GTR gives recognition to life-saving colleagues (picture taken before lockdown). MORE IMAGES AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOADBELOW

May 21, 2020 16:03 BST

Railway colleagues praised for life-savingactions

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Govia Thameslink Railway is shininga light on how caring colleagues go above and beyond to help some of themost vulnerable in their time of need.

Every day, colleagues working across GTR’s Thameslink, Great Northern,Gatwick Express and Southern routes make sure passengers complete theirjourneys safely, and they are quick to raise the alarm when they noticesomeone in distress or behaving unusually.

GTR's vision is for ‘Zero Harm’ on the railway with one life lost being one toomany. Last year at least 327 potentially life-saving interventions took place,where colleagues have talked to someone they believe to be at risk. The trainoperator has been training colleagues to approach vulnerable people and asa result has seen a 57% increase in potentially life-saving approaches. Thisyear, 45 interventions have taken place so far.

GTR’s Suicide Prevention Manager Laura Campbell said: “This is a verychallenging time for all of us, and we acknowledge that everyone at somestage during this pandemic could feel vulnerable. For all our passengers, wewant to show that we’re with them and we recognise how important it is thatour colleagues are equipped with the skills to help vulnerable people.”

Laura added: “GTR has also ensured a greater focus on the health andwellbeing of all its colleagues during this time with an enhanced programmeof activities tailored to some of the challenges we face.”

In July last year, GTR implemented its Caring for the Vulnerable course, whichwas attended by all new starters. The company is now launching the courseas an e-learning course for all colleagues this month to provide participantswith an understanding of who is a vulnerable person, how to spot them andhow to help them if they are need.

In addition to this, GTR aims for all colleagues to take part in a coursespecially run by the Samaritans, which includes guidance on how to talk topeople in distress. So far, more than 1,000 colleagues have taken part.

Before lockdown, the train operator held a ceremony at its Londonheadquarters for 19 colleagues from across the network who had takenpotentially life-saving action.

Some colleagues were praised for raising the alarm quickly, resulting in trainsrunning at caution or stopping altogether. In other cases, train drivers, crewor station staff had approached the vulnerable person and encouraged themto a place of safety.

Head of Safety and Environment Mark Whitley, who hosted the ceremony,told the attendees: “This event is a moment to reflect on the amazing actionsyou have taken to care for the vulnerable. It’s amazing to meet real life

heroes. You have seen something that doesn’t look right and you havestepped in and have shown you care.”

Representatives from the Samaritans’ Croydon branch also attended theceremony to talk about the life-saving work of the charity and thank GTRstaff for their interventions.

CASE STUDIES

Thameslink colleagues Sara Turner, Jay Singh and Mariya Marinova workedtogether to help a distressed woman at Luton Airport Parkway station earlierthis year. Area Manager Sara, who was off-duty at the time and heading toLondon for her birthday, spotted the woman who was behaving strangely.Sara said: “She was jumpy and distressed when I approached to see if she wasOK.”

Sara raised the alarm by contacting Jay, who was supervising the platformand dispatching trains at the time. He alerted the signaller to the situation.Jay approached the woman and tried to speak to her, but she was stillrefusing to speak. He then called Mariya, a Revenue Control Officer, to see ifthe woman would open up to her. When she was alone with Mariya, sheslowly began to explain her situation and talked about how frightened shewas. Mariya, who speaks five languages, took her into a waiting room andthey chatted for about half an hour. The colleagues also offered the womanfood and water. Mariya said: “Every day you’re caring for passengers. Thereare thousands of people passing through this station every day. I enjoy myjob.”

Great Northern Passenger Host Team Leader Nathan Bowes, 44, received anaward for his intervention at Hitchin station in spring last year. With the helpof colleagues, Nathan managed to bring a distressed boy to a safe area. In thesubmission for Nathan’s award, he was praised for his “great understanding”and for making sure everyone involved in the situation was safe. Nathan, wholives in Hitchin, was able to draw on his five years’ experience as a volunteerwith Samaritans when dealing with this situation. He also made sure acolleague, who had been the first on the scene, was looked after.

Speaking of his award, Nathan said: “I was just doing my job, but it is nice tohave recognition and a thank you. I don’t feel uncomfortable helping people.It happens so often that you see someone and something doesn’t look right.Sometimes you see someone crying and you ask if they’re OK. Usually they’refine, but you don’t know until you ask.”

Passenger Hosts Steve Baker and Jon Robinson both received recognition forhelping a distressed young man during an intervention at Cambridge earlierthis year. Jon, 58, who lives in Cambridge, used a recognised hand signal toalert the drivers of trains ready to leave platforms that there was a problem.With the help of a driver, they managed to get the young man off thetrack.They then stayed with the young man until the British Transport Policearrived. Father-of-two Steve, who lives in the Cambridge area, said: “We getquite good training in relation to our role, although a lot of it is instinctive inthese situations.”

Train Driver Robert Knevett, 53, has worked on the railway for 26 years andhas been a driver since 1997. He has encountered two fatalities during hisrailway career and has been involved in many life-saving interventions, themost recent of which were in 2018 and two within a week in 2017. DriverManager for Gatwick Express Rebecca Hansford said: “In all three of thesecases, Bob has answered a final call for help and has been instrumental insaving three people's lives. He is a credit to the Gatwick Express Team andthe wider rail family.”

Robert, who lives in Haywards Heath, said: “I just see it as part of the job. I’mhappy to help and I would rather help than leave it to someone else. Myfamily are proud of what I do and at work they call me ‘Bob the log’ becauseif I see something, I ring up and report it. It’s nice to gain recognition and athank you.”

Note to editors

Please note that all photos were taken prior to lockdown. 

Contact information for Samaritans

Whatever you're going through, Samaritans are there to listen, available 24hours a day, 365 days a year - call 116 123 for free from any phone. You can

also email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org.

Govia Thameslink Railway

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

• Thameslink – cross-London services betweenBedford/Peterborough/Cambridge andBrighton/Horsham/Littlehampton/East Grinstead, and betweenLuton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus servicesbetween London and Sevenoaks

• Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn,Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn

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

• Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between GatwickAirport and London Victoria

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