Defibrillators to be fitted on more than 50 trains

Defibrillators are to be installed on more than 50 trains by the end of March, an operator has announced.

TransPennine Express (TPE) said the devices, which give a high energy shock to the heart of someone in cardiac arrest, would be available for both staff and passengers to use.

The firm said the defibrillators would be fitted on 51 of its 185 trains by tech company Siemens Mobility, and would be located in an emergency equipment cupboard in the middle of the train.

TPE's head of engineering, Bushra Khan, said: "This roll-out will ensure that people travelling on our services will feel safe and confident that defibrillators are available to help in the event of an emergency, potentially saving lives."

Every defibrillator has step-by-step, spoken word instructions built-in to it which explain how to use it on someone in an emergency.

Computers inside the defibrillators work to analyse a person's heart rhythms to find out if an electric shock is needed and electrodes then automatically deliver the shock if required.

The defibrillators have been purchased from the British Heart Foundation charity, the biggest independent funder of heart and circulatory research in the UK, the TPE said.

Defibrillators are already fitted on the firm's Nova 1 trains.

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