Student volunteering project with Plymouth University
A decade-long partnership to improve stations on the Tamar Valley and Looe Valley lines
Tamar Valley Line and Looe Valley Line
2006-present
Partners
University of Plymouth Students Union
Great Western Railway
Awards
2nd, Volunteer of the Year (awarded to Rachel Nafzger)
Community Rail Awards 2011
The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership has been running student volunteering opportunities with Plymouth University Students’ Union for more than a decade.
The Volunteering in Plymouth (ViP) Rural Stations Project allows students from all over the world to get out of the city and engage in gardening and improvement works at 10 small stations on the Tamar Valley and Looe Valley lines.
The project works to:
- Enhance the local rail user experience and build passenger numbers
- Reduce the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour through improved environmental cleanliness and more attractive stations
- Raise the profile of rural branch lines in the local and student community and ensure their long term sustainability
- Break down preconceptions of students in the local population
- Get students out of the city, into the countryside and doing physical exercise
- Provide volunteers with training and support
Read about our I-Buddy project to help students with disabilities to get involved in rail volunteering.
