I’m so relieved our train colleagues were able to intervene

Employees working for Northern are being given special training to help protect the rising number of vulnerable people using the railway.

The train operator’s conductors, customer service and station staff interact with tens of millions of passengers a year – among which will be people subject to abuse, addiction and intimidation as well as a range of mental heath issues.

Having the confidence to act when they spot something ‘not quite right’ requires the right skills and a knowledge of the best ‘next steps’ to help the person in need.

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Lisa Leighton, people director at Northern, said: “Everyone who works on the railway has an important part to play in supporting and protecting the vulnerable people who use our trains and stations.

“In the last three months alone, colleagues across our network have intervened to help people in distress on a number of occasions – and I’m so relieved they did.

“As someone who volunteers for Samaritans, I know how important it is for people to receive the help they need, when they need it most.”

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She added: “Training courses like the one we’re delivering to our employees could make all the difference to someone going through a hard time.”

The training forms part of Northern’s membership of the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme (SRS).

It is delivered by the charity ‘Railway Children’, whose work focusses on identifying individuals at risk and helping with early forms of intervention.

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Over the summer, Northern employees came to the aid of three customers with potentially life-saving interventions.

In July, a conductor made sure a passenger got swift medical treatment when her condition deteriorated on-board a Northern service.

In August, a conductor helped a 13-year-old boy in distress while working a service heading to Manchester Piccadilly.

Earlier this month two employees at Blackburn Station were praised for finding a missing eight-year-old girl.

James Waring and Abdi Sharey were working at Blackburn Station in August when they saw the unaccompanied child walking towards the ticket barriers.

After asking her some questions, they became concerned for her welfare and decided to contact the police. 

Greater Manchester Police, which had launched a major search operation to locate the child earlier that day, sent officers to pick her up and reunite her with her family.

The Safeguarding on Rail scheme (SRS) was developed by the Department for Transport and British Transport Police.

Every year, British Transport Police intervenes in thousands of cases involving vulnerable people.

This includes those involved in county lines activity, people suffering with mental health issues and victims of domestic abuse and child sexual exploitation.

You can contact British Transport Police via text message on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.