Station Adoption

Our station adopters are the grassroots of community rail. Our over 125 dedicated volunteers transform our stations into welcoming spaces that reflect local character. Whether you’re passionate about gardening, community events, local history or simply want to make a difference in your community, station adoption offers a rewarding way to contribute to your local area. 

What station adopters do

Our station adopters bring their unique skills and enthusiasm to enhance stations. From creating stunning flower displays and maintaining gardens, to improving waiting areas and organising history exhibitions, each group makes their adopted station a more pleasant place for everyone. Many of our adopters have also created community art projects and established reading libraries and book swap/drop stations in waiting rooms.

You can also visit Community Rail Network's page on station adoption to learn more about the nationwide station adoption programme.

Please note station adoption does not involve doing the work of our paid contractors, such as essential maintenance, gritting, or similar types of work.

Our current station adoption network

We are proud to have thriving volunteer groups at stations across our network. Click on each to learn more about what they’re up to at their stations.

• Friends of Aylesbury Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of Bicester North Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of Birmingham Moor Street Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of Dorridge Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of Hatton Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of High Wycombe Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of Lapworth Station
  • From our adoption group at Lapworth:
  • At Lapworth Station, we are proud to be part of the Chiltern Railways Station Adoption initiative, bringing together passionate volunteers to enhance the station and its surroundings. As the Friends of Lapworth Station (FoLS), we focus on creating a welcoming environment for passengers and the local community. From maintaining beautiful planters to promoting biodiversity and local heritage, our efforts aim to make Lapworth Station a vibrant and enjoyable space.
  • We are always looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team of volunteers. Whether you have a green thumb, a creative mind, or simply want to contribute to your local area, there’s a place for you here. Recently, we have been working to develop an overgrown wild area at the station to encourage biodiversity. This exciting project offers plenty of opportunities for community involvement, including planting native species, designing wildlife-friendly habitats, and hosting educational events to inspire local engagement with conservation efforts. Additionally, our book exchange—maintained with care by our local Girlguiding unit—provides a wonderful opportunity for passengers and community members to swap books, encouraging a culture of sharing and connection.
  • We are also delighted to consider volunteer opportunities for Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) participants as part of their Award programs. Volunteering with us is a fantastic way to fulfill the requirements while contributing to meaningful and impactful projects within the community.
  • Becoming a volunteer is easy! In conjunction with Chiltern Railways, we provide all the necessary support, including safety briefings, equipment, and guidance. To learn more or sign up, please contact us at [email protected].
• Friends of Leamington Spa Station
  • Details to be added.
• Friends of Solihull Station
  • From our adoption group at Solihull:
  • The Friends of Solihull Station (FOSS), a community group, was set up in September 2017 with the aim of working alongside Chiltern Railways, Network Rail and Solihull Council in a bid to improve the station and surrounding areas.
  • A team of four came together in 2017 after the Council distributed leaflets seeing if any volunteers were interested in forming a Friends Group for the station.
  • In a bid to boost the profile of the group one of our first jobs was to launch a competition across borough schools and colleges for young people aged 19 years of age or under to design a Friends of Solihull Station Logo. This was very successful with lots of entries… you can see the winning entry above.
  • Years have now gone by and the group has expanded with now over 20+ volunteers of all different ages and cultures.
  • We have regular litter picks throughout the year and meet every 2 weeks on a Sunday morning. We love to meet to do some litter picking and have a chat along the way. The group have now collected over 70 bags of litter this year!
  • There are 6 planters on the platform with 3 on each side and 2 outside the entrance to the station. The planters were from New Lands Bishop Farm.
  • The Planters were Painted and planted by FOSS Volunteers and these are kept maintained throughout the year.
  • FOSS members built an 80ft long border at the side of the station which has been planted and is maintained throughout the year & also maintain the long benches opposite the station.
  • FOSS also took on a project and painted the bridge on Streetsbrook Road to help the community of Solihull.
  • Did you know FOSS has a bookcase in the waiting room at the station?
    When you are passing by or waiting for a train why not have a look at the books in the waiting room. If you have any unwanted books please donate them to the book exchange. The book case was made by Peter who is one of the FOSS Volunteers
  • Did you know about the history of Solihull Station? 
    FOSS has a notice board in the waiting room above the bookcase.  Why not have a look when you are next pass the station or waiting for a train. You never know you may learn something new.
  • You can find FOSS on our social media pages on Facebook and X (Twitter) and via email [email protected].
• Friends of Stoke Mandeville Station
  • Details to be added.

Join our network

We are actively seeking enthusiastic individuals and groups to adopt stations across our network, particularly:

• South of Leamington Spa
• Between Aylesbury and London Marylebone
• Along our route towards Oxford

Getting started

Becoming a station adopter is straightforward, and we’ll support you every step of the way. We provide safety briefings, funding for equipment and activities, and ongoing guidance to help you succeed. To benefit from our support, you are required to have a station adoption agreement in place with Chiltern Railways, which includes an ongoing plan of your activities at your station.

Whether you’re an individual, community group or local organisation, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch on [email protected].

Key documents

Below are some key useful documents for our new, prospective and existing station adoption groups across the network. We hope that these documents can provide some additional insight into our requirements and benefits for adopters.