A FORMER Army officer has taken on a new command - as manager of customer services teams for a high-speed train operator in the the region.

Chris Tetley, 42, has swapped his military khaki for the blue and red of GNER to take up the role of regional manager North-East.

Based in Newcastle, he has taken charge of 400 GNER on-train and station staff in the region, and responsibility for the day-to-day running of Newcastle, Durham, Darlington and York stations on behalf of all train operators.

A former Royal Engineer, Mr Tetley is married with two children and his military career has taken him all over the world, including stints training the Sultan of Oman's armed forces and a secondment to the US Army's 3rd infantry mechanised division.

His appointment is part of GNER's strategy to consolidate its reputation and launch a bid to retain the East Coast Main Line from April 2005.

Newcastle is a major employment centre for GNER, with more than 650 staff employed to work as train drivers, customer service managers and assistants, telesales and travel consultants, and managerial and clerical staff. Nationwide, the company employs 3,100 people.