TransPennine Express creates nearly 60 new jobs across the North as part of a further £1.7 million investment in protecting customers and colleagues

Train company TransPennine Express (TPE) has announced an investment of £1.7million in further enhancing its existing cleaning programme.

A top-notch cleaning programme is already in place, but the additional uplift will see more than 9,400 extra cleaning hours, allowing a dedicated team of Train Presentation Operatives at every TPE station and on each train when it reaches its destination. This enhancement represents a 70 per cent increase on pre-COVID-19 cleaning.

As a result, 57 new positions are being created across the North in: Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Huddersfield, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Preston, Scunthorpe, Selby, Stalybridge, Sheffield and York. Applications for the jobs, which are through facilities management and professional services company Mitie, are now open.

Along with the recruitment of extra staff, the enhanced programme will see a boost to overnight cleaning plus extended cleaning hours at all TPE stations. Toilet attendants will also be introduced at larger stations including Huddersfield, Hull and Manchester Airport.

With a robust cleaning programme in place as well as social distancing on trains and at stations plus ‘We’re Good To Go’ accreditation from Visit Britain, customers can feel reassured that travelling by train is safe.

Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express commented: “We are thrilled to announce the creation of nearly 60 new jobs plus an additional £1.7million investment in providing further protection for customers across the North.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our team has been working tremendously hard to keep people safe with increased cleaning in place onboard trains and at stations and a real focus on common touchpoints like handrails, door buttons and ticket vending machines. This added investment will allow us to enhance the level of cleaning we provide giving those travelling on our services extra peace of mind.”

Emma Teale, Customer Experience Manager for TransPennine Express said: “We are looking for customer-focused people to join our team from across the communities we operate in, so if you are great at providing excellent customer service and take pride in your work then we would love to work with you.

“Our Mitie colleagues have worked incredibly hard on keeping customers safe and we are committed to keep on improving our cleaning programme during these unprecedented times.”

Customers travelling by train are reminded to buy before they board, travel outside peak times where possible, respect social distancing and wear a face covering.

Photo credit: TransPennine Express

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