Railway stations are no longer the domain of the live-in Station Master. There is now a growing community rail movement headed up by the national Community Rail Network.

Within the surrounding communities of every station across the High Peak and Hope Valley there is a group of people who volunteer their time to make their local station a welcoming and pleasant place to be.

People get involved for a variety of reasons, from a love of gardening to an interest in heritage, to build community engagement or to fulfil a passion for the railways themselves; their one shared purpose is to keep their station vibrant, well- looked after and linked into their local community. Northern Trains teams are out at stations on a regular basis, clearing litter and dealing with maintenance issues but the volunteer Friends of Station groups are the people who enhance the station environment.

The Friends of station groups are supported by our High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership and in turn, much of our work is driven by their ideas and projects. The groups can apply for funding contributed by all of our managing partners (see logos below) and administrated by us on their behalf. Volunteers can also join the national Community Rail Network and apply for small project funding and advice to support their work.