Working at MTREL

Tell us about your role.

My role requires excellent communication skills, team management skills, strong organisational skills, being customer-focused, target driven, an ambassador for the company, and overall being versatile towards the role.

What does a day in the life of a Duty Customer Experience Manager look like?

Every day is different, whether it’s dealing with customer queries, training staff, or managing the station. Every day is a new challenge to deliver our company values.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

A couple of my family members worked on the railway, so growing up listening to their stories I always wanted to be a part of the railway. I joined back in 2015, and I fell in love with the role and its diverse range of responsibilities. No two days are the same on the railway. It’s not only a job anymore; it’s a way of life.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

My proudest achievement at MTREL is to have made many lifesaving interventions whilst also being able to grow within a role that I love more each and every day. I was also lucky enough to go on national television including Good Morning Britain and Channel 5 News to spread awareness about mental health. This makes me proud to be a part of the railway family.

I began with MTR Elizabeth line as a Customer Experience Assistant towards the end of 2018, with no previous experience on the railway. Since then I have gained a lot of new knowledge and skills that allow me to be my best and deliver great customer service.

Putting the customer at the centre of everything we do allows us to provide a safe and reliable railway – something I strive to do every day. Working on the Elizabeth line is an incredibly exciting and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I feel privileged to be a part of.

Tell us about your role.

As the station manager I am responsible for the safety and wellbeing of my team and the customers who travel through the station. It is my duty to ensure great service is delivered to all our customers and that our stations are performing in line with the required standards.

What does a day in the life of a Station Manager look like?

My days are varied and can include managing and responding to emails, liaising with key stakeholders, joining meetings/calls, and spending time with my team supporting them and being a role model. I am also involved with external support functions to the station and ensure we work collaboratively as a team.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

I have always wanted to work in transportation. In my final project for my Architecture degree I was tasked with designing a building over the railway tracks at Farringdon station. This is when I truly understood its operation and knew from that point onwards it was an industry I wished to be involved in at some capacity – especially in the Crossrail project. Nine years later an opportunity came up for me to join the industry. It allowed me to bring my experience and passion with me.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

My proudest moment to date is being recognised by my peers, staff and cross-functioning teams as I awarded the Manager of the Year at MTREL’s annual awards ceremony. It’s an award I carry with pride and appreciate daily.

Tell us about your role.

My role as Duty Customer Experience Manager is to ensure the effective station operation at Ealing Broadway and Acton Main Line.

My main responsibilities include ensuring that the team always provide exceptional an customer experience, and I help to empower the station team to do their absolute best for our customers every day. We encourage a one team approach, looking after each other and ensuring we work towards a customer-centric culture.

I am also responsible for coaching and mentoring our station team, am trained as our key first aider and helping to lead the team to success.

What does a day in the life of a Duty Customer Experience Manager look like?

I begin my shift each day by going through the shift report from the last 24 hours, looking to check that ticket offices opened on time, whether there were any faults, and see the platform shift reports to raise any necessary issues.

I like to start each shift talking to the station team and hear first-hand from them how the day has gone so far, whether there have been any issues and if they need help with anything. I enjoy being forward-facing with the team and working directly with them.

My days also involve going through reports of passenger accidents, investigations, and any reports on our safety app. I am also available to provide first aid when necessary and support the station during peak hours.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

I have always had a fascination for transport, and living on the route, the Elizabeth line project was a big interest and something I wanted to be part of.

I completed an apprenticeship with MTREL in 2018 and really enjoyed it. Since then, I have progressed my rail career in different areas, working on the frontline and as a Travel Safe Officer, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for me and in the rail industry!

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

My proudest achievement would have to be winning Apprentice of the Year at MTREL’s internal annual awards (Celebrating You Awards) in 2019.

I had already completed my apprenticeship at this point, and I really didn’t expect it! It was a surprise to win, but a great achievement to be recognised.

Tell us about your role.

My role as an Assistant Duty Control Manager involves planning the day-to-day fleet movements for MTR Elizabeth line to ensure all required trains are sent back to various depots for maintenance requirements.

What does a day in the life of an Assistant Duty Control Manager look like?

Generally, I get into work for 07:00, then I check through emails and plan stock moves through the Central Operating Section. I also assist the Duty Control Manager during any disruption.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

I was inspired by the Crossrail project and wanted to be a part of this industry leading project. I’m proud to be able to say I was a part of the team from the start.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

One of my proudest achievements was administering an automated stock sheet for Control. The stock sheet is created by our Control team to show the location of all train movements during the day. To create the sheets often takes up to 5-6 hours per week, whereas the automated version removes the need to waste these hours, saving myself and the team hours of work per week.

Tell us about your role.

I am responsible for providing all uniformed colleagues at MTR Elizabeth line with the correct uniform and equipment they need to complete their operational duties. It’s important our customer-facing colleagues look their best at all times as they represent the brand, and it helps our customers to identify them easily at stations.

What does a day in the life of a Uniform & Equipment Supply Manager look like?

Every day is varied and could include conducting personal uniform fittings for current and new colleagues, issuing essential driver equipment, ordering name badges, processing uniform orders, completing stock checks, liaising with all our suppliers, processing all deliveries, and ensuring these are marked for delivery to our many locations. It can also include more simple things like steaming items that have arrived creased and offering advice to colleagues on the many queries we receive.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

After working for Virgin Atlantic Airways for 10 years, I wanted to continue to work within the travel industry. I transferred my skills to another train operator, before joining MTR Elizabeth line in 2016 when I was excited to bring my experience of uniforms. It was a welcome challenge and I realised very quickly that it was, in fact, quite different to providing uniform to airline colleagues. I have now been doing this for 14 years and have learnt a lot along the way.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

Rolling out our new Elizabeth line uniform was a very proud moment – and a massive challenge as we had also recently changed supplier. We had to provide uniform to approx. 1,000 colleagues from across multiple locations. It felt like a great achievement to see everyone fully uniformed, and I feel really proud to have been part of a great team that supported me this. In 2023, I was honoured to be one of a few colleagues selected to welcome the Prince and Princess of Wales onto an Elizabeth line train. I spoke with Princess Kate who showed genuine interest in our uniforms and really made me feel at ease. Seeing all the media coverage and being in a photo that featured on the front page of national newspapers was certainly a very memorable once in a lifetime experience!

Tell us about your role.

My role as Communications Executive includes writing Keeping Track, our weekly newsletter, edit content on the intranet, managing the Communications team’s Viva Engage page and our internal digital screens. I also put together the colleague Shout Outs, which form part of our recognition programme, manage the Photo Competition and provide support across a whole range of other tasks from events, writing content, designing, filming and photography.

What does a day in the life of a Communications Executive look like?

My days vary day-to day. Most days, I will be posting on Viva Engage, writing articles, or creating a form of non-written content to be shared internally on our screens, including videos, picture collages and infographics. I also often spend time researching into any ED&I (equality, diversity, and inclusion) events and how we can communicate and support these at MTREL and manage the ‘Comms Planning Calendar’, helping to keep the team up to date with what is happening each week.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

Within my business studies at Sixth Form, I favoured the topic of ‘innovation and enterprise’, as I found learning about the development of businesses really interesting. This inspired me to apply to MTREL, as it had a central role in a huge innovative project which would transform travel in London and the railway industry.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

My proudest achievement to date is the work I did on MTREL’s International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022 campaign. This involved working with colleagues from across the company who sent me photos of themselves striking the IWD #BreakTheBias pose. I created a photo collage which was shared internally and externally and wrote articles to promote the importance of IWD. Over 100 colleagues took part in the campaign from across the company, and as a woman working in rail I was proud to see the support and unity for women at MTREL.

Tell us about your role.

My role involves monitoring and tracking our driver training and updating spreadsheets accordingly. I am responsible for managing the Delay Attributions for the Driver Operations team. I assist the team in gathering and providing details on Service Impacting Events for business wide meetings. I frequently attend meetings with the wider Operations team and assist in minute taking, together with providing any ad-hoc support to my line manager and the Operations team as a whole.

What does a day in the life of an Operations Apprentice look like?

A day in the life for me consists of updating various spreadsheets as well as attending meetings and taking/distributing the minutes. Keeping up to date on our driver training and performance status by regularly attending meetings and delivering on any ‘follow-up’ actions. Making sure that information on any delays is being gathered to help with the attribution process. Communicating with my line manager, Ben Cash, and other members of the Operations team and assisting them where possible. I also visit our Elizabeth line depots and assist with the mobilisation of materials on an ad-hoc basis.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

I have always been a frequent user of the railway. Being a West Ham season ticket holder, I have been travelling through Shenfield to Stratford for the last five or six years and have seen the developments that have taken place during the Crossrail project. When I saw an opportunity to work for MTREL, I was keen to apply for this apprenticeship in order to learn more about the railway industry and the Crossrail project specifically.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

For the first few months of my apprenticeship, I was tasked with creating a spreadsheet that would target and identify which train drivers required refresher training to ensure they were fully competent for the opening of the Central Operating Section (COS). I was proud of this achievement as it enabled me to frequently communicate with the Driver Team Managers (DTMs) and assist other team members. By providing this information, we have been able to close some skills gaps and it allowed for a successful Trial Operations period at that time.

Tell us about your role.

I joined the rail industry in 2005 and my journey brought me to MTR Elizabeth line in 2019 as a Driver Team Manager. My role involves a plethora of skills and challenges from line management of 20 Drivers; managing Driver Competencies; On Call duties, which means responding to any eventualities on our network; liaising with varying departments within MTR and in the wider rail industry – to name a few!

What does a day in the life of a Driver Team Manager look like?

Each day can vary from one to the next, but a standard day could include checking and responding to emails, attending daily Driver Operations meetings, carrying out welfare calls, planning assessments in the diary and liaising with Driver Rosters for Driver’s release for those assessment. It can also include assessing Drivers as part of their competence, writing up the assessment and engaging with Drivers. The role requires you to be able to respond to any situation, be flexible and think on your feet!

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

I would love to say I was inspired to join the rail industry, maybe indirectly as my Dad was a Crane Driver for Freightliner, but, in reality, I was a stay at home mum of four children seeking a challenge outside of the home. I saw an advertisement for a Customer Service Representative at a Train Operating Company based at Paddington – I decided to apply, and the rest is, as they say, history.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

My proudest achievements in my MTREL career so far is being part of a great team; being given the opportunity to be mentored as part of Women in Rail; and being able to give back to our Train Driving Community, just as I have been given the support and guidance along my journey, thus far!

Tell us about your role.

As a Driver Team Leader, on top of my normal train driving responsibilities, I get the pleasure of working in lots of different areas and with people from across MTREL. From the training and assessing of other drivers, helping them develop and maintain their knowledge and practical driving, to supporting the managerial teams, as well as helping with MTR Elizabeth line’s outreach programmes with local schools and charities.

What does a day in the life of a Driver Team Leader look like?

Every day I have the responsibility to look after my passengers, reacting to potential risks on the track and ensuring the train is functioning correctly. All while being able to keep to the high pace service, we at MTR offer for our passengers.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

I was actually a graphic designer and video editor before joining MTR in 2015 as a trainee train driver, I’d never considered working in the railway before I saw a full-page advert in a newspaper, and thought, why not, it would be fun to drive a train before a car, right? In 2016, I completed my training and obtained my license to become a Train Driver and since then, I’ve had the privilege of becoming a Driver Instructor and now a Driver Team Leader.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

I’ve been very lucky to have so many amazing experiences since joining MTR, from actually passing my own training after eight months of very hard work to become a Train Driver, to working on the first ever train down in the new central section tunnel, and of course helping on the annual Santa Express! But for me, teaching is a real passion, so seeing the people I’ve trained pass courses and progress is a really cool thing to see.

Tell us about your role.

The main part of my role is to service the business’s IT needs. As an IT Helpdesk team leader, I need to ensure the management of IT requests and keep up with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) agreed with the business. I also manage our IT Helpdesk administrators and assist where needed.

What does a day in the life of an IT Helpdesk Team Leader look like?

The first task is to log on to our Helpdesk system, which allows me to review all tickets that have been raised and to prioritise the team’s workload for the day – picking up any urgent items immediately. Then, I will meet with my team to run through the important tasks and answer any questions.

What inspired you to work in the rail industry?

My first experience in the rail industry was customer service based in Paddington Station. I was keen to work in a fast-paced role with a lot of variety. During this experience, I saw the heavy reliance on IT equipment and was keen to get involved behind the scenes to see how that worked in an office environment and to find out how an IT team could support so many members of staff and stations.

What is your proudest achievement in your career at MTREL?

My proudest achievement was participating in the work improvement plan. This really pushed me outside of my comfort zone and allowed me to view the business from a different perspective. It gave the me the opportunity to meet people from different areas and work as a team to achieve something important.