Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge invited transport workers to join them in watching legendary Christmas singer Shakin’ Stevens to perform “Merry Christmas everyone” on Euston Station concourse.
Their Royal Highnesses personally thanked people from across the transport industry for their commitment to keeping passengers safe and moving throughout COVID-19. Included in the select group were Euston Station, Customer Service Assistants, Denisa Gheorgina and Dave Allen, who enjoyed a brief conversation before watching the performance side by side.
They were joined by colleagues from Avanti West Coast, London North Western, London Overground, London Underground and London buses.
Sunday marked the launch of a short tour of the UK for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But before heading off on the Royal Train, they stayed around Euston Station hearing from front line colleagues about their experiences throughout COVID-19.
They will travel 1250 miles meeting frontline workers, volunteers, care home staff, teachers, schoolchildren and young people to hear about their experiences, sacrifices and the inspiring work they have done throughout this challenging year.
Joe Hendry, Euston Station Manager, said: “What a moment for the Network Rail history books.
Having the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recognise our contribution to keeping the UK safe and on the move during the pandemic means so much to everyone who has been on the front-line day after day”.
James Dean, West Coast South Route Director said: “This visit wasn’t just for the people there on the night. This visit was a thank you to everyone in the industry. A thank you from the nation’s future King and Queen.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet them and I’m so pleased I had the chance to tell them about what we are doing here in West Coast South. They asked me how it had been for us. I was honest about our challenge but told them all about the opportunities we’ve taken with less passengers. We had a conversation about the mental health first aid training that everyone in Euston Station had done, something I know is very important to them.”