Live-saving defibrillators are being installed across a fleet of TransPennine Express (TPE) trains over the next two months.
The operator has started work to install the units, which give a high energy shock to the heart of someone in cardiac arrest, on 51 of its 185 trains, many of which run from Liverpool.
The Liverpool City Region has one of the highest rates of cardiac illness in the UK, with Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) accounting for a fifth of all premature deaths.
Campaigners welcomed the announcement. A spokesperson for Liverpool-based Oliver King Foundation, which has so far placed 5,900 defibrillators in schools and organisations across the UK, said: “This is great news…we’ve also been looking to install more defibrillators on busses and taxis.”
The TPE defibrillators will be fitted by technology company Siemens Mobility on behalf of TPE and can be used by both staff and passengers if someone goes into cardiac arrest.
They will be located in an emergency equipment cupboard in the middle of the train and the installations are due to be complete by the end of March.
Bushra Khan, Head of Engineering at TransPennine Express, said: “Our defibrillators are a huge benefit to both our customers and the communities we serve.
Every defibrillator has step-by-step, spoken word instructions built-in to it which explain how to use it on someone in an emergency.
