Standalone QTT
Martin Green
Ambassador at Hartlepool
"We are just ‘the railway’ for a lot of people"
Retired radiation physicist Martin Green never imagined that he’d one day be tasked with rescuing a runaway hamster from the train tracks. But it’s all in a day’s work for a Grand Central ambassador.
Martin, who’s been involved with Grand Central “since it was just two people in an office” and is an ambassador coordinator, was on ambassadorial duty when a little girl dropped a hamster cage between the train and the tracks. Miraculously the staff and helpers managed to rescue the plucky rodent using a litter picker and all’s well that ends well.
Hamster-rescuing is just one of Martin’s many skills. As a Friend of Hartlepool Station (FOHS) he can also be found on Sunday mornings cleaning the platform: “The station gets a lot of use on a Saturday night,” he chuckles. Then he changes hats again and as a GC ambassador helps passengers with tickets, luggage and onward connections: “Because we’re here with Northern, we are just ‘the railway’ for lots of people,” he says, “so we get questions about all sorts.”
Martin is also chair of Hartlepool’s Fairtrade Town steering group so he’s the ideal candidate to help passengers with the local area. “We get a lot of Sunday passengers who have never travelled before,” he says, “so they’re often very grateful for the information.”