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Wednesday 20 May 2020

Network Rail’s station team at King’s Cross keep critical workers moving during COVID-19 crisis

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Coast

Network Rail’s station team at London King’s Cross are working hard and adopting new ways of working to ensure those who need to travel are able to reach their destinations safely throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Caroline Hynds is a shift station manager at King’s Cross station, where around 150,000 people usually come through the doors each day. Since the beginning of lockdown, there has been a reduction of around 92% in footfall at the station.

Along with her team, Caroline communicates with all station users, including passengers, train operators, businesses and British Transport Police, but she has had to make changes to her role due to the current challenging times. Shift briefings for the wider station team now take place in an open area so social distancing can be maintained and meetings with train operators are done via email or over the phone.

Additional passenger safety measures have been put in place at King’s Cross station to help maintain social distancing. These include extra members of staff to help keep passengers moving, as well as floor stickers so that people can make sure they are at least two metres apart from others.

Caroline Hynds, King’s Cross Shift Station Manager for Network Rail, said: “I’m so proud of our station team at King’s Cross for making sure the station continues to operate smoothly during these challenging times.

“We’ve had to make a lot of changes to the way in which we work and there’s been a huge effort across the industry to ensure the safety of those who need to travel.

“I’d like to thank our passengers for adhering to the guidelines and bearing with us. This is a challenging time for us all, but if we continue to work together and follow the guidelines, we will get through it.”

Passengers are being urged to continue following Government guidelines and only travel if their journey is absolutely necessary. If you must travel, please look to walk, cycle or drive, but if you must use public transport, follow the guidance – avoid rush hour, wash your hands regularly and keep two metres apart where possible.

People who do need to use the railway should continue to check before they travel via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operators.

ENDS