Monday 17 November 2008
Catriona, who was described as "caring and considerate" and a "highly professional" Customer Service Assistant, won the prestigious award after coming top of a poll voted for by rail staff from across the industry.
In July 2007, Catriona was on duty at the busy station and along with other colleagues, was faced with a major signal failure to the west of Edinburgh which resulted in five hour delays for customers. Some customers were left totally stranded, none more so than a 17 year-old female passenger who had travelled from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire on her way to Wick in the far north of Scotland.
It was at this point that Catriona jumped into action. After double-checking that the young passenger could not continue her journey north until 6am the following morning, Catriona took the amazingly generous step of taking the girl home with her for the night to give her a bed and shelter. The next day Catriona brought the young girl back to Edinburgh Waverley at 5am so she could catch her train north and then returned for her shift at 15:30. A truly exceptional gesture.
Catriona, who has worked in the rail industry for 10 years said; "I am totally gobsmacked, so shocked. All the customer service people at Edinburgh Waverley are great. Apart from me winning this fantastic award I am so proud that CrossCountry Edinburgh has been put on the map. It's not just a win for me but for all of us."
Catriona collected her award from record producer and rail enthusiast Pete Waterman at a ceremony held at Birmingham's International Convention Centre.
Please find notes to Editors, CrossCountry facts and figures below.
For more information feel free to contact us on 0121 2006115 or by email to [email protected]
CrossCountry started operating on 11 November 2007. The franchise, which is the most extensive in the UK, will run until 31 March 2016. For further information on CrossCountry services and future franchise plans log on to www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
CrossCountry is part of the Arriva group which operates transport services in ten European countries, employs more than 38,000 people and provides more than one billion passenger journeys every year. For more information about the Arriva group visit www.arriva.co.uk
STATIONS SERVED: 131
ROUTE MILES: 1,654
WEEKDAY SERVICES: 288
PASSENGERS CARRIED: Over 30 million passenger journeys a year anticipated
ANNUAL TRAIN MILEAGE: Approximately 16 million
EMPLOYEES: Approximately 1,800
LONGEST TRAIN SERVICE: Penzance to Dundee (701 miles)
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CrossCountry Press Office: [email protected]
About CrossCountry
CrossCountry is a long-distance passenger train operator, with a network stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Stansted to Cardiff and calling at over 100 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of Britain’s 10 largest cities and delivers 240 services every weekday, equating to over 42 million passenger journeys each year.
For further information on CrossCountry services, visit crosscountrytrains.co.uk or visit one of our social media platforms via X @crosscountryuk or Facebook at facebook.com/crosscountrytrains
Train operator CrossCountry will introduce temporary resource-led reductions to its timetable from Saturday 10 August until Saturday 9 November to address performance and reliability issues that have inconvenienced passengers with on-the-day cancellations.
Read More
Train operator CrossCountry will introduce temporary resource-led reductions to its timetable from Saturday 10 August until Saturday 9 November to address performance and reliability issues that have inconvenienced passengers with on-the-day cancellations.
Read More
Train operator CrossCountry will introduce temporary resource-led reductions to its timetable from Saturday 10 August until Saturday 9 November to address performance and reliability issues that have inconvenienced passengers with on-the-day cancellations.
Read More
