"Grand Central is a different sort of rail operator"
Training manager David Richardson has been a Grand Central ambassador since 2017, though it’s a wonder how he manages to find the time as he’s also a town councillor, police volunteer, neighbourhood watch scheme and chair of trustees for a local charity helping the elderly.
David got involved around two and a half years ago in Thirsk. He’d always had an interest in trains, he says, “I liked Grand Central as it seemed a different sort of rail operator.”
For most ambassadors like David no two days are alike. “The passengers are so diverse, and you get different people asking for different things every day, he says, “Every day is different and that’s what makes it so attractive.” Whether it’s helping passengers navigate the steps at Thirsk or helping work out tricky onward journeys at Northallerton, David says, “We get lots of positive comments about the ambassadors and how glad they are to see us on the platform.” For the trains, the work he and his team do is invaluable: “If there are operational difficulties passengers can get upset and we do a good job in diffusing that and I think that really helps the crews,” says David.