Public figures thank rail workers - and remind us all to ‘be safe, be patient, be kind’

Offering selfie-video thanks, collated into a short film by Network Rail, are record producer Pete Waterman, Rugby World Cup-winner Lewis Moody, House of Rugby presenter Alex Payne, BBC Radio 2 morning travel presenter Richie Anderson, West Midlands mayor Andy Street, rail minster Chris Heaton-Harris and shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon.

They thanked the many passengers who have stayed off public transport during this time. And as Britain plots its path to move past the Covid-19 crisis, they reminded everyone to “be safe, be patient, be kind.”

Also in the video are Megan Noblett, Warrington level crossing manager, and Chris Conway, a signaller at Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, who thanked train crews.

Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail’s North West & Central region, said: “Thank you all Network Rail and train company colleagues for keeping Britain fed, fuelled and healthy. You are Britain’s hidden heroes.

“And while ordinarily we’d implore everyone to travel by train, I’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to passengers who have stayed off public transport during this time. Please continue to follow Government advice on the use of public transport.

“We face more challenging days as together we seek to emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, so let’s all remember to … be safe, be patient, be kind.”

Passengers should continue following Government guidelines around the use of public transport.

People who need to travel should visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information. ​

About Network Rail:

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Every day, there are more than 4.8 million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.