A record level of enhanced cleaning procedures, in order to keep people safe onboard trains and at stations, have been carried out by London North Eastern Railway (LNER).
LNER amplified their already high levels of cleaning measures at stations, onboard trains and Travel Centres earlier this year when the Covid-19 outbreak first began.
In recent months, more than 140 swab tests have been carried out since July to test for traces of Covid-19 on high-frequency touch points. All tests have come back negative due to the intense frequency of cleaning processes carried out by the team of 280 cleaning staff.
LNER has more cleaners than train drivers covering the East Coast route to make sure customers and staff kept safe thanks to in-transit cleaning teams working onboard services with industry-leading equipment and practices to decrease the risk of virus transmission.
As well as onboard fogging devices using sustainable viricidal cleaning fluids, teams also carried out two-stage sanitisation on surfaces from armrests to tables and onboard toilet facilities, which are regularly checked for plentiful supplies of soap and water.
Since March more than 307,000 hours of cleaning has been undertaken by cleaning teams stretching across the 936 miles of LNER route, and more than 184,000 litres of sustainable cleaning chemicals used by the teams.
Research by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has found the risk of Covid-19 infection being less than 0.01 per cent on an average hour-long train journey, in a carriage with no social distancing or face coverings. The analysis has shown the risk of contracting Covid-19 while travelling by train is about 1 in 11,000 journeys.
The research, which was conducted with assistance from LNER, also shows the risk more than halves if passengers wear a face covering. These have been mandatory when travelling by train since June, unless exempt.
LNER Director of Safety and Operations, Warrick Dent, said: “The safety of our customers and staff is always our top priority. We recognise the importance of customers not only being safe but feeling safe, which is why we continue to provide reassurance to customers of the significantly enhanced measures we are providing to operate a ‘Covid Secure’ service.”
Image: London North Eastern Railway
