We have a scheme called Adopt A Station that finds community or start-up uses for vacant accommodation at our stations.
It’s been a great success, and so far our successful 'adopters' include Pitlochry Station Bookshop; the Clyde Model Railway Club at Lanark; rse@arbroath and Arbroath Abbey Timethemes; a community meeting room at Maxwell Park (Pollokshields Heritage); the Friends of Wemyss Bay Station (bookshop and gallery); the Stranraer to Ayr Line Support Association's shop at Girvan and the East Ayrshire Toy Library at Kilmarnock. Unfortunately we don’t have funds to support making any spaces habitable – our contribution is to offer the accommodation rent free. Adopters are liable to pay any applicable local authority rates, heat and light. To find out more, you can download and print out the form below. Once completed, please return it to John Yellowlees, ScotRail External Relations Manager at john.yellowlees@firstgroup.com or by post to: John Yellowlees First ScotRail Atrium Court 50 Waterloo Street Glasgow G2 6HQ (T 0141-335 4787 or F:0141-335 4791). Download your application form here .
Gardening on stations
More than one hundred stations have so far been adopted by volunteer gardeners – who have helped us to add seasonal colour and vibrancy.
Thanks to all concerned at the following locations, including the following organisations:
Airdrie Alloa with Alloa Rotary Club Alness with Alness in Bloom Annan Arbroath with Angus College Ardlui Ardrossan South Beach Arisaig with HITRANS Arrochar & Tarbet with the Arrochar Community Council Auchinleck with Auchinleck Community Council Ayr Banavie Barassie Barrhead with Barrhead High School Barrhill Bishopton with Bishopton Community Council Blair Atholl with the Community Council Bridge of Allan with the Friends of Bridge of Allan Bridge of Orchy with the West Highland Way Sleeper Broughty Ferry with Broughty Ferry Community Council Burnside with Burnside in Bloom Cardross Carluke with the Carluke Business Development Trust Carnoustie with the Carnoustie Community Council Carrbridge with the Friends of Carrbridge Station Corpach Cartsdyke with In Work Ltd. Cowdenbeath Crianlarich with the Station Tearoom Crookston with Friends of Rosshall Park and Gardens Crosshill with South Seeds Cumbernauld with Carbrain & Hillcrest Community Council Cupar with Cupar in Bloom Dalgety Bay with the Inverkeithing & Dalgety Bay Rotary Club Dalmally Dalmeny Dalwhinnie with the Dalwhinnie Community Council Dingwall with the Station Cafe Drem Dumfries Dunblane with the Dunblane Development Trust Dunkeld & Birnam with the Scottish Wildlife Trust Dunlop with Dunlop Community Council Dyce with Dyce in Bloom Edinburgh Park with New Edinburgh Ltd Falkirk Grahamston with the Falkirk Rotary Club Falkirk High with the Falkirk Rotary Club Falls of Cruachan Forres with Forres in Bloom Garelochhead Garrowhill with the Garrowhill Community Council Giffnock Girvan Gleneagles with the Gleneagles Hotel Glenfinnan with the Glenfinnan Station Museum Glenrothes with Thornton, with Thornton Community Council Golspie with HITRANS Gourock with the Gourock Horticultural Group Greenock Central with In Work Ltd. Gretna Green with the Gretna Green Community Council Hillington East with In Work Ltd. Helensburgh Central with the Helensburgh and Gareloch Horticultural Society Helensburgh Upper with the Friends of the West Highland Lines Huntly with Huntly Development Trust Kilwinning with Hazeldene Resource Centre Invergordon with Invergordon Off the Wall Inverurie with the Inverurie Environmental Improvement Group Ladybank with the Ladybank Development Trust Lairg with HITRANS Leuchars with AM-PM Taxis Johnstone Kilmarnock with Hurlford Gardening Club Kilmaurs with the Kilmaurs Community Council Kinghorn with the Kinghorn Studio and Art Gallery Kirkcaldy with Kirkcaldy Rotary Club Kirkconnel with the Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society Lanark with Lanark in Bloom Larbert with the Vale of Carron Rotary Club Largs with the Largs Gardening Club Laurencekirk with Mearns Academy Lenzie with Lenzie Community Council Linlithgow with Linlithgow Burgh Beautiful Lockerbie with Lockerbie in Bloom Longniddry with the Longniddry Community Council Mallaig with the Lochaber Horticultural Association Markinch with the Markinch Community Council Maxwell Park with Pollokshields Heritage Maybole with SAYLSA Milngavie with Milngavie in Bloom Montrose Neilston with the Neilston Development Trust New Cumnock Newcraighall with the Rotary Club of Portobello North Berwick with North Berwick in Bloom North Queensferry with North Queensferry School Perth with Perth in Bloom Pitlochry with Pitlochry in Bloom Plockton with Off the Rails Pollokshields East with The Hidden Gardens Port Glasgow with In Work Ltd. Prestwick Town with the Station Cafe Queens Park with Hollybrook School Rannoch with the Station Tearoom Renton with Strathleven Artizans Rosyth with the Inverkeithing & Dalgety Bay Rotary Club Roy Bridge with the Glen Spean and Great Glen Marketing Group Rutherglen with Langside College Sanquhar by the Stationmaster's House Shettleston with Playbusters Shotts with Shape Up Shotts Spean Bridge with the Glen Spean and Great Glen Marketing Group Stonehaven with Deeside Timberframes and the Stonehaven Horizon Group Stranraer Strathcarron Tain with the Tain Environmental Improvement Group Troon Uddingston with Uddingston Pride Upper Tyndrum Wemyss Bay with the Friends of Wemyss Bay Station West Calder West Kilbride Whitecraigs
We welcome the involvement of local communities in helping us to cultivate flowers and shrubs on our stations. If you’d like to get involved, why not read the information below and then make an application?
Safety arrangements
While you’re on our premises, our concern is for your safety – and that of our passengers and staff. So we must ask you to abide by a few simple rules.
Click here for more information
Your contact will be with our local Station Team Manager, who will brief you on site prior to the commencement of the planting season. During the meeting to discuss the intended work the Station Team Manager will consider all aspects of rail safety including whether this will affect the sighting of signalling equipment, CIS monitors, and restricted widths of platforms and access routes, Thereafter all of the work that you do must be on the basis agreed with them, ie by named individuals, on specified days, at specified times, for the agreed range of activities. The Station Team Manager and ScotRail staff may make unannounced visits while work is taking place, and for your safety and the safety of others their instructions must be obeyed at all times.
At staffed stations all visitors must report to the station staff for briefing, and should sign in and out of the station individually. The staff are in charge of the location and you must always obey their instructions. If for any reason there are no staff present then the requirements for “unstaffed stations” apply.
At unstaffed stations the Station Team Manager will provide a copy of the local station emergency arrangements. Many stations now have on-line CCTV monitored from our Customer Services Centres at Paisley and Dunfermline. You should advise of your presence, as well as advising when you leave the premises to the CCTV operator using the nearest Help Point.
General Safety Arrangements
You must arrive and leave the station by the normal public access routes.
High visibility clothing must be worn at all times when on First ScotRail stations.
Work sites must be protected by barriers of suitably approved material to prohibit access to site from other station users
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Overhead electrified line equipment will cause death if touched. Where the line is electrified, you or any tools and equipment must not come within 3 metres of the overhead line equipment. These requirements will be fully explained during the safety briefing.
You should not work or place tools and equipment within 2 metres of the platform edge. At stations where high speed trains pass this must be increased to 2.5 metres of the edge (you will be advised if the increased requirement applies during the safety briefing with the Station Team Manager).
Hard hats or bumps caps must be worn when working under footbridges or other structures less than 2m in height. Safety glasses/ goggles must be worn when working above head height and if risk of splashing exists. Safety footwear must be worn at all times. Safety gloves must be worn at all times [these should thickness durability also provide protection against needles and syringe injuries].
Hoses or pressure washers must NOT be used, and water should be carried in an appropriate container. Any spillages must be cleaned up immediately.
No debris must be allowed to accumulate on platforms or access routes. This must be removed from the site at the end of each working day. Safe access for other station users should be maintained at all times.
Any work at height which requires the use of ladders or other access equipment will require location specific approval by our Facilities Department/Safety Section. If approval is giving then this equipment must be certified as fit for use six monthly. Companies which can certify this equipment include http://www.clowgroup.co.uk/.
Any work which requires powered equipment e.g. strimmers, cultivators, hedge trimmers, etc will require location specific approval by our Facilities Department/Safety Section. Equipment must be certified as fit for use by an approved maintenance contractor. Equipment users must have a current operators certificate.
Any proposed work which requires to be carried out on embankments or gradients must be discussed and agreed by our Facilities Department.
The use of chemicals, pesticides, petrol/diesel fuel must be strictly controlled and is subject to approval by ScotRail following provision of appropriate COSHH assessments/method statements.
Before authority is given for minors or people with special needs to work at locations ScotRail will require a comprehensive method statement detailing the control measures which will ensure the safety and supervision of individuals.
ScotRail suggests that individuals have had basic Manual Handling instruction.
Making your proposal
Please ensure you have read the safety arrangements first, then either print out the form, complete the details and return it to this address: John Yellowlees First ScotRail Atrium Court 50 Waterloo Street Glasgow G2 6HQ (T 0141-335 4787 or F:0141-335 4791). Or download your application form here .