Delivered: January to March 2026
Partner: Thistle Credit Union
Funder: Network Rail Community Rail Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland
Project area: Communities along the Rail 74 line, from Rutherglen to Motherwell
Between January and March 2026, Rail 74 Community Rail Partnership worked with Thistle Credit Union to make financial wellbeing support easier to access for people living along our line.
Tracks to Prosperity shared practical information about budgeting, saving, digital banking and affordable borrowing. It also helped people understand how a credit union works and what support might be available when money feels difficult to manage.
Listening to our communities
We initially planned face-to-face sessions in communities around the railway. People told us that shift work, caring responsibilities and travel could make it hard to attend at a set time. We adapted the project to include an online panel discussion and a recording that people could watch when it suited them.
On Monday 9 March 2026, Suzie McCheyne hosted Rail 74’s online financial wellbeing discussion and introduced Eric Ballard from Thistle Credit Union.
Watch the Tracks to Prosperity panel discussion.
The difference it made
More than 200 people accessed information, support and practical tools through Tracks to Prosperity. Participants told us they felt more comfortable talking about money and more aware that affordable, ethical support was available.
Feedback showed why flexible access mattered. One participant described how being able to pause the recording and return to it made the information feel manageable. Others said the project helped them understand what a credit union could offer, from building savings to considering the cost of borrowing.
The recording remains available after the funded work ended in March 2026, giving Rail 74 and Thistle Credit Union a resource to share with more people. The project also strengthened a partnership built around helping communities access support that matters in everyday life.
Read Foundation Scotland’s case study of the project.
