Chorley woman to star in fly on wall look at Lancashire's railways

The Railway 24/7 is a six-part documentary series going behind the scenes at TransPennine Express and the first episode features the firm’s customer experience director Kathryn O’Brien who comes from Chorley.

From the control room to maintenance depot and on-board to stations, The Railway 24/7 will reveal what it takes to move millions of passengers across the North every year.

Kathryn, 50, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the documentary and I can’t wait to see the first episode air.

“I’ve always enjoyed my role and I’m looking forward to sharing the ins and outs of my job with viewers and giving them a taste of the twists and turns of the job on a daily basis. Hopefully it makes for a great show.”

Episode one of The Railway 24/7 begins by giving access to cameras at one of the busiest times of the year on the railways, December, when TransPennine Express was faced with delays and cancellations and colleagues are facing furious commuters.

In Manchester, outside the Ardwick depot, a derailment causes a logjam of passengers and Simon Wildgoose and his team must try to jack up the 230-tonne train and clear it from the tracks before the evening rush hour.

While colleagues face issues on the frontline, the episode also shows TransPennine Express accepting a fleet of new trains.

Liz Collins, interim managing director at TransPennine Express, said: “We wanted to show customers and regular commuters the inner workings behind our operation and so gave the cameras an access all areas pass to film each and every aspect of our business and the wonderful people we have working for us.”

“We’re excited to be making our TV debut this Wednesday, we know the documentary will show some high moments, such as accepting Nova, our new fleet of trains, and some challenging moments such as storms, fare-dodgers and trespassers.

“We are looking forward to sharing these moments with viewers and giving an open and honest insight into TransPennine Express.”

The first episode of The Railway 24/7, made by Blast! Films, will be aired on Wednesday, June 10 at 9pm on Channel 5.