Great Western Railway (GWR) has teamed up with leading meningitis charity, Meningitis Now, to help raise awareness of the fight against the disease. 

 Together they will be ‘lighting the tracks ahead’ to a hopeful future where nobody in the UK dies of meningitis and all those affected get the support they need to rebuild their lives. 

Meningitis Now supporters will join a dedicated carriage on the 9.59am service from Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington on Tuesday, October 1, calling at Stroud where the charity is based.

On board they will share their meningitis experiences with other supporters of the charity and highlight the importance of World Meningitis Day in fighting back against the deadly disease.

The partnership is part of global World Meningitis Day on Saturday, October 5, which aims to raise awareness of meningitis, encourage those affected to tell their stories and light the way ahead to defeat meningitis.

At stations along the line, including Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble, Swindon, Didcot Parkway and Reading, the charity’s volunteers will also raise awareness of meningitis and its symptoms and explain the support available from Meningitis Now. 

The charity will be calling on supporters and its partners to sign a special ‘pledge board’ designed in the style of an enormous train ticket, pledging to help Meningitis Now ‘light the tracks ahead’ and join the global initiative to reduce cases of the disease.

They will also collect donations for the charity as it works towards a future where no-one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need.

The special train will arrive at London Paddington just before midday to be greeted by charity supporters and Meningitis Now president, TV and radio presenter Lisa Snowdon.

Four days later, on World Meningitis Day itself (5 October), GWR and Network Rail will be lighting up Paddington Station at 8.30pm in the charity’s corporate orange colour to help raise further awareness, as part of the worldwide movement to defeat meningitis.

Meningitis Now’s chief executive, Tom Nutt, said: “We hope people around the UK will join us in lighting the way ahead this World Meningitis Day and remember those whose lives have been devastated by this disease, whilst also showing their hope for a future where meningitis has been defeated. 

GWR Customer Services Director Rachel Geliamassi said: “Keeping our communities safe is at the heart of what we do at GWR, and that commitment extends beyond trains and stations. We are proud to support Meningitis Now – our Stroud-based neighbours – with the Light the Tracks Ahead campaign, to help save lives by raising awareness of this life-changing disease. Seeing campaigners and GWR colleagues working together across our network to raise money for those affected is the perfect way to start this partnership.”

There are more than 2.5 million cases of meningitis worldwide every year. It kills one in ten people with around half of meningitis deaths being children under 5. One in five survivors will live with lifelong disabilities, including hearing loss, acquired brain injury, limb loss and epilepsy.

The World Health Organization has also set out a Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030. 

Meningitis Now is the founder of the meningitis movement and the only charity dedicated to fighting meningitis in the UK. With nearly 40 years’ experience it is working towards a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.