GOLD AWARD FOR WEMYSS BAY STATION [return]
Wemyss Bay Station has achieved Gold status in a new "Keep Scotland Beautiful" awards scheme.

The environmental charity has visited all 346 rail stations across Scotland since July to assess their performance on issues ranging from clearing litter to recycling, waste management, and community links.

Assessments to Bronze, Silver or Gold status were available in Keep Scotland Beautiful’s first-ever Tidy Station Standards programme.

Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s managing director, said: "We are delighted that Wemyss Bay achieved Gold status.

“Our stations score highly in surveys of customer satisfaction, and we look forward to the future involvement of Keep Scotland Beautiful in helping to raise standards even further.”

Ian Nichol, Wemyss Bay station staff member, welcomed the Gold status, which he said owed much to the work of the Friends of Wemyss Bay Station to install and maintain floral planters.

Mr Nichol, 58, from Skelmorlie, said: “We are pleased to have earned this accolade and grateful to the volunteers for what they have done here.”

The Friends of Wemyss Bay Station was named best station adoption group in Britain at the 2010 Community Rail Awards, and this year it created a station garden, which has produced its first crop of vegetables.

Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “I am delighted to be partnering with ScotRail to recognise the high standards across the country.

“By having these assessments we hope to enhance and recognise all the good work that exists and is being implemented by ScotRail staff at stations.

“Overall, we found the Scottish stations to be clean and welcoming and a credit to the staff who care for them, and we are committed to this campaign on station standards”.

The charity’s Tidy Station Standards programme will be revisited on an ongoing basis.

Posted on 07 January, 2012