"It's come home": GWR honours Lionesses on side of train
Cornwall's main rail operator says England's women are "truly worthy of recognition"
Last updated 1st Aug 2022
Our magnificent Lionesses have been given pride of place for their Euro 2022 heroics – on the side of a Great Western Railway train.
Football came home last night with England's glorious 2-1 extra-time win over Germany at Wembley and GWR says it wanted to provide a lasting tribute to their triumph on Intercity Express Train 800316.
Ella Toone came off the bench to put England in front just after the hour, only for Germany’s Lina Magull to equalise and send the game into extra-time.
Then substitute Chloe Kelly scored a dramatic 110th minute winner to spark delirious scenes among a record European Championship crowd of 87,192.
GWR Human Resources director Ruth Busby watched the big match with her family and said the Lionesses are "truly worthy of recognition".
Ruth said: "The Lionesses have captured the hearts of the nation with their performances over the past month and I’m delighted we are celebrating their Euro 2022 triumph on one of our Intercity Express Trains.
"We at GWR have a long and proud history of celebrating Great Westerners – past and present heroes from across our network – and the Lionesses are truly worthy of recognition for bringing football home in such brilliant style".
In June GWR added the official Platinum Jubilee Emblem to the side of its Queen Elizabeth II train, 800003, as part of the celebrations to mark Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne.
Other Great Westerners to have been recognised include World War II codebreaker Alan Turing OBE, Bristol civil rights pioneer Dr Paul Stephenson OBE, Covid-19 fundraising hero Captain Sir Tom Moore, and Welsh sporting legends Sir Gareth Edwards and John Charles.