Great Northern gives boy going blind a cab ride

A train mad teenager with a deteriorating eye condition who wanted to ride in a driver’s cab before he goes blind has had his dream come true thanks to Great Northern driver ‘Tay’ Hogan and Lead Competency Developer Steve Castle.

Michael Fleet, 17, rode one of Great Northern’s Cambridge ‘Flyers’, cruising from the city of learning into London King’s Cross in just 51 minutes – all next to the driver’s seat.

“It was absolutely amazing,” he said. “It really does give you a different perspective on the line that you don’t get when you are sitting on the train.

“I’ve had a passion for railways all my life, having caught it, I think, from my mum’s side of the family – her great grandfather was a signalman at Shefford near Cambridge.”

Mum Marie joined Michael for the trip. Michael doesn’t know for sure how quickly his eyesight will deteriorate to the point he can’t see any more but he was anxious to make his trip as soon as possible.

Steve said: “As soon as we received Michael’s letter, we wanted to help.”

Michael said he loves trains so much he takes pictures and video whenever he’s not studying for college. He’s completed art photography at GCSE and is now going to sixth form college to study psychology, sociology and IT.

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