Media centre

Monday 27 Mar 2017

Final episode of railway documentary airs tonight

Region & Route:

| Eastern

The final episode of a four-part documentary which has gone behind the scenes of the railway industry airs tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm.

For the last four weeks, members of the public have been granted a sneak-peek behind the scenes as Network Rail, Virgin Trains East Coast and the British Transport Police (BTP) work to keep the railway running and passengers safe.

Inside King’s Cross: The Railway was filmed over three months and has shown the challenges which the industry faces every day such as broken down trains, challenging passengers and problems with equipment. It has also showcased how the quick thinking of workers across the industry can mitigate the effects which incidents can cause and reduce the impact which passengers feel.

Rob McIntosh, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “ The East Coast Main Line is one of the most widely used rail routes in the country as it is used to make 80million journeys a year.

“The documentary has provided a fantastic opportunity to show the general public all the hard work which goes on behind the scenes to keep the railway running. We are working closer than ever with our industry partners to deliver the best possible service for passengers at all times, as well as keeping them safe.

“Sometimes things do go wrong and the series has highlighted what fantastic people we have working on the railway and how their quick thinking in high pressure situations can positively impact on the service which passengers receive. I believe the documentary is a brilliant example of industry partners working together to deliver the best service we can for all rail users.”

David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains on its east coast route, said: “The railways have always held a special place in the hearts and minds of the travelling public. As an industry, we are working together to best serve our customers, and this documentary showed just how well we do this and how hard our staff work: we’re very proud of them. The documentary also gave us a great opportunity to showcase some of the investment that we’ve already made, and how we’re planning for the future with our new Virgin Azuma trains, which will help us to transform this great railway.”

Chief Inspector Nicholas Brandon from the British Transport Police said: “We’re really happy this documentary has demonstrated the importance of everyone in the rail industry working together to get passengers to their destinations safely and on time.

“The appearances of BTP officers throughout the series have also shown the variety of work we deal with – from our counter-terrorism patrols to helping injured passengers and arresting offenders. It was great that some of our hard-working officers got their deserved moment of fame.

“We hope that everyone has enjoyed the series and if you see any of our officers out and about whether you recognise them from the show or not, please stop and say hello.”

The final episode of Inside King’s Cross: The Railway airs tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm.