friends of Newtonmore also spent around 60 hours clearing the entrance to Newtonmore station, removing two large fir trees, an overgrown juniper and other vegetation. More than 30 builders’ bags of waste were taken away with support from the local shinty club. The group has since created a raised bed, added planting and colourful barrels, restored the station’s train planter and improved the gravel area.
ScotRail thanks station adopters
Paul McKay, ScotRail communications director, said the adopters were helping to strengthen the railway’s connection with the communities it serves.
“The time, care, and enthusiasm volunteers put into their local stations is incredible,” he said. “Whether they are creating colourful gardens, supporting biodiversity, celebrating local heritage, or simply making a station a more welcoming place, their work makes a real difference for our customers.”
McKay added: “With 214 stations now part of the programme and volunteers contributing 48,000 hours in the past year, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who gives their time to support their local railway.”