Luton station team give school children lesson in railway safety

Thameslink recently treated 120 children from Beechwood primary school, close to Leagrave station, to a train ride to Luton as part of a railway safety session.

The school approached Luton station manager Joe Healy about the possibility of supporting their classroom work on transport and wanted help to make the learning practical. Joe readily agreed and Thameslink was able to provide rail journeys from Leagrave to Luton for the youngsters over four sessions.

The local station team were also on hand to support the children, providing them with Thameslink’s ‘Go Learn’ teaching support material which is focused on ensuring safe travel, as well as free pencils to support their studies.

Joe said: “We had a really good few days and the children from Beechwood School were on top form. They really got involved and were fascinated with the train journey and the activities we did at the station too. We had a quiz on safety and a tour of the station. I hope it has helped them with their lessons and that we’ll see them again.

“A big thanks to all my station team who helped: Cornelia Stanislaus, Donna Field, Imma ‘Maccy’ Johnson, Mellissa De Simone, Andy Breeds, Amir Aziz and Aaron Clark.”

Thameslink and its parent company Govia Thameslink Railway have already helped deliver lessons in safe travel to almost 3,500 primary school children. Any schools who would like to take part should email andrew.harrowell@gtrailway.com.

Ends

Notes to editors

For more information email press.office@gtrailway.com or call

Southern and Gatwick Express press office: 0203 750 2030

Thameslink and Great Northern press office: 0345 470 0789

Govia Thameslink Railway

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:

Thameslink – Bedford to Brighton, Sutton, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks

Great Northern – London to Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn

Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)

Gatwick Express – Fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

GTR is now the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff: GTR carries about 273 million passenger journeys per year, employs around 6,500 people and generates annual passenger revenues of approximately £1.3bn.

Details of the franchise:

22% of all UK passengers

6,500 employees

£1.3bn annual revenue

£237m passenger journeys

£50m investment to enhance all 239 stations

50% increase in capacity

1,398 new train carriages

10,000 additional morning peak seats into London

Free Wi-Fi at 104 stations

20,000 days of customer service training for frontline employees

£1m per year for local communities to spend on improvements at stations

The GTR investment programme for stations includes funding for more CCTV, toilet refurbishments, new retail facilities, help points and car park improvements – as well as plans for increased motorcycle storage and improved transport integration.

southernrailway.com, gatwickexpress.com, thameslinkrailway.com, greatnorthernrail.com