Try to Make a Difference

During 2021 amongst everything else that was being thrown at us all, I achieved a personal milestone in my career, the ‘little boy’ on the backrow between the two instructors on the front row, is me (all 4ft 6inches of me at the time – I could lay between the tracks ??), celebrating my first experience at ‘Ilford railway training school’. I found this picture recently whilst back in the UK and hope you don’t mind me sharing this.

It registered with me how wonderful this rail industry is and that I’ve been truly privileged to serve it. The industry is no different today than that I witnessed all those years ago when I was first welcomed into ‘the family’. It offers a career rich in learning and fulfilment and for those prepared to embrace all that it offers, then ‘the world is your oyster’.

When the photograph above was taken I could never have imagined I would work on all the forms of railway that exists – well very nearly, (Inner City and Long Distance, High Speed, Light, Heavy Haul and Metro’s) and the numerous technologies associated with these. Additionally, to be afforded the opportunity of being educated in the challenges associated with technical design and delivery, commercial protection and program management of projects plus the equal challenges of maintenance and operations, I feel eternally grateful.

Above all however, the one thing that this wonderful industry offers each and every one of us is the ability to ‘make a difference’.

At the tender age of 21 years old (well in my head I am anyway ??) I find myself working on a world first conversion of a 13km, at grade GoA1 railway to GoA4 operation, looking at the challenges that come with curved platforms (introducing integrated platform screen doors, mechanical gap fillers and obstacle detection), corridor protection (introducing intrusion detection and corridor obstacle detection) and other forms of necessary detection such as flooding, condition monitoring and breaches that can exist from over bridges etc. I’m as excited today as I was back when that picture was taken, the learning never stops and my thirst ‘to make a difference’ still drives me.

In closing off, one final thing I have learnt, that being, never forget to pay back to this industry for what it has given you. Continue to make this an industry to be proud of. Take the time to mentor, listen to the opinion of others, don’t be afraid to challenge, encourage, support along the way and most importantly have fun and make sure others do too – you owe it to them and ‘our great family’?

'Make a difference' - Apply with professionalism https://youtu.be/M66U_DuMCS8 but believe you can make a difference, no matter what you do https://youtu.be/3Kxf2dHlDpQ