Social performance

Our rail network connects people and transforms communities

The railway stretches across most of Britain and impacts millions of lives. It contributes to the country’s economic and social development, bringing jobs, transport links and other benefits to local communities.

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Supporting Britain’s development

Improvements to the railway help local areas develop and thrive. For example, our redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station, which reopened in 2015, contributed to record growth for the city – creating an attractive gateway and a retail destination for visitors, bringing new jobs and regenerating nearby areas.

We helped build the Borders Railway, the first railway line in the Scottish Borders for 50 years. Since it opened in 2015, more tourism and more affordable housing have come about as a result of the new infrastructure, with increased economic and population growth.

We work to improve safety for communities too. New footbridges over the railway can introduce safer rights of way and open up routes to more people, especially when designed for maximum accessibility.

Making a difference for our neighbours

Connecting people is about more than building the right infrastructure. Our dedicated community teams get right into the heart of communities, finding out what matters to local people, and helping to deliver positive change. Find out more about our work with communities across Britain.

These teams not only work with community groups, but also help our employees to get involved. We can only achieve a caring, sustainable railway with our employees’ help, which is why we encourage them to volunteer and help fundraise for our Charity of Choice.

The Community Rail strategy is a key part of our commitment to connecting people and transforming communities.

Engaging our employees

Our people volunteer for many reasons – it might be for a cause that has a personal meaning, or perhaps to help a community affected by essential but disruptive work on the railway. Of course, it not only makes a difference to the cause, but improves employee wellbeing too.

Some volunteer in schools, helping to teach science, technical and engineering subjects or spreading our safety message alongside our safety teams.

Others connect communities with the environment by helping them to create wildlife-friendly spaces.

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