Published on: Thursday, 28 February 2013
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Station adopters on the Hertford East branch line met with representatives from train operator, Greater Anglia, and Hertfordshire County Council to talk about their plans and ambitions for station improvements along the line.
The forum, held at Hertford East station on 5 February, provided an opportunity for the six station adopters to meet and share their aims and objectives, ask questions and find out more about how Greater Anglia’s Adopt A Station scheme can benefit the community.
The plans and ideas discussed will now be taken forward by Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager, Alan Neville, who will work with each adopter to draw up comprehensive annual action plans for each station.
Six new station adopters – James Bartlett, Andrew Wood, Carol Porter, Marie Kemplay, Gary Hamilton and Jeff Hardcastle - came forward last year from the communities surrounding the stations to provide feedback to the train operator about standards at the station and take an active role in creating a more pleasant and welcoming atmosphere by suggesting and assisting with enhancement schemes.
They joined existing adopter, Keith Reast, who had already been working to transform the station gardens surrounding the ticket office at Broxbourne station, meaning that every station on the line is now adopted.
Area Customer Service Manager, Alan Neville, said, “The first forum for adopters on the Hertford East line was a great success and some good ideas were discussed. I look forward to working with all the adopters on their plans for this year and already the assistance they are giving is paying dividends. I am working closely with them to help meet our joint aims and objectives to create pleasant and welcoming station facilities for rail passengers.”
The Adopt-A-Station initiative, which is approaching its tenth year, has resulted in over 100 volunteers around the network adopting their local stations and is aimed at improving lines of communication between the train operator and railway station users, promoting and encouraging feedback about the station buildings and facilities to help ensure that they meet the high standards expected by those who use them.