Skip to service updates Skip to content Skip to footer

We have introduced a reduced temporary timetable to deliver a better service for our customers, please check your entire journey before you travel - more information

CrossCountry train trip raises over £60,000 for charity

Tuesday 28 November 2023

CrossCountry's Tom Joyner, Modern Railways' Philip Sherratt, Department for Transport's Fiona White, The Brain Tumour Charity's Hannah Bowler and CrossCountry's Joanna Davey with CrossCountry's final HST service at Reading, Tuesday 26 September 2023
  • CrossCountry and Modern Railways raise almost £65,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity.
  • Funds were raised by a special train trip in partnership with the heritage Swanage Railway earlier this year.
  • The grand total was announced at Modern Railways’ annual Golden Spanner awards on Friday 24 November.

Train operator CrossCountry and magazine Modern Railways have joined forces to donate more than £60,000 to The Brain Tumour Charity.

The donation comes from funds raised through the retirement of CrossCountry’s High Speed Train (HST) fleet, which ran its final journeys in September 2023.

A final one-off trip from Leeds to Swanage on the south coast was organised in support of The Brain Tumour Charity, raising a total of £63,022.12 through ticket, merchandise and food and drink sales on the day.

Tom Joyner, CrossCountry’s Managing Director, said: “It was important to mark the contributions of not only our High Speed Trains that have served us so well for over 40 years, but also the generations of colleagues who have worked tirelessly to maintain them.  

"It’s also been a privilege to raise so much money for such a worthy cause - just another example of what can be accomplished by colleagues across the rail industry working together.”

Another £1866.90 was donated by attendees at Modern Railways’ annual Golden Spanner awards, bringing the grand total to £64,889.02.

Philip Sherratt, Editor of Modern Railways magazine, said: ‘It was a privilege for Modern Railways to work with CrossCountry to mark the withdrawal of their iconic HST fleet and to see the interest the farewell tour generated, as well as to have raised such a phenomenal amount of money. It was great to celebrate this achievement alongside colleagues from CrossCountry and The Brain Tumour Charity at our Golden Spanner awards.”

The charity was chosen in memory of CrossCountry colleague Jo Taylor, who was a well-loved member of the CrossCountry family. 

Hannah Bowler, Corporate Partnership Manager at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “We are so grateful for the support of everyone at CrossCountry. It’s been such a pleasure working with the team and it’s incredible that nearly £65,000 has been raised in memory of their colleague Jo Taylor.

“The effort from everyone involved will allow us to continue growing our support services, accelerate change in brain tumour diagnosis and treatment, and to invest in vital research for all those affected.”

Find out more about how CrossCountry supports charities and local communities at https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/community-news-feed

Train drivers’ union ASLEF has announced industrial action taking place between Friday 1 and Saturday 9 December.

Customers planning journeys during this period are advised to check before they travel with National Rail Enquiries or on the CrossCountry website.


Downloads

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

Latest Press Releases

image/svg+xml