Media centre

Monday 26 Mar 2018

Paddington Station 24/7 returns for second series

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

The behind the scenes documentary Paddington 24/7 returns for a second series on Monday 26 March at 9pm on Channel 5, with the effects of the severe weather experienced during Storm Emma and the Beast from the East featuring in the first episode.

The eight-part first series achieved a consistently high audience share for the Monday 9pm slot, averaging 1.3 million viewers per episode. The series follows railway workers on the Great Western Mainline as they deal with the biggest modernisation of the line for generations, major incidents which are causing disruption on the railway, huge sporting events, as well as the day-to-day challenge of running one of Britain’s busiest stations.

Episode one of the new series sees station staff at Paddington face an unprecedented situation as the extreme cold weather and snow causes areas of the concourse to freeze over, a scenario which causes the temporary closure of the station - something the current generation of railway workers haven’t faced before. Station Interface Manager Joe Porter features in the episode, explaining the challenges faced by his team as station staff battle the elements to keep Paddington open for business.

The challenge we faced was mainly due to the design of the roof – snow was blowing in through the gaps which gave the effect that it was actually snowing within the station. Once it became apparent that the adverse weather was impacting the station it was all hands on deck. Our main concern was the underfoot conditions – snow and limestone flooring aren’t a good mix and the last thing we wanted was our customers or staff injuring themselves.

Joe Porter, Station Interface Manager, London Paddington, Network Rail

The first episode of Paddington 24/7 will be aired on Monday 26 March on Channel 5 at 9pm, with each subsequent episode shown on Monday evenings at the same time.