Applications are open for organisations to apply for a grant towards local, community-focused improvements to the railways in the network covered by Greater Anglia.

The grants will come from Greater Anglia’s 2025 Customer and Community Improvement Fund, which can fund schemes ranging from small-scale enhancements to local railway stations to integrated transport projects.

These may be schemes that introduce new or disadvantaged groups to travelling by train, education projects, biodiversity projects, arts or heritage schemes, or new ways to promote train services amongst local communities.

The scheme started in 2024 and has proved a great success, with 34 projects benefiting, including:

• Support for the restoration of a community station building at Alresford in Essex.
• Installation of defibrillators at all stations on the Ipswich to Felixstowe/Lowestoft lines in Suffolk.
• An investigation into improved walking and cycling routes to Brundall Gardens and Brundall in Norfolk.
• An enhanced website for the Hereward Community Rail Partnership in Cambridgeshire.
• Promotion of the railway line between Ely and Peterborough.
• A mosaic for Rye House station in Hertfordshire.
• Secure cycle lockers at Colchester Town Station.
• New planters at St. Margarets railway station in Hertfordshire.

A total of £350,000 will be available for projects, with a maximum value per application of £50,000. It is expected that higher bid applications will result in more benefits, with most applications ranging from £500 to £20,000.

The scheme is intended to support initiatives that provide community benefits and enhance rail’s positive role in society. Applications can be submitted by local organisations or bodies in Greater Anglia’s network, including: community rail partnerships, station adopters, local authorities or parish councils, community groups, and charities.

Full details about the scheme are on the Greater Anglia website, with applications open until Friday, 23rd May 2025, and proposed schemes must be deliverable by 31st March 2026.

“We are always looking to enhance the role of the railway in support of the communities it serves. The first year of our Customer and Community Improvement Fund was a great success, with an impressive mix of projects put forward and delivered to the benefit of customers, communities, and the railway right across the Greater Anglia network. We look forward to the second year of this really positive scheme resulting in more locally focused enhancements in line with community needs, with ideas coming from both community rail partnerships and station adopters, but also other local organisations, such as local authorities, parish councils, charities, or other stakeholders.”

Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs, for Greater Anglia