ScotRail train to be named after MND campaigner

A ScotRail train is to be named after Gordon Aikman, the late Motor Neurone Disease (MND) campaigner.

ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes has announced that one of ScotRail’s iconic high-speed InterCity trains will be named after the MND campaigner.

Gordon Aikman was a fundraiser and campaigner for patients with MND. He was diagnosed with MND at the age of just 29, and died last year.

He was a Trustee of MND Scotland and raised over £500,000 for MND Scotland to invest in vital research that is helping take us a step closer to finding a cure.

Gordon worked closely with MND Scotland and key organisations, such as the Scottish Government, to ensure that MND nurses were doubled and that they were payed for from the public purse.

His campaigning also helped to guarantee MND patients a voice, pay carers a Living Wage, double MND research, fast-track benefits for people with MND and outlaw care charges.

This new announcement coincides with Global MND Awareness Day today (Thursday, 21 June 2018) and an unveiling of the train will take place later this year.

ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes said:

“Since MND Scotland were named as the official charity partner to the ScotRail Alliance in April 2017, our customers and employees have raised more than £104,000.

“That means we’re on track to smash our target for the three-year partnership, but, there’s still much more we can do.

“By naming one of our trains after Gordon Aikman, we hope to honour his memory, create a legacy, and continue to raise awareness far beyond the length of our partnership with MND Scotland.”

MND Scotland Chief Executive Officer Craig Stockton said:

“This announcement is fantastic. It is a wonderful tribute to everything Gordon did to raise awareness of MND, and this train will continue to do that for years to come.

“We are very grateful for everything the ScotRail Alliance has done to support us this MND Awareness Week. It’s a truly great finish to the week.”

Gordon Aikman’s husband Joe Pike said:

“We are incredibly touched that the ScotRail Alliance has decided to honour Gordon’s memory in this way.

“Days before he died last spring, Gordon made a video to help persuade the ScotRail Alliance to make MND Scotland its chosen charity.

“He would be delighted that since then the company and its people have been so enthusiastic in their support – not just fundraising over £104,000 for care and research, but raising the profile of the disease which kills so many people across Scotland each year.”