Watch: The 'monumental task' Northern staff has to keep trains clean

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Train operator, Northern, has released a video highlighting the monumental task its team of 500 ‘train presentation operatives’ have to keep its fleet clean and tidy.

It comes as part of an appeal to customers in Wakefield, Kirklees, Calderdale and beyond to take their rubbish with them when they leave the train.

Northern carries out train cleaning duties at 42 locations on its network, including four main TrainCare Centres at Allerton, Merseyside, Newton Heath, Greater Manchester, Heaton, Tyne & Wear and Neville Hill, West Yorkshire.

Each year, the team carries out 695,000 ‘carriage cleans’ and work their way through 32,759 microfibre cloths, 10,300 sponges, 1,724 litres of toilet cleaner and 2,265 litres of floor and surface cleaners.

Northern has released a video highlighting the monumental task its team of 500 train presentation operatives have to keep its fleet of 345 trains clean and tidy..

They also replenish some 26 million pieces of toilet tissue and 778 litres of hand soap.

Commenting on the release of the video, Richard Holt, head of train presentation for Northern, said: “Some of the cleaning we undertake is wholly understandable given the natural wear and tear of thousands of people using our trains every day.

"But things like chewing gum on seats and an excess of litter are just two examples of avoidable issues my team has to face.

“It’s a near-military operation to keep the fleet to the high standard we’ve set ourselves in the post-Covid world – and we take every opportunity to carry out cleaning duties throughout the day, between services and during the night.

“I hope this video will make people realise the effort that goes in to keeping Northern’s trains clean and tidy – and think twice about leaving litter behind when they’ve finished their journey.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the country with nearly 2,000 services a day connecting more than 500 stations across 3,000 km of track in the North of England.

On Sunday, December 11 Northern’s new timetable comes into effect and all customers, especially those who have made regular journeys on the same train times, are advised to check online journey planners before they travel to ensure their service operates at the same time and calls at the same stations.

Northern, which runs services across West Yorkshire, is the second largest train operator in the UK and employs more than 7,000 people across the length and breadth of our network.