The RailStaff Awards 2024

Nominations for Rail Team of the Year

Kevin Campbell

Said the following about GWR Care Team:

“I would like to nominate GWR Care Team for their outstanding work in the voluntary sector.

Having worked closely with Charlotte and her team in the past I can only reiterate that these individuals step out from the safety of their day-to-day roles within the rail industry to provide a response to incidents that are possibly the worst day of their lives for individuals caught up in the incidents.

Charlotte leads by example and is immense in both leading and empowering her team members to make decisions that on most workdays only Managers in the industry would normally be able to authorise in order to deal with the individual needs of survivors and their families. GWR provide thorough training to enable these people to help those that need such support and the TOC should be applauded for providing for passengers above and beyond what is the "normal" customer services and expectations.

I personally cannot speak highly enough of the individual team members for their caring nature and professional attitudes at what is a very stressful time for all parties involved. Good luck.“

Charlotte Murray

Said the following about GWR Care Team:

“GWR's Care Team are a group of specially selected volunteers who respond to traumatic incidents on the railway. They provide practical and emotional support to customers and colleagues alike. This can be over the phone, via email or text or face to face, whatever is required by the person they are helping.

In the past 2 years, the team at GWR have responded 4 times, giving up their time, staying away from home for extended periods and putting their lives on hold to support and help others, this is no mean feat. Supporting others in their time of need takes a huge emotional toll on the team but by supporting each other and forming close bonds, they all volunteer to be deployed time after time.

In the past 2 years, the team have been deployed to a train collision in Plymouth, the Croydon Tram derailment, a fatal stabbing on the concourse at Plymouth and most recently a fatal bus crash in Peterborough.

For both the Peterborough and Croydon deployments, the team were working on behalf of FirstGroup, supporting their operations and providing essential assistance to those affected by these terrible tragedies. Those that were deployed had to pack their bags, not knowing when they would be able to return home and move across the country to be able to provide whatever was required, Croydon in particular became a month long deployment. The team were able to ensure that the loved ones of those injured or deceased were able to stay close by, covered costs for those affected so they did not have to worry about money during very stressful times and became a support network for all those involved, assisting with the tiniest of things to make life a little bit easier.

The Care Team support the BTP on these occasions, working closely with their FLO's, in particular when there was a violent and fatal stabbing in the concourse at Plymouth Station in 2017, the team worked with BTP to provide support to the many families that witnessed that horrific attack. This team have shown time and time again, their dedication not only to GWR and FirstGroup but to the customers we serve, their families and friends. I am extremely proud of the team, they set a shining example of how we look after those suffering from a traumatic incident and embody all of the GWR values.“