ScotRail today welcomed the news that donations to charities from the Pitlochry Station Bookshop have now exceeded £75,000.
The shop - opened in 2005 under ScotRail’s Adopt a Station scheme – sells second hand books, with the proceeds going to six charities.
They include the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) - which is also ScotRail’s charity partner.
This month, the bookshop made its first payment to a sixth charity – Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
Ken Nichol, chairman of the Pitlochry Station Bookshop, said: “We simply opened the shop to give customers the chance to buy a book for their train journey and hand it back on return to re-sell.
“We are now open six days a week, and are so grateful to ScotRail for its continuing support – without which we would not have raised so much money, which benefits a number of charities.”
John Yellowlees, ScotRail’s external relations manager, said: "Pitlochry is the doyen of our adopted stations. We are delighted at the bookshop's continuing success, and note next year marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the original Highland Main Line from Perth to Inverness."
The accommodation that houses the bookshop was recently improved with new secondary glazing, with assistance from the Railway Heritage Trust, and funding for painting was given by Perth & Kinross Council.
John Yellowlees, ScotRail Communications: 0141 335 4787 / john.yellowlees@firstgroup.com
Since opening in 2005, the bookshop which occupies surplus accommodation in Pitlochry Station has been selling second-hand books to raise funds for five charities - Cancer Research, Mercy Corps Scotland, Amnesty International, Shopmobility Pitlochry, and CHAS, the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland. A sixth - Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance – has now been added. The bookshop’s web address is pitlochrystationbookshop.co.uk
Since ScotRail's Adopt a Station policy was launched seven years ago, it has gone from strength to strength. More than 130 stations now have volunteers doing gardening, and new uses for surplus accommodation have included heritage centres, art galleries, cafes and model railway clubs.
