Avanti West Coast

Our Customer and Communities Improvement Fund

Our Customer and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF) APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED.

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted in late March 2026. If you do not hear from us, unfortunately your application has not progressed to the next stage. Due to the high volume of applications, individual feedback will not be provided.

Past Customer and Communities Improvement Fund projects

Have a look through some of the projects we have supported previously and how they’ve impacted their communities.

table with 4 people on one side in conversation, at the head of the table is a laptop that says "what do we think when we hear train travel


On The Right Track! - Liverpool Mencap group delivers train travel training

We are funding Liverpool and Sefton Mencap to deliver a series of travel confidence training sessions to adult members in Merseyside. Travelling by train can be confusing and concerning for customers, so these workshops help members become more confident by discussing their concerns and highlighting the positives of rail travel.


Making Cumbrian countryside accessible

Avanti West Coast supports the Outdoor Mobility scheme, which funds Tramper mobile vehicles for various sites of interest. These vehicles allow people to travel around the countryside and to attractions. The Tramper vehicles are designed to navigate easily across muddy paths and uphill terrain, whether in an ancient castle or a woodland area. They are user-friendly, and each person receives a brief training session before hiring them at the venue. One of the locations where these vehicles are available is Sizergh Castle, which is just 20 minutes away from Oxenholme.

Woman on a mobility scooter built for muddy paths in a wooded leafy area.

Bring your community project to life

The Customer and Communities Improvement Fund is in place to support schemes across the Avanti West Coast route. We are looking for ideas that bring benefits to our stations (or a station that we serve) and the communities surrounding them which address regeneration challenges and social needs.

One of the most exciting parts is that the ideas for these projects come from the community and our customers.  This year we are particularly interested in your ideas which will help do the following:

  • Bring our stations to life: This could be by creating spaces for community groups to use, delivering green initiatives or through art and creative projects. Whatever the idea we want it to add vibrancy and value to our stations which benefits the communities we serve.
  • Feel Good Travel: We know rail travel can feel daunting or out of reach for some. We want rail to be accessible for everyone and for it to feel good. Your ideas on how we can make the customer experience better, make rail travel available for vulnerable or hard to reach parts of our communities.
  • Connecting communities: Our stations and services connect people with opportunity. We want your ideas about how we can improve something locally, support a much-needed community initiative or simply bring people together to generate connections and new opportunities.

Proposed projects / schemes should be located within 3 miles of one of our stations or a station that we serve where there is an identified social need. Which outlines how the project will work with the community to mitigate the social need and therefore help to create a more inclusive, prosperous, and connected community.

The maximum amount that can be applied for is £50,000, each application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis noting successful projects must be completed within the financial year (April 2026 to March 2027), in which the funding is gifted.

If you have any questions about a CCIF application, please contact the respective Regional Growth Manager (contact details are listed in the CCIF guide) or through the CCIF inbox: community@avantiwestcoast.co.uk

Applications are open until Friday 9th January 2026.