…I have felt quite proud to be helping key workers get to work even though I’m working from home in my front room. I haven’t been able to see the difference we’ve been making first hand, but I feel like I’ve made a contribution during these extraordinary times.
“We would normally plan much further ahead, but everything has been condensed into short timescales because of the pandemic. We had to reduce the timetable at very short notice and then increase it again. Automated onboard passenger announcements have been created in a matter of days rather than a few weeks ahead.”
“As more people return to using our trains, I think the most important thing now is for passengers to avoid rush hours if possible. My colleagues and I are working from home so that we don’t clog up the network. Working from home was a novelty in the first six weeks but I do miss the social side of working in the office at King’s Cross. At home, we use Teams for our conference calls; I have three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels called Chester, Meg and Isla who make a regular appearance when I have my webcam on! They’re pretty chilled out and my colleagues always say hello to them.”
“I love my role in train planning. I’m on a placement from uni and I’ve been with GTR for nearly a year. It’s a great opportunity to learn all aspects of the job while I study for my degree in business logistics and transport management. I work on planning timetables, announcements, engineering work and traincrew rotas. The team plans all functionalities to run a train service and that includes making sure the trains are where they need to be with the correct number of carriages. It’s a different challenge every day and you’re always busy. I work alongside a lot of people with years of experience so I’m learning a lot from them.
“One of my usual responsibilities is chairing the event planning group for the south, so I’m involved in making sure we run additional services to support big events and manage large crowds, such as the Brighton and Crystal Palace football matches. We work with station teams and stakeholders to ensure we have the right number of services to carry the influx of people. As an Arsenal fan, it’s interesting to be on the other side and see how additional services are run for supporters using Finsbury Park station!”
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