I’m a woman who works on the railway - AMA!

[GabriellaRose]

Hello! MNHQ here. We're really excited to team up with Network Rail to bring you our first ever sponsored AMA. Gabriella is keen to give you the inside story on any questions you might have about her job, the railway, and how it can be a great career choice for anyone, whatever their skillset or commitments.

Over to Gabriella!

Hi, I'm Gabriella and I work on the railway. Ask me anything about my job with Network Rail...

Hi, what made you apply for a role at Network Rail? How does working for Network Rail compare to other organisations you've worked for? Thanks in advance

Hi @Macbooksdontwork - thanks for your question .

I had been in my previous job for 6 years (at a different company - not railway related in anyway) and was looking for more career progression - I had reached a bit of a 'dead end' with my previous role in Customer Service (I used to work in a shop). I decided to apply quite randomly one Christmas Eve and never thought I would hear back - having no railway experience.

I had always been quite interested in the railway and used to really enjoy watching those TV documentaries about people who work at railway stations (quite nerdy I know!). I applied for a Customer Service Assistant job at a London Station - and worked there for a year before transferring to the Maintenance Team.

How does Network Rail compare to different companies I have worked for... I would say they are extremely flexible! I work from home 2 days a week and I know not many companies would support that. There's lots of opportunities to move up (if you want to), they really support career progression - there are lots of opportunities to go on training courses. Plus, there are many benefits in working for Network Rail such as discounted travel (I know a lot of my friends are envious of this!). Hope that answers your questions .

Hi Gabriella :) What’s a typical day like in your job on the Maintenance team? And how was training delivered when you swapped over from your role in customer service?

Interested to find out more, thanks for answering Qs. What's it like working in maintenance - do you get to be outside a lot (and how does that work with working from home)? And what do you think about our railways generally -- do they need more investment or do we all have unrealistic expectations?

Hi @rubybear08 - thanks for your question!

So my 'official' job title in the Maintenance team is the 'Infrastructure Maintenance Protection Coordinator' - I receive queries from line-side neighbours and it is my job to resolve the issues they raise or answer any questions they may have relating to maintenance work.

Typically I would come into the office and check my emails to see if there has been any new requests overnight. Requests may be things such as, overgrown vegetation at the rear of a line-side neighbours property, dangerous trees, damaged boundary fencing, rats, trespass issues - the list is endless and no two requests are ever the same! I carry out a lot of site visits as part of my job, as it is always best to see the problem in person to make an assessment about the type of work that needs to be carried out (if any). I also type up letters to pre-notify line-side neighbours about upcoming noisy works. I spend a lot of my time liaising with other departments within Network Rail to ensure the issues raised get resolved. No two days are ever really the same - one day I could be out on site all day, the next I could be in the office all day, it really depends on the particular week.

Training when I first started:
So when I first joined the Maintenance team I came over as a 'Team Organiser' - probably called a PA in most other organisations. I spent a week shadowing the previous Team Organiser and we had a handover period where she basically 'showed me the ropes'. I had to attend a Network Rail training centre (they have these in lots of different locations all over the country) for other aspects of the job such as learning how to use different systems, and a qualification that allows staff to go onto the Live Railway (called a PTS - Personal Track Safety).

Hope that answers your questions!

Hello @elbowz - thanks for your questions!

Working outside:
Every day is different. Some weeks I can be outside most days - other weeks I can be in the office most days. It really does depend on what/and how many requests have come in that week that require a site inspection. In terms of working from home - I just make sure that I carry out all of my site visits when I am in the office. I am very flexible though and if an urgent site visit is needed, I am more than happy to try and swap my days around. I am very lucky to have an extremely supportive boss and work colleagues who allow me to work flexibly!

Generally, I think our staff work extremely hard on a day-to-day basis to keep the railway running. I think it's great to have expectations but it is also important to remember that we have one of the oldest railways in the world (and one of the busiest!) and appreciate how difficult it is to keep a safe and reliable railway running while providing value for money to the tax-payer. In the particular area that I cover, I see a lot of investment and railway upgrade works taking place.

I hope that answers your queries?

hi Gabriella! Do you ever have to be the one to decide when to cancel trains? And what happens behind the scenes when there's an emergency, like a broken power line or something?

Hello Gabriela. I commute into Waterloo and I must say the train service has been quite poor over the past few years. The train operating company seems to blame Network Rail quite a lot for service difficulties. From a commuter's perspective, I just want to understand why the service seems to go wrong so badly, so often. Do you think there's more Network Rail can do to communicate with travellers? Does Network Rail have an official duty to communicate with travelers or is that supposed to be down to the TOCs

I just want clearer information. (Sorry, I realise this issue probably isn't in your control but would be interesting to hear what you think)

Evening @thevanisher ! Thanks for your questions.

No the decision to cancel trains doesn’t fall to my role (fortunately, as I do know that it is not an easy decision to make!)... usually this would be discussed between our Operations team and TOC’s (train operating companies). It depends for what reason a train needs to be cancelled - is it a shortage of train crew or an infrastructure failure such as a signalling fault. The teams have to follow a very tight timetable so I know that no decision to cancel a train is made lightly, especially as we are in situ essentially to get passengers and freight from A to B!

What usually happens behind the scenes when there is a failure, is that this is reported to our Route Control Centre (in most situations these reports are made by train drivers or staff out on the ground) and from that report, team members from that particular discipline are sent out to make an assessment. Their priority is to get the railway up and running as quickly and as safely as possible. Sometimes they are able to fix the problem on site, sometimes they will need to rely on colleagues to bring equipment or spares from our stores. It really is all hands on deck. We are fortunate enough to have highly trained staff who are able to detect the root cause of the problem very quickly. The teams communicate back with Route Control very frequently to keep them updated of the latest developments and how soon the issue is likely to be fixed. This is so they can feed this back to TOC’s and Station staff (who in turn pass this information on to passengers). Our teams are taking more and more photos when they are out on site fixing problems that arise that you may have seen on Social Media - this is so we can keep passengers updated in real time. I personally think this is a great idea as there is nothing worst than being delayed but not knowing why!

I hope this answers your questions?

Hi @TresDesolee - no that’s fine I’m happy to answer any questions, if I can & I know the answers!

Sorry to hear you have been experiencing delays on your commute (it is so frustrating - especially if you’re going to have a long day or have had a long day and just want to get home!)

I can’t answer for that specific route as I don’t cover the Waterloo area however, I think it is important for TOC’s to be transparent and honest - so if they are stating the delay is caused by an Infrastructure failure (for which Network Rail is responsible for) then they are correct to do so.

See my previous response to @thevanisher, as I think it may answer your query too. Network Rail work hard to update Route Control as frequently as possible when there is a period of delay or disruption due to an Infrastructure failure.
Our Route Control teams would pass this information on to TOC’s (train drivers, station staff etc) as well as our own station staff at Network Rail managed stations.

Our teams are using Social Media more and more frequently as this seems one of the best ways at present to update passengers quickly and efficiently. I know a lot of TOC’s use Social Media too - as well as our station staff who are busy during periods of delays and disruption, updating passengers in person.

I don’t believe there is any official “duty” - it’s more just best practice. Although we’re always learning and don’t always get it right!

I hope that answers your queries?

Plus, there are many benefits in working for Network Rail such as discounted travel

It might be worth clarifying this - yes, there is a subsidy and loan for purchasing a rail season ticket to/from work; but NR don't give "discounted travel" as a general perk. There are small discounts through their employee benefits scheme for pre-booked Virgin tickets but generally any rail travel at weekends or for holiday are normal price.

Hi @EggysMom, you’re correct!
My statement was quite broad but to be more specific... we have the opportunity to purchase a season ticket at a discounted cost (subsidies of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets) - as you say this doesn’t apply to ‘normal tickets’ outside of the season ticket - but still a pretty cool perk in my opinion!

I'd love to work on the railways but doubt there's anything for me because I don't drive and have type 1 diabetes. I know it rules me out of safety critical roles but maybe there's something. Do you have apprentice type roles?

It's worth being specific because it is often thought that people who work on the railway benefit from free rail travel, which is wrong. Personally I don't find it much of a perk as there are no trains where I live, they were replaced by a tram service for which we don't get a subsidy. So it's a good benefit - if you can make use of it.

Evening @Ch3rryCola - ahh I’m so pleased you’re considering a career on the railway!

Having diabetes doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able hold a safety critical position - it might just mean that there will be certain restrictions that need to be applied - such as not being able to work alone etc.

Every role is different but don’t let this hold you back from applying as there are SO many roles available!

The same applies to not having a driving licence - a large majority of our job roles don’t require you to hold a driving licence. I didn’t actually have a driving licence either for the first 6 months I worked at Network Rail (just so happened I was learning to drive when I applied!)

I would advise having a look on the Network Rail recruitment website when you get a chance - newworkingyou.co.uk/.

Hope you find something that appeals to you, if you need any advice let me know!

Agreed @EggysMom - definitely a good perk if you can make use of it!

Thanks @GabriellaRose that makes sense.

Thank you @GabriellaRose

As you've asked, why is the railway network so poor for disabled people? I refer you to Sophie Christensen and her appalling treatment

Hi OP

Have you ever experienced any negative attitudes in such a male dominated environment? How did the company deal with it if so?

Do you think they have robust bullying or harassment policies in place?

Sorry OP

You don't have to answer if it would make you feel uncomfortable.

It would just be interesting to hear if any policies protect people in your company and if such policies are enforced if difficulties arise.

Morning @newnamejustforyourthread - No I'm more than happy to answer and that's a great question!

I completely understand you asking as that is definitely a misconception I had before joining Network Rail. I worried whether my male colleagues would feel differently about working with me, a woman, compared with another male - as you say, the railway historically has been seen as a 'male dominated environment' (I do think that is now changing!)

I can honestly say I have never experienced any negative attitudes from any of my colleagues (male or female) - every team I have worked in, my colleagues have always been extremely supportive. In fact if I ever doubt myself/my abilities or say 'I don't think I can do that' - it is often my male colleagues who will say, 'Yes you can' and cheer me on.

In my opinion, Network Rail have very robust HR policies in place. Bullying/harassment is taking extremely seriously - and absolutely not tolerated. Fortunately I have never had to go through the HR process re: raising any kind of grievance around bullying or harassment, but I know it is there should I ever need it.

I hope that answers your queries?

Thanks @GabriellaRose

What's your favourite thing about your job? And your least favourite?

I used to work for NR. The pay wasn't great but the company was brilliant, truly a wonderful place to work. I miss it very much.

Hi @Pebbles16 - thanks for your question!

I'm really sorry but I don't know about any individual cases so I can't really comment on that as I'm not familiar with what happened.

What I do know, is that Network Rail - along with the rail industry as a whole, are investing a huge amount of money to make the network more accessible. I definitely think that this is the right step to take. I previously worked at a busy London Terminus station as a 'Mobility Assistant' and it was my job to help passengers requiring assistance, on and off trains. I know first hand how important it is when we are meeting these passengers - to get it right - and that making the railway more accessible for all is essential.

Re: disabilities - It is also worth mentioning that Network Rail is a very inclusive employer. As I said in a previous response to @Ch3rryCola - no disability should ever hold a person back from applying for a job at Network Rail. There are so many opportunities and roles available - certain restrictions may need to be put in place for safety critical job roles - but this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager.

I hope this helps?