15.10.19
Railway workforce celebrated on #StationsDay today
Today (Oct 15) is #StationDay in the UK, dedicated to celebrating British railways, its stations and the hard-working staff and volunteers who keep it running day after day.
A £48bn investment was announced by Government back in 2017 to upgrade and modernise the rail networks and stations, a project being worked on as we speak.
There are currently 240,000 individuals dedicated to keeping the trains on track in the UK, ranging from station staff to local volunteers.
In 2018 alone, 1.8 billion passenger journeys were made in Great Britain, a 4.8 million a day average. All of whom can enjoy and will continue to enjoy improved passenger information and upgraded accessibility.
Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, said:
“Today we are celebrating the brilliant people at the heart of our railways, whose dedication and enthusiasm makes the journeys of millions of passengers every day that bit better.”
“More than 2,500 stations on our network have played a central role in our villages, towns and cities for over a century. Together with industry, we are working to provide passengers with more modern and accessible stations, ensuring our railways continue to connect people across the country”
South Western Railway (SWR) have chosen to highlight two men with a combined industry contribution of 123 years, for their extremely high standards of care and dedication to customers.
Alan Penlington, customer experience director at SWR, said:
"Stations Day is a great way to celebrate the dedication of rail staff across the industry. From young and old, just starting out to the most experienced, there are thousands of stories to be told of employees going above and beyond and doing a fantastic job.
"We’re proud of the work our station staff and an army of volunteers do day in, day out, to ensure we can deliver the best services for our passengers."
The recent ‘Get into Railway’ scheme launched by the Prince’s Trust and SWR is also being championed with a celebration of young apprentices at the start of their career in the rail industry.