Green light: the boss of GB Railfreight with an eye on the environment

John Smith next to his prized Sunderland AFC sign outside Peterborough, showing the distances from Wembley stadium and the Stadium of Light. Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Observer

Travel north on the east coast mainline, the main London to Edinburgh route, and you may spot the gift John Smith received from colleagues last year.

The huge sign, which stands metres away from the line just north of Peterborough station, carries the Sunderland AFC emblem alongside two arrows, one pointing 85 miles south to Wembley, the other 188 miles to the club’s Stadium of Light. “The lad who did it was a Newcastle supporter, so it was through gritted teeth,” says Smith, the boss of GB Railfreight and a lifelong Sunderland fan.