A Grantham LNER employee is featured in a new National Railway Museum exhibition that celebrates the vital role played by railway key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Penny Bond is one of 16 Named Railway Heroes, in the exhibition whose work has seen them transporting vital medical supplies to setting up Nightingale hospitals and even sewing PPE.

LNER says many rail workers have gone the extra mile during the pandemic as well as working to keep passengers and freight moving around the clock in their day jobs.

The exhibition will feature 16 portrait photographs from renowned photographer Charlotte Graham.

The first six 'Railway Heroes' will star in a special online exhibition hosted on the National Railway Museum website from Monday 15 February, with new profiles added each week.

Once national lockdown restrictions are lifted, a physical exhibition featuring all 16 people will open simultaneously at the National Railway Museum in York and Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham.

Judith McNicol, Director of the National Railway Museum, said: "This exhibition is an opportunity to say 'thank you' to the thousands of railway key workers who have kept the country going over the last year. From delivering essential supplies and transporting NHS workers, to selfless volunteering, the stories featured in the exhibition are an inspiration and fully deserving of wider recognition."

Penny Bond from Grantham organised a letter writing campaign called Letter to a Friend as part of the LNER Reserves initiative, creating a vital lifeline for hundreds of isolated older people living in care homes who were affected by the pandemic.

Penny was awarded a British Empire Medal for her achievement in October 2020.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: "Rail workers have played a vital role during the pandemic, maintaining and operating a safe and reliable railway so that key workers can continue to get to work, and keeping Britain connected by moving critical goods such as food and medicine across the country.

"Many rail workers have also gone above and beyond their day jobs over the past year – helping to set up Nightingale hospitals, donating much-needed equipment to the NHS and delivering food parcels to vulnerable people in their local communities.

"The National Railway Museum's Railway Heroes exhibition is a fitting way to recognise the outstanding efforts of railway workers in such challenging times. I am incredibly proud of their contributions to the railway and local communities."

David Horne, Managing Director for LNER said: "We're extremely proud of how the entire UK rail industry, particularly our LNER colleagues, have shown dedication and tenacity in what have been some very difficult times. Our teams have been dynamic, entrepreneurial and most importantly supportive of each other and the communities we serve."

The exhibition is produced in partnership with LNER, Avanti West Coast, Network Rail, Northern and Laing O'Rourke and J. Murphy joint venture and HS2 Ltd.

To see the first profiles from the exhibition, click on the link here.