FESTIVAL FANFARE FOR STRATFORD STATION MANAGER
A London Midland Stratford railway station manager has won an award for working with police to help 10,000 people move smoothly from the station to the Global Gathering music festival last July.
Jonathan Wood received the accolade at a Gold Awards ceremony for staff held by London Midland.
He worked with British Transport Police and Warwickshire Police to set up a mobile custody unit at the station over the weekend of the festival, co-ordinate police dog drug teams and support London Midland’s own revenue protection team.
More than 10,000 people descended on the station over the three days – five times the normal weekend traffic.
“There had been a few previous problems at the festival so this year we decided to try and nip it in the bud,” said Jonathan. “About 80 arrests were made for drugs and related offences and we were particularly pleased that, given the level and nature of some of the activity, everything went safely.“
The Gold Awards – the first held by the company since it took over the London Midland franchise last November - recognised staff contributions from caring for passengers with injuries and helping passengers travelling alone, to keeping the network running smoothly, improving technical performance and helping improve the company’s environmental impact.London Midland managing director Steve Banaghan said: “Jonathan’s achievement highlights the value of working closely with our partners, especially to make sure big events go smoothly. This really is an industry where everybody relies on everybody else to deliver a high quality service.”
