Volunteers across Scotland have been celebrated at the annual ScotRail in the Community Awards.

The ceremony took place at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday 26 October, with awards presented to hard-working volunteers across Scotland’s Railway, recognising their contribution to the wider local community and railway.

Currently more than 1,000 people across the country volunteer on Scotland’s Railway, contributing to their local communities in a variety of different activities and projects – from community classes and garden displays to art galleries and charity bookshops.  

At the Awards ceremony, Community Rail Network member winners included:

Community Project of the Year

• Fittingly for Scotland’s mural town, East Lothian CRP undertook a project to improve the appearance of Prestonpans Station by replacing the existing, badly weathered artwork with a new mural. Working with local artists and secondary school pupils, the partnership designed and installed four new murals depicting the industrial history and transport heritage of Prestonpans to bring the area’s past back to life.

Community Rail Partnership Member of the Year

• Suzie McCheyne collected the prize for her commitment to her local community – as one of the founding members of Rail 74 CRP (which covers six stations between Rutherglen and Hamilton Central), Suzie devotes many volunteer hours to developing and delivering new projects.

Other winners included the Dumfries Adoptive Railway Gardeners, who won Adopted Station of the Year; the Rotary Club of Whitburn were crowned Adopters of the Year for their work at Fauldhouse Station; and Jane Connolly was bestowed the title of Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail for her can-do attitude, expertise, and commitment to Cardross Station Community Organic Garden.

James Ledgerwood, Head of Economic and Community Development at ScotRail, said: “The ScotRail in the Community Awards is an important date in our calendar, as it’s an opportunity for us to showcase the fantastic work of our volunteers.

“I’d like to congratulate our winners, those highly commended, and all the nominees, but also to thank all our volunteers for their hard work and contribution. Their efforts benefit more than Scotland’s Railway – it extends to the wider local community as well.

“Supporting our local communities and their projects is incredibly important, and these awards allow us to celebrate our volunteers and the work they do to support ScotRail in delivering services that go beyond the railway.”

Read more about each of the winners in the Awards Booklet.