ScotRail tell us that their staff are working round the clock to provide vital transport for key workers such as NHS staff, emergency workers and carers.
The company is operating a revised timetable intended to keep key workers moving. By reducing the number of trains in service, it has created opportunities for additional cleaning activities on trains, in depots, and at stations.
At the heart of this operation is ScotRail’s train presentation team, who have been keeping Scotland’s Railway clean during the coronavirus pandemic.
The staff are focussing their attention on cleaning key customer touchpoints on trains like grab rails, door buttons, tables, arm rests, taps, toilets and sink surfaces to sourcing and distributing additional cleaning products across the country.
Key touchpoints at stations like ticket machines and handrails are also being regularly cleaned.
Davie Frame, one of ScotRail’s train presentation team members at Stirling who normally works as part of a team of five, has been working on his own to keep trains in and out of Stirling clean and in passenger service while other team members self-isolated.
When a train arrived at Yoker Depot following a suspected contamination, ScotRail’s Train Presentation Trainers, Sean Murphy and Scott Wilkie, were the first to respond.
Sean and Scott acted promptly to create a robust process map for deep cleaning the train, and any further trains which customers displaying symptoms had travelled on.
The new process and cleaning regime helped to alleviate any staff concerns, as well as ensuring the train was able to return to passenger service.
Stephen Roberts, a member of the train presentation team at Eastfield Depot in Glasgow, has taken on leadership roles in recent weeks in addition to his usual duties, inspiring the team around him and helping to develop extensive sanitising tasks at the depot.
Behind the scenes, Karen O’Brien, ScotRail Train Presentation Customer Environment Manager, has worked hard to source more than 20,000 hand sanitisers – at a time when there’s been a shortage in supply – and distributed these to staff the length and breadth of Scotland’s Railway.
Karen’s team has played a vital role in making up essential cleaning packs for colleagues carrying out touch-point cleaning on ScotRail’s trains.
Jim Burns, ScotRail Head of Train Presentation, said: “It’s not known as being one of the most glamourous tasks, but the work our train presentation team is doing in these unprecedented times is phenomenal.
“From Davie Frame’s lone working in Stirling to ensure the high level of cleanliness is maintained, to Karen O’Brien’s acquisition of more sanitising products to keep our people safe – our teams have played a pivotal role in keeping key workers moving across the country, and I’m exceptionally proud of each and every them.
“Our staff are working on the frontline to help the country through this crisis, and we’ll continue to play our part to help those key workers get to where they need to be.”
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