Published on: Wednesday, 21 April 2021
Last updated: Wednesday, 21 April 2021
Great Yarmouth station is to receive some extra TLC from a local volunteer.
Rachel Harrison has officially ‘adopted’ the station through Greater Anglia’s Station Adoption scheme and plans to help make the station more attractive and welcoming.
Rachel, a freelance project co-ordinator mainly with the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust, is already an active member of the community through her involvement in community litter picks and is part of local ‘craftivist’ group, SayItWithStitchGY, which focuses on environmental issues.
Commenting on her decision to get involved with Great Yarmouth station, Rachel said, "I’m passionate about making positive contributions to my local area so am very pleased to have a direct opportunity to help make small but significant practical improvements and be part of the process to bring in new ideas to our dated and sometimes unloved station.
"I’d like to support what the station staff are already doing and work as part of a team to develop it into a station Great Yarmouth can be proud of by creating a more interesting, appealing and welcoming environment that could be become more than just a waiting space.
"I would also like to see it become a ‘greener’ station with nature areas reflecting its position as a gateway to the Broads."
Alan Neville, Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager, said, "I’m delighted to welcome Rachel to the Station Adoption initiative and look forward to hearing her ideas for brightening up the station and making it a welcoming environment to welcome back passengers when the current pandemic restrictions are lifted."
Greater Anglia’s Station Adoption scheme sees people getting involved with their local rail station for the benefit of their communities, working with Greater Anglia to bring about improvements or caring for gardens and floral displays to benefit local wildlife and make stations more welcoming.
Greater Anglia continues to ensure that rail travel is safe for staff and passengers with an enhanced cleaning regime, on stations and trains, concentrating on high-touch areas such as push buttons, grab rails and door handles.
The train operator has also introduced a wide range of measures to make it easier for customers to maintain social distancing at stations and on trains - including floor markings, one-way systems, new signs and queuing systems.
It is now mandatory for customers to wear a face covering when using public transport, to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. Children under the age of 11 and people with a disability or illness which means they cannot wear a face covering are exempt from wearing them.