'All of their faces lit up': Santa makes special appearances on Northern trains
Father Christmas made special appearances on a number of Northern services, to spread some festive cheer and hand out a few presents.
He received a warm welcome from children travelling on trains across the North of England last weekend, in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.
Dozens of volunteers, who work with Northern to promote and improve train travel, organised the visits and were there to hand out sweets and mince pies to passengers.
On Saturday, Father Christmas was spotted on a service running from Ashley to Hale and a train travelling between Glazebrook and Irlam.
More than 100 children also paid a visit to Santa’s grotto, which was set up by Friends of Irlam Station.
David Ollerenshaw, chair of the volunteer group, said: “It was fabulous. The weather wasn’t the best, but it didn’t put anyone off.
“The kid’s loved it. All of their faces lit up and it was tremendous to see. We had more than 100 children come to the grotto and visit Santa.”
Saint Nick also travelled on trains between Brough, Hull and Scarborough on Saturday, as part of an event organised by Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership.
Community rail officer Rachel Osborne said: “We love doing the Santa special trains as it is magical to see the joy on the children’s faces as they meet Santa.
“These trains are a great way to encourage families to try the train and it is always good to see people travelling for the first time and enjoying the experience.”
In the North East, Santa will be travelling on the Northumberland Line, between Ashington and Newcastle, and he will be joined by local school children who will be singing Christmas carols.
The event has been planned for Monday, 15 December, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the line opening. Passengers have used it to make more than 900,000 journeys so far.
Northern, which provided funding for the events, has made dozens of stations across the North more festive, putting up Christmas trees and decorations in waiting rooms.
Schoolchildren and community choirs will also be singing at a number of stations in the coming weeks, including Manchester Piccadilly and Marple.
Richard Isaac, regional community and sustainability manager for Northern, said: “There’s always a lot of excitement when Santa shows up on our services and it’s fantastic to see him put a smile on so many faces.
“We would like to thank the volunteers for helping to organise these visits and for all of the work they do throughout the year – it makes a big difference for our customers.”
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.