HomeRail NewsRecord-breaking year for Three Peaks by Rail Challenge

Record-breaking year for Three Peaks by Rail Challenge

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A team from Stadler Rail completed the Three Peaks Challenge by Rail in record time as the annual charity challenge raised £188,826 for Railway Children.

Now in its 15th year, the 2018 Three Peaks Challenge by Rail saw 163 industry colleagues scale the three highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland in just over 36 hours.

Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis have a combined height of more than three kilometres.

The charter train carrying the climbers between the peaks, which was run by Riviera Trains and DRS, set off from Crewe on Thursday 14 June.

This year’s event was sponsored by Stadler Rail, which had six teams taking part. Its record-breaking term completed all three peaks in 10 hours, 56 minutes and 15 seconds – just 12 seconds quicker than the previous record.

As well as clocking the fastest ever time, Stadler also won the Team Spirit award and the Good Samaritan award for stopping to help a member of the public who was experiencing difficulty.

£3 million

Each team was set the target of raising £3,500 for Railway Children projects around the world. Since the event was launched in 2004, it has raised almost £3 million for the charity. The money has helped provide shelter, food, clothing, medical supplies and education to vulnerable children in the UK, India and Africa.

A team from the Department for Transport won the Stadler Three Peaks trophy for raising the most for a single team, contributing £6,700 to the overall total.

Katie Mason, Railway Children’s events manager, said: “The Three Peaks by Rail is one of our biggest and most challenging events of the year, with participants pushed to the limits of their endurance, especially when they had to battle their way through snow to reach the summit of Ben Nevis. It is also the event where we see the rail industry at its best, all working together to raise funds for some of the most vulnerable children in society.

“We had a fantastic group of volunteers on the train, many of whom help us out year after year and deserve much of the credit for its success. A special thanks goes to our headline sponsor Stadler Rail for their incredible support and also to Alex Hynes, Managing Director at ScotRail Alliance, who joined us at Ben Nevis to welcome in the teams and help present the medals.”

Extremely worthy cause

Ralf Warwel, sales director for Stadler Rail, added: “Stadler was delighted to act as headline sponsor for this extremely worthwhile charitable initiative. Money raised will genuinely improve the lot of children around the world who, through no fault of their own, are very disadvantaged in life.

“The experience itself of climbing three iconic mountains with industry colleagues from within and outside Stadler was challenging, exhilarating and moving in equal measure.

“We would like to thank everyone who helped us generate funds for this extremely worthy cause.”

To enter a team in next year’s Three Peaks Challenge, please call Katie on 01270 757 596 or email [email protected]


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Clarification: The Three Peaks by Rail train set off from Crewe this year not London Euston as it has in previous years.

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