1213 Miles

Ateam is aiming to walk 1213 miles in June to match the longest route currently diagrammed by an Avanti West Coast Class Pendolino in service on the West Coast to raise money for the work of Railway Mission, who provide a team of chaplains to help support staff in the rail industry.

Railway chaplains have been in increased demand as the challenge of emerging from the lockdown and the pandemic begins to hit home, and with a significant part of Railway Mission’s funding coming from voluntary donations, the team hopes to help provide additional funding through sponsoring supporters.

The team of five will walk, between them, 1213 miles, matching the distance of a train leaving Wembley and travelling to Euston, north to Glasgow, back to London, and returning to Glasgow, before finishing there at Polmadie depot.

The walkers are all current or recent members of the railway family, including Mike Roberts, who works as the railway chaplain for the North West, covering the West Coast Line between Stafford and the Scottish Borders.

The team:

Debbie Francis: Non-executive director, chair, counsellor, coach and mentor, previously Managing Director of Direct Rail Services. National Rail Awards judge.

Natasha Hanson: A HR Specialist most recently at DRS, and a judge in the National Rail Awards.

Bessie Matthews: A former Greater Anglia conductor and now trainee train driver.

Mike Roberts: Railway Mission chaplain for the North West of England and North Wales.

Heather Waugh: a train driver, formerly with ScotRail and now with Freightliner in Southern Scotland, and a mental health campaigner and advocate.

Walking the journey of the busiest West Coast Train

Photo: PNW Production for pexels.com

40 miles per day

The intrepid ramblers expect to cover 40 miles per day as a team, with each person aiming to complete almost 250 miles. Between them, they will aim to pace out approximately 2.8 million steps between the 1st and 30th of June.

Mike then hopes, at the end of the month, to do as much of the 1213 miles in a day on the Pendolino that leaves London before 0600, calling at Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, and Carlisle during the day (all stations that Mike serves as chaplain), as well as Glasgow.

About Railway Mission

The railway chaplains’ team offer support to all staff across the railway industry, including Network Rail, British Transport Police and Train and Freight Operating Companies.

They have been in action for 140 years, being formed in 1881. Chaplains support staff through any trauma, personal or professional issues and have been involved in following up on a number of major incidents, including the Carmont derailment of August 2020.

Railway Mission, supported by the industry and by donations, consists of a team of 20 chaplains across England, Scotland and Wales, working in partnership with the rail industry to help staff when they need it, to offer a friendly voice and listening ear at all times.

For more information on the 1213 Miles fundraiser, please contact Mike Roberts on 07557 430364, or email: mike.roberts@railwaymission.org. He’s on Twitter @birdsnestsblog.