Last weekend, Christmas came early for some train services in northern England operated by Northern.

Father Christmas could be seen on the trains, spreading festive cheer and handing out presents, after volunteers who work with Northern to promote and improve train travel organised his travels.

Santa travelled on trains across Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire, and the volunteers helped him hand out sweets and mince pies to passengers.

Last Saturday, 6th December, Santa was seen on a train from Ashley to Hale and on another from Glazebrook to Irlam. More than 100 children visited his grotto, set up at Irlam station by the Friends of Irlam Station.

Also on Saturday, the Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership arranged for Father Christmas to travel on Northern trains between Brough, Hull, and Scarborough.

Next Monday, 15th December, Santa will be travelling on the Northumberland Line in north-east England, when he will travel between Ashington and Newcastle to celebrate one year since the line opened. During his journey, local schoolchildren will join him while singing Christmas carols. Since the Northumberland Line opened, more than 900,000 journeys have been recorded.

All the events were funded by Northern, which has also arranged for Christmas trees and decorations to be put up in some station waiting rooms. In the run-up to Christmas, several stations, including Manchester Piccadilly and Marple, will be hosting schoolchildren and community choirs singing Christmas carols.

David Ollerenshaw, chair of the volunteer group, commented that the kids loved it, and with their faces lit up, it was tremendous to see. Community rail officer Rachel Osborne added that they love doing the Santa special trains as it is magical to see the joy on the children’s faces as they meet Santa.

Earlier this year, two new lifts were installed at Irlam station as part of a £5.75 million investment by Transport for Greater Manchester.

“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.”

Richard Isaac, regional community and sustainability manager for Northern