High Peak woman stars in Channel 5 documentary series The Railway 24/7

Sarah Olma starred in the first episode of The Railway 24/7 - which follows employees and customers as they navigate the franchise’s routes through the busiest stations in the North.

Thirty-six-year-old Sarah was filmed in December last year working at Manchester Piccadilly’s barriers - during the Manchester United vs Manchester City derby.

During the episode she is captured dealing with all kinds of travellers on the night - from mad football fans to stag parties and Christmas revellers.

Speaking about appearing on the show Sarah described it as ‘embarrassing’ but added: “It was good because although it showed how chaotic it was in December, things did improve.”

During the first episode several customers vented their frustration at disruption caused by TransPennine’e new timetable.

Sarah, who now works for the train operator’s social media team, said she had received ‘over 100’ tweets about the programme ‘95 per cent’ of which were positive.

She added that the franchise - run by FirstGroup – had made progress on improving customer journeys before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Speaking about working the barriers Sarah, of Buxworth, said: “It can get quite busy - especially at Piccadilly.

“You get a lot of people out drinking - I’ve had people trying to put £10 notes in the ticket slots and all sorts.”

The Railway 24/7 is on Channel 5 every Wednesday at 9pm.

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