​New chapter for Cricklewood

Cricklewood Town Team and the local library have helped Thameslink open a pop-up community library at its railway station.

Cricklewood station was adopted by the Town Team earlier this year and the group have already worked with Thameslink and others to revamp the entrance. Long gone is the dingy wall, which attracted litter, and in its place sits a beautiful flower bed, striking station sign and local photo collages. The group’s work won a silver medal in the “It’s Your Station” category of the Association of Community Rail Partnership awards.

Now, in partnership with the Friends of Cricklewood library, passengers can drop off, borrow or exchange a book with fellow travellers. The project got the go-ahead after it was successfully trialled at Willesden Green Underground station. The bookcase was funded by NorthWestTWO Residents' Association and bought from the local British Heart Foundation charity shop, while The Friends of Cricklewood Library supplied a set of books to get started.

James Gillett, Cricklewood Station Manager, said “I think our customers will love the idea of a pop-up library and it’s another great way to integrate the station further into the local community. The library will continue to support the station with as many books as we need.”

Marie Hancock, from the Town Team, added: “Our thanks to Mick, Diana and James from Thameslink for all their help setting up this excellent new addition to the station we all love. People will also notice the burgeoning flowerbed with plants donated by residents and the new logs to attract bees. Cricklewood is now looking blooming marvellous.”

Pictured, left to right, are: Michelle Ferguson, Diana Daniel, Mick Richards and Caty Delmont. Michelle and Caty are local residents working with the Town Team and were involved with the project from the beginning. Diana is the station’s sales assistant and Mick is one of Thameslink’s distribution team drivers.

ends

Notes to editors

For more information email press.office@gtrailway.com or call
0203 750 2031

Govia Thameslink Railway
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
• Thameslink – services between Bedford and Brighton, Luton/St Albans and Sutton, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks
• Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
• Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
• Gatwick Express – Fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

GTR is now the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff: GTR carries about 326 million passenger journeys per year, employs around 6,500 people and generates annual passenger revenues of approximately £1.3bn.

The GTR investment programme for stations includes funding for more CCTV, toilet refurbishments, new retail facilities, help points and car park improvements – as well as plans for increased motorcycle storage and improved transport integration.
southernrailway.com, gatwickexpress.com, thameslinkrailway.com greatnorthernrail.com