GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway)

On Friday we hosted our very first live art class on a moving train! 🎨 Hosted by Brighton-based portrait artist, Sara Reeve, the unique session saw budding artists take part in a guided self portrait lesson. The one-off experience was launched to celebrate our partnership with The National Gallery, where two world-famous pieces of art are temporarily on display on our network to celebrate the gallery's 200th anniversary. Travel by train to see the Rembrandt exhibition at Brighton & Hove Museums until 4 August, or see the Botticelli exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge until 10 September. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejcQTkqU

We’ve been working with Channel 5 on a documentary to create a buzz about the secret life of bees. Our Head of Environment and Sustainability Jason Brooker BSc (Hons) MSc MIEMA CEnv today met up with Bee-Friendly Trust’s Dr Luke Dixon at Blackfriars station. Here, by the South Bank entrance, we’ve jointly created the first of 100 homes for nature with a bee hotel and pollen-friendly plants. One in three mouthfuls of our food depend on pollinators such as bees. Our railways create green corridors for wildlife which we’re supporting through our biodiversity strategy. The primetime documentary, which is fronted by TV environmentalist Steve Backshall, is likely to be broadcast at the end of this year.

We're investing £2.5 million into tackling the rising problem of antisocial behaviour on our network. Our improvement plan includes the further roll-out of Body Worn Video cameras, an education programme for schools, new roles within the safety division and better training and aftercare for staff, amongst many other initiatives. Samantha Facey, says: “The rise in antisocial behaviour is being felt across industries and communities nationwide. Whilst we cannot solve the problem on our own, we hope that with increased tools and resources, as well as closer working with other industry partners, we can begin to turn the dial on this kind of behaviour. “Everyone travelling with us deserves to get home safely, and our colleagues deserve to be treated with respect; physical or verbal abuse of any kind will not be tolerated. Our Antisocial Behaviour Improvement Plan not only demonstrates that we are serious about tackling this issue, but we are also seeing positive results since its launch.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/egGTxCsZ #Antisocialbehaviour #railway

We're thrilled to have been highly commended in this year's Railway Innovation Awards for our ground-breaking partnership with not-for-profit community benefit society Energy Garden. 🏆 Clean, renewable energy is being generated by a huge array of solar panels, installed by Energy Garden on the roof of Streatham Hill depot. An even bigger array of almost 1,000 panels has been fitted to Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot which is set to generate 322 MWh of electricity a year – enough to power 120 homes, saving more than 66 tonnes of CO2e. Judges at the ceremony were impressed to learn that half the electricity is sold directly to GTR to power the depots. Energy Garden then exports the remainder to other businesses keen to improve their community and sustainability credentials and uses its profits to fund inner London social community initiatives including environmental and biodiversity education programmes. Two more solar schemes are in the pipeline for Three Bridges and Selhurst depots. Modern Railways #Awards #sustainability

It was great to welcome BHASVIC (Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College) to GTR yesterday for our first Teacher Encounter day. The Teacher Encounter programme is a national project, funded by Government and delivered through the Careers and Enterprise Company. The scheme aims to provide educators with the opportunity to learn and build relationships with employers, leading to increased confidence in holding conversations with students about their futures. Vice Principal of BHASVIC, Alison Cousens, said: "Thank you so much for arranging such an insightful and engaging day for our staff yesterday - we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience!" #futurecareers #TeacherEncounter

The first passenger train ran to the City of London using digital signalling technology in November 2023. Since then, we've been steadily training more of our Great Northern drivers to use the system. Now, just over half of all journeys on the Northern City Line, between Finsbury Park and Moorgate, run using European Train Control System. Thanks for sharing railbusinessdaily.com #digitalsignalling #ETCS

We're incredibly proud that two of our hardworking Thameslink colleagues have been awarded British Empire Medals in the King's Birthday Honours. 🎖 Siggy Cragwell and Joe Healy have been honoured for their service to the railway. We are sending them huge congratulations! Read more: https://lnkd.in/eZc4AWyQ #KingsHonours2024

We are proud to be supporting a campaign by Prostate Cancer UK to place sanitary bins in all male staff and customer toilets. 'Bins for Boys' can now be found in 495 male toilet cubicles at 228 stations, offices and depots across our network, supporting those who experience prostate issues. Find out more here 📰 : https://lnkd.in/etYj6aAa #ProstateCancer #BinsforBoys

🚆🚆Coastal connections are faster, better, smoother thanks to our new West Coastway timetable! ⏱️Enjoy faster journeys between Brighton and Southampton, every 30 mins Mon-Sat, designed to beat the road network ⬆️Double the number of trains between Brighton, Worthing and Chichester 🕓A clockface timetable with simple interchange at Barnham 📍Direct trains between Brighton and Littlehampton throughout the day 🚉More trains stopping at Amberley, with a revised, more reliable London Victoria-Portsmouth Harbour/Bognor Regis service 🏞️Easier access to hundreds of exciting attractions and destinations to explore 🤓Watch to get the #InsideTrack on all the changes, what they mean for our region and what they mean for you… and then get exploring! https://lnkd.in/eUbXMPWp

In the early hours of Sunday morning, one of our Great Northern trains ran in test conditions between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin, using European Train Control System (ETCS). The test - which was a UK first - was part of an ongoing process to prove that the trains work with the new digital signalling infrastructure on this section of the East Coast Main Line. Read more: https://lnkd.in/enuShnzt #EastCoastDigitalProgramme #digitalsignalling