Our Community Activity
Chiltern Railways engages with community and not for profit partners in several ways including through activity on our stations, providing funding for charitable organisations and working with partners such as Business Improvement Districts and Local Authorities to improve links between our stations and town centres.
Community Rail Reports
Please have a read of our Community Rail Reports by visiting our Community Rail Reports page.
Community Investment Fund
Our 2025-26 Community Investment Fund will be open to applications for amounts between £10k-£25k in mid-2025, with projects being delivered by the end of March 2026.
This fund is aimed at delivering social, economic and environmental value to local communities. If you have a compelling community project or an innovative idea to improve a station, then we encourage you to apply. Previous projects range from rail education visits for school children to the delivery of community artwork projects to brighten up public spaces. Please see below for a list of projects that were delivered last year and please refer to the guidelines before submitting an application.
For further information, please contact us on [email protected]
Community Rail Partnerships
We are delighted to be partnered with Heart of England Community Rail Partnership and Oxfordshire Community Rail Partnership. Together with local authorities and neighbouring train operators, we are actively engaging communities and fostering positive change. From establishing station adoption groups to working with a wide demographic of residents to promote sustainable rail travel including school children, the elderly, and those from underrepresented backgrounds.
- To learn more about the Heart of England CRP, click here.
- To learn more about the Oxfordshire CRP, click here.
Station Adoption
Station adopters (or 'Friends' groups) are groups of local volunteers who help to maintain and enhance station environments. From maintaining station gardens and improving waiting rooms to holding special events at stations, our adopters are keen to increase customer experience. We have established volunteer groups at the following locations:
- Birmingham Moor Street
- Solihull
- Dorridge
- Lapworth
- Hatton
- Warwick
- Leamington Spa
- High Wycombe
- Bicester North
- Aylesbury
- Stoke Mandeville
We are still seeking adopters for stations across our network, specifically south of Banbury, between Aylesbury and London, and on our route to Oxford. If you are interested in adopting your local Chiltern Railways station, please do reach out to us on [email protected] for more information.
You can also visit the Community Rail Network's page on station adoption https://communityrail.org.uk/community-rail/station-adoption/ to learn more about the nationwide station adoption programme.
Charity Partnerships
Every year, we aim to engage with as many young people as possible, and thanks to our partners, National Literacy Trust and Primary Engineer, we are able to educate hundreds of pupils on rail safety and education topics.
Inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders, these programmes are designed to introduce young people to rail professionals and learn the importance of literacy and communication. Volunteers from across Chiltern Railways have the opportunity to work closely with schools on a series of activities that allow pupils to learn about roles in the industry through engaging Q&A sessions, station tours and visits.
To learn more about the National Literacy Trust, visit their website: https://literacytrust.org.uk/about-us
To learn more about Primary Engineer, visit their website: https://www.primaryengineer.com