HomeCompany NewsGWR names train after Captain Tom
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Captain Tom Moore, the veteran who has raised more than £29 million for the NHS to mark his 100th birthday, has been honoured by GWR which has named a train after him.

The Second World War veteran originally hoped to raise £1,000 before his 100th birthday, but his pledge to walk 100 laps of his garden went viral and more than one million people donated to his JustGiving page.

GWR Intercity Express Train 800025 has been named in response to requests from both GWR colleagues and members of the public, re-entering service on Thursday 30 April, 2020 – the date of Captain Tom’s 100th birthday.

World War Two veteran Captain Tom, from Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire and who was stationed in Cornwall during his career, has extended his challenge to 200 laps after he completed the first 100 laps 14 days ahead of schedule.

GWR Interim Managing Director Matthew Golton said: “With his indomitable spirit what Captain Tom has achieved is truly inspirational, and an example to us all.

“We at Great Western have a long history of naming trains after Great Westerners, the past and present heroes from across our network, and I am honoured that today we can respond to requests to have a train named after Captain Tom Moore.”  

In 2016, GWR launched a public campaign to name its new fleet of Intercity Express Trains after Great Westerners – those inspirational individuals who have shaped the Great Western network.

The new fleet celebrate these people and their legacies by bearing their names. Trains named to date include for example Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, named by HM Queen Elizabeth in 2017, to mark 175 years since Queen Victoria became the first monarch to travel by train.

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