A TransPennine Express (TPE) conductor has been praised for his quick thinking after he helped to return two missing children to their home in London.
TPE employee Mark spotted a young girl wearing school uniform as he was carrying out his duties on a train bound for York late at night.
He said that “alarm bells” rang as she boarded the train wrapped in a blanket at Manchester Piccadilly station.
He then discovered that the youngster and the boy travelling with her did not have a ticket or any means of paying. They were also carrying a large rucksack with them.
Mark alerted British Transport Police (BTP) who sent officers from West Yorkshire Police to take the pair into their duty of care at Leeds station.
He convinced them to stay on the train until then – and even gave the girl a KitKat from another colleague’s lunch box as she had low blood sugar, and her companion was worried she was having a diabetic episode.
Mark said: “I’ve only been on the railway for the relatively short period of 2.5 years, but in this time, I have come across and dealt with a number of missing children.
“If something doesn’t feel right, then report it. Be smart and ask questions. Overall, on our network we have great support and are lucky to have BTP at a number of the stations we serve.”
Billy Vickers, Head of Stations and Safeguarding at TransPennine Express, said: “Mark did an incredible job getting these two children to a place of safety and I know our other colleagues would do the same.
“We work closely with British Transport Police to ensure the safety of everyone using our services and we also offer training to our staff.”
TPE has recently received the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme accreditation for the second year in a row.
The accreditation from BTP and the Department for Transport recognises the vast amount of work taking place across TPE to make the railway a safer place for everyone.
Feedback said that “there was clear evidence that the business is fully committed to safeguarding from colleagues at all levels” and the way we have “embraced inclusion and neurodiversity is a credit to TPE.”
Billy added: “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved for your drive and passion for safeguarding and making the rail network a safer place. This is a fantastic result, and you are all a credit to TPE, we couldn’t achieve any of this without your support.”
TransPennine Express now has 39 Safeguarding Champions and more than 1000 colleagues have completed safeguarding training.
Anyone can contract British Transport Police via text message on 61016 or 0800 40 50 40.
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