Rail tour brings in £10,000 for special causes

Passengers and railway colleagues have raised £10,000 for charity with a special farewell rail tour to mark the retirement of the venerable Class 313 train from Great Northern, after 42 years in service.

The Class 313 train - which had its front carriage specially restored to iconic Network SouthEast livery for the occasion - travelled across the network, stopping at London King’s Cross, Welwyn Garden City, Royston, Hertford North, Alexandra Palace and Moorgate yesterday (Wednesday, October 23).

Nearly 300 passengers spoke with staff about their memories of the fleet with some of Great Northern’s engineering team discussing starting work at Hornsey depot shortly after the 313’s introduction in 1976. 

Operations Development Manager Grace Roche, who was one of the event organisers, said: "It was a really great day. There was an excitable atmosphere on board as people shared their 313 stories and memories. At each station, there were crowds lining the platforms to take photos and videos as we passed through. It was a very special trip and great to see so many of my colleagues come together to support the event and raise money for charity."

The Class 313 was recently retired from Great Northern passenger service, entirely replaced by modern, air-conditioned Class 717 trains in a £240m upgrade for passengers on the routes between London Moorgate and Stevenage, Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City. 

Hornsey Depot Manager, Scott Last said: “The new fleet is transforming passenger journeys and the way we work at Hornsey Depot. For some of our apprentices, shifting from 1970s to 2019 technology has been quite the experience. The team told me that they wanted to celebrate the 313 in style, and I’m proud that we found a way to do that while raising funds for four important causes.” 

The charity tour was organised with all proceeds for GTR’s three employee-selected corporate charities: For Jimmy, (supports young people), MIND (supports those with mental health issues), NOAH Enterprise (helps the homeless), as well as children’s charity, The Railway Children.

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Editor’s notes

The last Class 313 ran in passenger service on Monday, 30 September. The fleet has been entirely replaced by a £240 million investment in 25 six-carriage Siemens-built Class 717 trains. The trains are being maintained in-house by GTR's engineering team at its depot in Hornsey, north London. Around 120 staff, including 52 fitters, have been trained to work on the new stock.