CrossCountry recognised by Royal Navy

Royal Navy Reservists and CrossCountry employees Stewart Cumming and Henry Gibson have both helped CrossCountry to be recognised by the Royal Navy as a supportive employer of the armed forces. Stewart and Henry, both based at the rail company's Edinburgh offices, recently attended a ceremony on HMS Scotia to collect the rare 'Certificate of Support' on behalf of CrossCountry from Prince Michael of Kent, Honorary Rear Admiral of the Royal Naval Reserve.

Stewart, 50, has worked as a customer service manager for the past 10 years following a 20-year career in the Royal Navy. He has wracked up 14 years of service for the Royal Navy Reserves. During his time with the navy brave Stewart has taken part in many military exercises including time spent in Pearl Harbour, in the Mediterranean onboard a Spanish warship and an exercise in Rhode Island, USA. Most recently Stewart, was released by CrossCountry to work for UKMTO (UK Maritime Trade Organisation) in the Persian Gulf helping to brief merchant ship crews on techniques to avoid capture by Somalian pirates.

Meanwhile Henry, 54, an Edinburgh-based train manager for the past 14 years, has travelled the world to places such as the Falklands, Australia and the Persian Gulf during his 23 years in the Royal Navy Reserves. Henry is a Physical Training Instructor who co-ordinates gruelling mountain training and sporting activities whilst ensuring general fitness levels are kept to a high standard. Henry's latest naval deployment was in Portsmouth where he helped train recruits in the 'gun crew'.

CrossCountry's Customer Services Director Jeremy Higgins, who has himself experienced military action in Iraq and Afghanistan as a major in the Territorial Army, paid tribute to the pair. He said: "Both Stewart and Henry have given a tremendous amount of service and commitment to the Royal Navy so it was fitting for them to collect this award on behalf of CrossCountry. Stewart and Henry are valued members of our customer services team in Edinburgh and have not only done themselves and their families proud, but also CrossCountry. We fully support any of our staff who are part of the reservists and do all we can to ensure they are given the correct cover and understanding that's often required."

For more information please call the CrossCountry Press Office on 0121 2006115 or email [email protected]

Notes to editors

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 is owned by Deutsche Bahn. Arriva is a leading pan-European public transport operators with more than 42,000 employees and operations across 12 European countries. The link to Arriva is www.arriva.co.uk. The link to Deutsche Bahn is www.deutschebahn.com.

CrossCountry is now live on Facebook at facebook.com/crosscountrytrains.

Follow CrossCountry on Twitter via twitter.com/crosscountryuk.

CrossCountry facts and figures

STATIONS SERVED: 118
ROUTE MILES: 1,478
WEEKDAY SERVICES: 295
PASSENGERS CARRIED: Over 30 million passenger journeys a year anticipated
ANNUAL TRAIN MILEAGE: Approximately 16 million
EMPLOYEES: Approximately 1,600
LONGEST TRAIN SERVICE: 08.20 Aberdeen to Penzance (774 miles)

Select this link to view the Press Release PDF

If your browser does not recognise the file type PDFa free Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from the Adobe website.

Contact Information

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