The inside track: All aboard the new fly-on-the-wall TV series that goes behind the scenes of much-maligned TransPennine Express, as it launches state-of-the-art trains
- The Railway 24/7 ‘takes an in-depth look at every aspect of the firm’
- We meet conductor Nikki May, who has been entertaining passengers for 7 years
- The series begins at one of the busiest times of the year - December
From inside the control room to onboard the trains, a brand new fly-on-the-wall Channel 5 series offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of much-maligned TransPennine Express.
Six-part The Railway 24/7 ‘takes an in-depth look at every aspect of the rail operations’ of the firm, which runs services between Leeds, Huddersfield, Manchester, Liverpool, Scarborough, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
In episode one of The Railway 24/7 we go behind the scenes at one of the busiest times of the year on the railways - December.
The inside track: Six-part The Railway 24/7 ‘takes an in-depth look at every aspect of the rail operations’ of TransPennine Express. The cameras were there as the firm took delivery of a swish new fleet of trains (pictured)
TransPennine Express is facing delays and cancellations and employees such as customer service manager Billy Vickers, one of the stars of the documentary, is facing furious commuters.
In Manchester, outside the Ardwick depot, a derailment causes an immediate logjam of passengers and fleet delivery manager Simon Wildgoose and his team must try to jack up the 230-tonne train and clear it from the tracks before the evening rush hour.
We also meet conductor Nikki May, ‘who has been trying to keep long-suffering passengers entertained for seven years’, according to the voiceover.
She certainly gets 10 out of 10 for effort, making jibes over the PA system about Liverpool – ‘the spiritual home of the shell suit’ – and telling one passenger who offers to pay with a card instead of cash, ‘I’ll take the cash, honey. If you were donating a kidney, we’d take it on TransPennine.’
While colleagues face issues on the frontline, the episode also shows TransPennine Express accepting a state-of-the-art fleet of new trains after investing £500m to transform travel and customer experience across the North.
In episode one of The Railway 24/7 we go behind the scenes at one of the busiest times of the year on the railways - December
The managing director of TransPennine Express says she wants to give viewers ‘an open and honest insight’ into her firm
Conductor Nikki May, pictured, is one of the stars of the show. We meet her in episode one
Liz Collins, Interim Managing Director at TransPennine Express, said: ‘We wanted to show customers and regular commuters the inner workings behind our operation and so gave the cameras an access-all-areas pass to film each and every aspect of our business and the wonderful people we have working for us.’
‘We’re excited to be making our TV debut this Wednesday. We know the documentary will show some high moments, such as accepting Nova, our new fleet of trains, and some challenging moments such as storms, fare-dodgers and trespassers.
‘We are looking forward to sharing these moments with viewers and giving an open and honest insight into TransPennine Express.’
The Railway 24/7 launches on Wednesday 10 June at 9pm on Channel 5.
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