Press release -
West Midlands Railway celebrates essential front-line rail workers
Managers at West Midlands Railway have paid tribute to the dedication of hundreds of front-line rail workers who are keeping the region moving.
Following the government direction for people to make only essential journeys, passenger numbers have dropped sharply, with footfall across the West Midlands down by more than 90%.
Despite introducing a reduced timetable, West Midlands Railway is still operating hundreds of services every day in order to make sure NHS staff and other essential workers can keep moving.
In order to do this, hundreds of front-line staff, including drivers, conductors, station staff, dispatchers, engineers, cleaners and control centre operators are continuing to come to work.
The operator will be celebrating its staff on social media over the coming days with a series of videos and photographs from across the network.
Julian Edwards, managing director of West Midlands Railway, said: “Keeping key workers moving is our priority but for that to happen we rely on the hard work of hundreds of dedicated front-line staff.
“I am incredibly proud of the dedication our colleagues on trains, at stations, in depots and in the control centres have shown in these testing circumstances.
“We have been touched by the messages of support and thanks from many of our customers and I am delighted to be publicly celebrating and showcasing their efforts on social media over the next few days.”
The first video, released today, features senior conductor Sam Briggs, who works on the Shrewsbury-Birmingham route, explaining his role on board and advising passengers to make only essential journeys.
To view the video, click here
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About West Midlands Trains
For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email press.office@wmtrains.co.uk
West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.
- London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.
- West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.
For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk
The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.
West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 80 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.
The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com
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