Never in her wildest dreams did Lucy Rahman think that one day she would make the leap from catering team member to Hull Trains driver.
She only joined the on-board team on a temporary basis in 2010, serving refreshments to passengers. Now, 12 years later, she is the one in the driving seat having recently qualified.
Marking International Women’s Day, she reflected on a remarkable journey whilst encouraging other females to consider a career on the railways.
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“Did I think that one day I would be driving a train? Never!” laughed Lucy, “I am not going to lie, I didn’t dream of driving trains as a youngster. I kind of fell into my first role at Hull Trains and never thought of it as a long-term career. But it’s a great company to work for, no two days are the same and you really feel as though you are making a contribution to the community.
“A lot of females go into roles in the railway, and I would recommend it to anyone. I think there’s a false perception from the outside that the industry is male dominated. I can only talk about here at Hull Trains but being a woman has never been an issue. In the years I have been here, I have been promoted from on board host, to manager, and now train driver so there are so many opportunities to progress.”
Lucy isn’t alone in driving trains. A total of 33 per cent of drivers on the Hull Trains books are currently female. This is in addition to 64 per cent of women on-board managers.
Driving is a challenge at the best of times, yet Lucy had the further complication of her learning being disrupted on more than one occasion due to Covid-19. But now qualified, she gets the best seat on the newest fleet of trains in service on the Hull to London route.
A £60 million investment in the five Hitachi 'Paragon' trains completed late last year.
David Gibson, managing director, said: “Lucy’s story is fabulous, and I applaud her on her achievement. However, this kind of story isn’t unique at Hull Trains. We are proud of the opportunities we afford to all of our colleagues, and this explains why so many stay with us for such a long time.
“Our business has always been committed to enabling pathways for women in our industry which is evidenced with the 49 per cent female split in the workforce, a statistic that we are extremely proud about.”
Mr Gibson recently took over from Louise Cheeseman, who has previously been held up as an inspirational business woman by Business Live. She joined Transport for London where she heads up the bus network in the capital.
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