Metro and our people are part of the community. Beyond connecting people and places, we support community organisations and activities around our network. Our Community Investment and Education Program, On Track, has four focus areas:

• Safety – Building community confidence about rail safety to assist people travel safely on our network.
• Mental health – Supporting awareness, education and caring initiatives related to mental health to improve the wellbeing of Melbournians.
• Inclusion – Improving the experience of passengers so everyone who uses our network has the same great experience.
• Involvement – Supporting initiatives that bring communities together to create and enhance the travelling experience for Metro passengers.

Safety

Rail Awareness & Safety Education
Metro provides rail safety education for schools and communities across greater metropolitan Melbourne. Sessions help build the skills and awareness of students and vulnerable community members to stay safe around trains, tracks and stations and to travel safely. Visit our Rail Awareness and Safety Education page for more for more information or to book a session.

TrackSAFE Foundation
Metro supports the TrackSAFE Foundation, which is Australia’s only harm prevention charity focused on reducing deaths, injuries and near hits on the rail network. TrackSAFE also works to improve the wellbeing of rail employees. Metro actively supports TrackSAFE’s safety awareness campaigns for schools and the public, including Rail Safety Week. For more information click here.

Mental Health

Community Grants
Metro’s Back on Track Community Grants support not for profit organisations doing important work to help improve people’s mental health. With an annual grant pool of $100,000 we support projects and organisations of all sizes right across Melbourne in the areas of mental health wellness, education and support services. Our 2022/23 grants winners can be found here. The next round of grants will be advertised in early 2024.

Lifeline
Lifeline is a non-profit organisation that provides free, 24-hour Telephone Crisis Support service in Australia. Volunteer Crisis Supporters provide suicide prevention services, mental health support and emotional assistance. Metro supports Lifeline through fundraising campaigns. For more information click here.

Inclusion

Traveller’s Aid
Metro provides rent-free space to Travellers Aid, a non-profit group that helps mobility disability customers at Flinders Street and Southern Cross. Travellers Aid seeks to make public transport possible for all people by offering a range of services including free personal care for those with a disability, travel companions for medical appointments and low cost mobility equipment hire. For more information click here.

Melbourne City Mission
Melbourne City Mission (MCM) focuses on creating new opportunities for children, young people and adults experiencing disadvantage, including homelessness. MCM empowers and supports people to develop their own path away from disadvantage, towards living their best life. Metro supports MCM through fundraising campaigns. For more information click here.

Involvement

Station Activity
Stations are places where people of all ages and backgrounds gather and interact. At Metro, we want that interaction to be safe, supportive and inclusive. All community station activity requests should be made via the Station Activity and Access Requests page on our website.

We receive many requests for community activities at stations, and unfortunately it is not possible to support them all. Safety and passenger experience are our top priorities.

Community activities should align with at least two of Metro’s community focus areas:

• Safety
• Mental health
• Inclusion
• Involvement

Other considerations :

• Safety and operational requirements at and around the station.
• The type of activity and its impact on passengers.
• The time, date and location of the activity and other activities happening at the station around that time.
• Any commercial arrangement at or around the station at the time of the activity.

Applicants are encouraged to provide as much information as possible in the permit application to inform permit consideration. Submitting an application does not guarantee that a permit will be granted. Please read all the information on the request page to ensure your activity fits within our criteria.

Stationeers
Metro partners with Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria, Department of Transport and Planning, VicTrack and V/Line to support the Stationeers program, which improves the safety, look and feel of railway stations across Victoria by supporting community volunteers to beautify station garden landscapes. For more information visit Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria.

Murals
Many different murals and artworks exist throughout station precincts around Melbourne. They brighten up our stations and often have links to local history and landmarks. Applications for new murals must be submitted by local councils but are currently closed. Engagement with local councils on potential new artworks is planned to commence by the end 2023.