The rail profession holds a broad spectrum of jobs , careers and specialisms . Every colleague has a role to play in making the whole system operate and delivering for the customer .

You may be considering your next step and there are countless roles that you can make an impact in . We have put together a collection of profiles from CIRO members from across the industry to inspire you and your career and show you what ’ s out there .

CIRO have many resources to help you on the next stage of your career journey , from CPD tools to identify areas for improvement , to upgrading your membership to show your range of knowledge as well as your professionalism and commitment to the industry .

You can view the full collection of profiles , including role profiles on the CIRO website .

“ Take every opportunity to learn and be proactive ”

Career Timeline

Virgin Trains

• Head of Service Delivery

East Coast

• Head of Performance

Network Rail

• Area Customer Service Manager

• Seasons Delivery Specialist

• Scheme Project Manager

• Maintenance Protection Coordinator

• Area Network Access Planner

• Operational Planning Apprenticeship

Career Journey

Beginning her career in railway operations as an apprentice in operational planning , Karen preferred the routine and discipline of learning on the job over a conventional degree course . Being ambitious early on , Karen took every opportunity that presented itself and has kept moving forwards in different operations roles . Wanting to make a difference , Karen likes to dive into the role , generally taking the first year to understand it and the second year to implement improvements .

Almost 10 years ago , Karen moved from Network Rail into TOCs , working as Head of Performance for East Coast . This led her to being Head of Service Delivery where she thrived in a role of “ huge demands , huge rewards , working with real trains , real people and really making a difference .”

Getting On in Operations

After having great mentors and support herself , Karen ’ s advice is to get a mentor or buddy . They can help guide you to the things that you don ’ t know you need to know .

Make opportunities for yourself , bang on doors , ask questions and show your willingness - work hard and deliver .

Do a variety of jobs and keep moving . Take the positives out of every opportunity , even if you did not enjoy it .

Most importantly , have the belief that you can succeed in operations .

Creating a Career in Operations

Take every opportunity and be pro-active . Make time for learning to give yourself a good basis of knowledge .

If you are starting your career , look at a graduate scheme or apprenticeship as these will help to nurture your development and open doors .

“ If you are interested in something , ask if you can get involved .”

Career Timeline

Govia Thameslink Railway

• Driver Training Safety and Standards

• Driver Training Simulator Manager

• Train Driver

Career Journey

Fergus began his career in the Police force but after several years he wanted a change and decided to follow his childhood passion into railway operations , as a Train Driver . From there he moved into Driver Training and Competence Management as a Simulator Manager where he trained and assessed drivers in rules , traction , operational risk , and new routes .

Over time , Fergus became more and more involved with training . Alongside his Simulator Manager role , he also began to work with the operational safety and standards team .

He then took an opportunity which arose in the East Coast Digital Programme as an ETCS Operating Specialist within the signalling system . Fergus loves the technical elements of this position and works closely with an engineering colleague to bridge the gap between engineering and operations to ensure that what ’ s being designed will work in practice .

Getting On in Operations

Finding opportunities and having exposure can be difficult in a role like a train driver , where you are not in a head office , so keep an eye out , make yourself available and if you are interested in something , ask if you can get involved . Be proactive , approach line-managers and seek out opportunities for secondment .

Looking back , one of the challenges faced by Fergus was that some wondered if his shorter years of experience would hinder him , however this didn ’ t stop him from pursuing new challenges , knowing that he could serve the company more effectively in a different role .

Creating a Career in Operations

Have a go . Go and apply , see what ’ s out there and what takes your fancy .

Don ’ t assume that the role that you enter rail operations in has to be your role for the next 35 years . Be aware that there will be opportunities to do other things , but it ’ s up to you to pursue them .

“ The customer experience is the responsibility of us all .”

Career Timeline

Greater Anglia

• Head of Customer Service

• Head of Revenue Protection

c2c / LTS Headquarters

• Marketing Department

• Customer Insight Manager

c2c / LTS Rail

• Group Station Manager

• Ticket Office Supervisor D

• Ticket Office Supervisor A

• R01 Grade

Career Journey

Kim has been on the railway since she was 19 . She wanted to make a difference and leading people is her ultimate passion . Kim enjoys learning how people work and seeing what makes them tick .

Whilst working for c2c she moved from line management to strategic roles ; spending her time working with customer insight and understanding the customers . Gaining experience of how the business can make a difference to the customer experience .

Kim then moved into a marketing and communications role which gave her an insight into how to attract new customers and how to retain them .

This gave her the opportunity to get strategic experience and taught her how to think differently , with more of an appreciation of the bigger picture .

Getting On in Operations

Be prepared to learn everything . Be keen to learn as much as you can .

Kim ’ s advice would be don ’ t be afraid of the unknown - that ’ s where you can get the best results .

Creating a Career in Operations

Learn all you can and don ’ t be afraid to take that move into something new if you are already in the business . If you are currently in customer services and thinking of moving to operations , then that ’ s brilliant , bring the customer focus with you into operations .

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“ You can achieve so much when you bring people together ”

Career Timeline

Northern Trains

• Performance and Planning Director

• Planning and Programmes Director

• Performance and Planning Director

• Service Delivery Manager

Arriva Trains

• Operations Manager

Railtrack

• Operations Interface Manager

• Design and Construction Engineer

North West Re-signalling

• Resident Engineer

British Rail

• Management Trainee

Career Journey

After completing a degree in electrical engineering , Rob began his career in signal engineering as a British Rail Management Trainee . After 9 years , Rob took his first operations role as Operations & Interface Manager for Railtrack . He wanted a role that would bring him closer to the passenger and the operational train service . In this job , he took on a big engineering upgrade project and he was determined to deliver the project to a high standard .

Rob was approached by a train operating company who asked him if he was interested in working in solely operations , which he was , and he subsequently started to work as Operations Manager at Arriva Trains Northern . This was quite a challenge , as he was an engineer who understood how to run a railway , but not from a pure operating point of view . Rob considered this a great opportunity to work and learn with a great team .

Getting On in Operations

You need to have commitment , a passion about what you believe in and enjoy coming to work every day . With that passion and commitment , you then want to be able to show your skills , ability and desire to go and try something new . Believe in yourself and believe in the railway .

The industry offers so many broad opportunities and you will always find something that meets with what you can bring to the industry .

Creating a Career in Operations

There are various apprenticeships and graduate training programmes in the industry across the TOCs , Network Rail and engineering companies , which provide a good opportunity to gain a holistic view .

‘ Chartered Institution of Railway Operators ’ @ CIRO _ UK