'Elf on the Shelf' surprise for Transpennine Express passengers

‘Elf on the Shelf’ surprise for Transpennine Express passengers

Passengers on TransPennine Express (TPE) services have seen the Elves popping up on services throughout the North and Scotland as part of the ‘Elf on the Shelf’ Christmas tradition.

The TPE elves were first spotted onboard a service by three-year-old Indiana Shaw, who was thrilled to spy one of the cheeky sprites on her journey.

Indiana Shaw 3 spots an elf on a TransPennine Express service — Credit: TransPennine Express

The Elf on the Shelf Christmas Tradition began in 2005 and is enjoyed by many households since it first started. The basic idea of the tradition is that Father Christmas has sent the elves to keep an eye on children and report back to the North Pole for Santa’s naughty or nice list.

Indiana Shaw’s Mum, Victoria, said:

“Indiana couldn’t contain her excitement when she saw the mischievous elves and it’s safe to say she was on her best behaviour for the entire journey!”

Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express, Kathryn O’Brien said:

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“We loved seeing children’s faces as they spotted the elves perched on the luggage rack and sitting on seats on our services.”

“It’s a magical time of year and now more than ever we want to encourage people to get out and about and make those human connections that we all need, and as a provider of travel, we know we can make a difference and our trains can help make those connections this Christmas.”

The Christmas period is expected to bring an increase in train travel and TransPennine Express will continue its commitment to keep their customers safe across the North and Scotland with 20 Teams of sanitation busters who regularly clean key touch-points in TPE stations and on board more than 100 carriages which operating on their network.

Tickets can be purchased through the TPE website or via the TPE Express App, which offers the choice of payment through Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal. E-tickets are available and allow customers to use their phone instead of a paper ticket.

Recent government guidance has made the wearing of face coverings mandatory onboard trains and in stations unless exempt. TPE are reminding customers to be both kind and considerate to those passengers who are exempt from wearing a mask.