£20,000 raised for EACH!

AbellioGreater Anglia is to present East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) with acheque for £20,000 following a hugely successful charity charter train run bythe train operator to raise money for the regional charity.

Thecompany will also hand over one of the special "The EACH Express"train headboards, which was used on the rail enthusiasts' charity chartertrain, to EACH. Head of Corporate Affairs for AGA, Jonathan Denby willmake the presentations to EACH trustee Ann Monks on Monday 6 June at Norwichstation at 10.00 and Ipswich station at 12.30.

With200 tickets sold, bids for two cab rides, a raffle on the day and money raisedfrom the on-board catering on the day, the trip - using two Class 37 diesellocomotives to run from Norwich to Ely and back, then from Norwich to LondonLiverpool Street and back on April 30 - exceeded all expectations.

Thecombination of an extremely worthy and popular cause, with a rare opportunityfor those taking part in the trip to enjoy journeys behind Class 37 locomotivesacross some of their old "stamping grounds", proved to be a greatattraction. The Class 37 locomotives are usually used on some weekday passengerservices between Norwich and Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft. Although they have beena common sight in East Anglia throughout their 50 years of operation, it isover 30 years since they were regularly in use on passenger services on theNorwich to Ely and Norwich to London routes, so a chance to sample them on"home turf" again was a big draw. On the day, all went well and thefeedback from passengers on board was positive.

Withhospices in Milton (Cambridgeshire), Quidenham (Norfolk) and Ipswich (Suffolk)and offering support across those three counties and for families from Essextoo, EACH provides services across a similar area to AGA and the itinerary forthe trip took the train quite close to all three hospices. The charity haspreviously been chosen by AGA employees as the recipient of charitable fundslinked to the company's employee survey, as well as more localised fundraisinginitiatives. In addition to its wider work, the charity is currently raisingmoney towards the nook, a new hospice for Norfolk to succeed Quidenham.

JonathanDenby, Head of Corporate Affairs for Abellio Greater Anglia said: “We'redelighted to be able to present a cheque for £20,000 and "The EACHExpress" train headboard to EACH, following the successful Class 37railtour. We hoped that we would be able to raise significant funds forEACH by running this special trip, but the event exceeded everyone'sexpectations. We would like to thank everyone who bought tickets andjoined us on the day, raising even more money from the raffle and on-boardcatering. We also very grateful to all the AGA employees who made this eventhappen. The success of such initiatives depends on the commitment and effort ofmany people, without whom they would simply not be possible. We're alsograteful for the support of Direct Rail Services (who own the locomotives andcarriages involved) and Network Rail for their assistance.

“AtAbellio Greater Anglia, we care passionately about the communities that weserve. For as long as we are running train services in the area, we willcontinue to play our full part in supporting the region, both in the way wedevelop and operate train services, and in the way we take a wider role in EastAnglia, supporting a variety of charitable, arts, sport, tourism and businessinitiatives."

AnnMonks, EACH trustee, said: “I am thrilled to accept this very generous chequefrom Abellio Greater Anglia on behalf of EACH and “The EACH Express” headboards– which are lovely. I would like to thank everyone at the company for theirsupport and hard work organising this hugely popular event. EACH cares forchildren and young people with life-threatening conditions across East Angliaand is a lifeline to so many families at an unimaginably difficult time. Thespecialist care they provide is vital to so many families in our community andI am very proud to be a Trustee of such a worthwhile and special charity. Thismoney will allow the charity to continue these vital services to local familiesat a time when they need it most.”