TOGETHER
SPECIAL PLAQUE UNVEILED
Congratulations to Don Coffey, one of our drivers based at Manchester Piccadilly, who has unveiled a special plaque at Chapel-en-le-Frith station to commemorate his charity work with Samaritans.
Don has been filming the views from the driver cabs and posting the journeys on his Youtube account, ‘The Best Cab Ride Channel’, for his 47,000 subscribers to enjoy.
After his channel went viral among
TO COMMEMORATE
TPE DRIVER’S CHARITY WORK
rail enthusiasts and other viewers, Don decided to donate the proceeds to Samaritans. So far, Don has donated £20,000 to the charity, with plans to donate a further £10,000 this month.
Don said: “My colleagues and friends in the railway profession have to deal with some difficult situations and Samaritans do amazing work to support those who are affected.
“I'm delighted that the YouTube channel has developed to a point where we can
support them in various ways. I couldn't do it without the help of TPE and numerous other rail companies and people that work for them. It's also a product of the people that watch the videos and my gratitude goes to them too.”
The plaque was created in partnership with the Friends of Chapel-en-le-Frith Station and shows a topography of the local area, with a scenic view over the surrounding hills.
GET INVOLVED IN MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK, 13 TO 19 MAY 2024
We’ve got lots of activities taking place to mark this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (13 - 19 May 2024), from online sessions with the Samaritans and Health Assured, to physio at the ROC, and workplace wellness classes. Check out our What’s On guide attached to this email for the full list of events, and please join in wherever you can!
Also, keep your eyes peeled throughout the week for the Occupational Health team, who – joined by our Mental Health Ambassadors and senior leaders - will be out and about across the network, speaking to colleagues and handing out goodie bags. The team will be handing out Green Ribbon Badges - the international symbol of mental health awareness. By wearing a green ribbon, you show colleagues, loved ones, or simply those you walk past, that you care about their mental health. It can also be worn in memory of a loved one.
During the week, we will also be sharing a series of videos featuring colleagues from across the business, who have kindly shared stories of their own experiences with mental health, as well as guidance on resources available at TPE.
WEEKLY
FRIDAY 10 MAY 2024 76.68% OUR PERFORMANCE PERIOD 2 WEEK 1 Time to 3 Target 73.83% ON OR ABOVE TARGET Time to 15 Cancellations 96.32% 3.15% Target Target 96.75% 3.89% YES NO NO
From L-R: Dave Brown from Samaritans, Don Coffey, train driver at TPE, Greg Johnson, Driver Manager at TPE, and John Brook, Chairman of Friends of Chapel-en-le-Frith Station
PIE DEMAND MEATS WEST COAST KITCHEN
Tasty products from Carlisle-based bakery Pie Demand have rolled their way onto our West Coast Kitchen menu.
The Pork and Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls or the vegan alternative can now be enjoyed in first-class onboard services from Manchester or Liverpool up to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Commenting on the new partnership, Pie Demand said: “We are so excited to have our products on TransPennine Express trains, it's a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our handmade sausage rolls nationwide.
“ We are located underneath Carlisle train station so it's the perfect partnership. We hope everyone enjoys our Pork and Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls and Vegan Rolls as much as we do!”
The newly formed Food and Beverage team is working with Rail Gourmet to launch a new summer menu towards the end of July. This will impact menus for West Coast Kitchen, Express Plus and our Express Café ranges, so if you have any ideas about what you would like to see on these menus, we’d love to hear them. Please email foodandbeverage@tpexpress.co.uk with your suggestions.
We're excited to share that we're working with local Manchester artist Dave Draws, who is designing new placemats for West Coast Kitchen. Take a sneak peek at our journey as he pulled together his inspirations for the exciting design coming soon.
GOFUNDME FOR KEVIN HUTCHINSON FUNERAL COSTS
Following the sad news we shared last week that our Rail Gourmet colleague from York, Kevin Hutchinson, had passed away, a GoFundMe has now been set up in memory of Kev and to support his family with funeral costs. This can be found at: https://gofund. me/62f7cd39 You may have seen that we’ve been giving Manchester Airport station a little bit of a makeover in recent weeks. New TPE branding is brightening up the station with multi-lingual welcome banners now in situ. Don’t forget to take a look next time you find yourself at the airport!
NEW TPE BRANDING BRIGHTENS UP MANCHESTER AIRPORT STATION
TPE’S FIRST EXCLUSIVE CARRIAGE BOOKING IS A HUGE SUCCESS
Forty-eight VIPs from Southeast Asia’s leading beverage producer travelled from Edinburgh to Manchester on a TPE exclusively reserved carriage recently.
Members from International Beverage, the international arm of ThaiBev, were on a visit to the UK to see the company’s offices in London and Edinburgh.
Their journey back down to London from Edinburgh included a stop off to watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford, and the group left Edinburgh Waverley station on our 8.10am service on Saturday 27 April, bound for Manchester Piccadilly.
The exclusively reserved carriage, Coach B, included bespoke ThaiBev printed seat reservations and the guests were served a selection of hot and cold drinks alongside TPE snack boxes, which were lined with ThaiBev branded paper.
It was a real TPE team effort, with colleagues from across the business pulling together to ensure that the day went smoothly and the journey was one to remember.
Jill Bollard, Business Account Manager, organised the event and said: “TPE’s first exclusive carriage was a fantastic achievement and it was great to see months of planning come together.
“The success was down to the team working together and identifying any possible issues before they happened, from the early planning stages right up until the delivery on the day. The client said that they absolutely loved their journey with TPE and because it was so successful we are planning to start promoting this service to various sectors.
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who was involved, we couldn’t have done it without your support.”
SHARE YOUR STORY TPECommunications@tpexpress.co.uk
It was a real TPE team effort to ensure the day was a success
Our new branding includes multi-lingual welcome banners
Have you seen the new TPE branding at Manchester Airport?
Pork and Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls or the vegan alternative can now be enjoyed as part of West Coast Kitchen
Jill Bollard with a member of the International Beverage group