Train driver Heather Waugh has made her mark in a male oriented profession as the only female freight train driver in Scotland. She regularly drives a 2,000 tonne load through the UK after taking on the job which many believed to be "dirty and heavy and physically draining".
But while that is still a key part of her life and she is keen to attract more women into the industry, witnessing a tragedy on the railway line sparked a new passion in her. She is now a fervent advocate for better mental health on the railways.
The 45-year-old was already working in the rail industry driving passenger trains in 2014 when she saw someone take their own life. It led her to begin working with the Samaritans.
She said: “Even something as simple as small talk can save a person’s life and that is the message I want to spread.”
Heather, who lives with her fiancée, Sharon McGhee, 55, a train planner, in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, first joined ScotRail as a passenger train driver in 2006, before moving onto freight train driving three years ago. She said: “The rail industry is a big part of my life.”
“My dad worked in it and it’s where I met my partner, who was working as a ticket examiner on the trains when I was driving. It’s crazy to think that I’m the only female freight train driver in the whole of Scotland, but I want to break down those barriers and encourage more women to join.”
Heather left a job as operational manager for the Royal Mail to become a train driver in 2006 and has not looked back. She said: “I’d been at the Royal Mail for 10 years and was looking for something new.
"Even though my dad had worked in the rail industry all his life, it was never something I had considered before the job came up. Perhaps I’d never thought of it because it was such a male dominated industry, so it never occurred to me that I could fill the role.”
Sadly, Heather’s dad, Neil, who was a conductor for 48 years, never got to see his daughter become a train driver. She said: “Everybody assumes that my dad is the reason I came into the industry, but he actually died about three or four years before I joined. Unfortunately, he never got to see me train driving, so I often wonder what he would think.
“I’ve always been really close to my mum. I remember when I was younger and everyone would turn their nose up at a girl playing football, but my mum went out and bought me football boots and told me ‘I could be anything I wanted to be’.”
Three years ago in 2019, Heather left passenger train driving to become the only woman in Scotland working as a freight train driver. She said: “When the opportunity came up, I took the plunge. I’m also the first female driver for Freightliner and currently the only woman in the country driving freight trains.
“I hadn’t considered freight before. There’s a preconception that it’s not for women, mainly because it’s seen as the bigger machinery and it is incredibly male dominated, so I think most women are put off.”
She added: “Less than one per cent of freight drivers in the UK are women. They assume it’s going to be dirty and heavy and physically and mentally draining but, to be honest, all those things have proved to be false and it’s a real privilege to drive a freight train.
“It still blows my mind that they hand me a three quarter mile long train with 2,000 tonnes of freight and let me drive right down through England – hundreds of miles most nights. But I know I’m capable of doing it and it’s a great feeling to take off and go.”
She added: “Freight has really come into its own during the pandemic. We’ve made sure the supermarkets are stocked and PPE supplies are getting to the NHS, which has been great to be part of.”
When Heather first landed her role, she had no idea she was the only woman driving freight. She said: “My boss told me and also mentioned I was the only female driver Freightliner had ever had in Scotland and I couldn’t believe it.”
She added: “It can be quite intimidating to break those kind of barriers, but the team welcomed me with open arms. They’ve since said that I’m a breath of fresh air.
“I have to pay tribute to the people I work with. It’s a very male dominated industry, but everyone is fantastic and just sees me as a ‘train driver,’ rather than as a woman.”
She added: “But I’ve learnt it’s so important to be visible and to stand out as a woman in the rail industry too. To give others the strength to take it on and follow their dreams. I’ve noticed that the differences women can bring are good for our colleagues.”
Heather believes that more women joining the rail industry would also benefit the men that work there. She said: “Studies show that mental health amongst men is a big issue and a more diverse workplace leads to a more open and understanding environment.”
Since witnessing the tragic event when she was working one day in 2014, Heather has been passionate about mental health.
She said: “It spurred me to get involved with the Samaritans. They offer a mental health course to anyone in the rail industry which I took part in and now I encourage anyone I meet to get involved.”
The Samaritans’ training course Heather took is offered to the rail industry as part of their Network Rail partnership, called ‘managing suicidal contacts’. It aims to give rail employees the confidence and tools to be able to identify vulnerable people on the rail network, to start a conversation and help them to safety and, so far, the charity has trained over 24,000 staff.
Heather said: “Even though not all staff may be passenger facing or based at the stations, I found the training can be adapted to help anyone – family, friends, colleagues – and it also raises your own self-awareness in how to recognise changes in your own mental health, look after yourself and know it’s okay to talk.
"I find it heartbreaking that men feel they can’t speak and lives are being lost so needlessly, so I’m always talking to the guys at work. Even after just 10 minutes, I can see the weight of the world lifting from their shoulders and what a difference it can make.
“It’s about breaking down those barriers and removing some of the uncertainty around mental health. In my experience, the people I work with have had a real boost from having a female colleague around and we should celebrate and make the most of our differences.”
She added: “One of the reasons I’m so passionate about promoting good mental health is that I’ve noticed men at work are opening up to me and really talking about how they’re feeling."
Heather is supporting Samaritans and the charity’s partnership with Network Rail and the wider rail industry, including the Small Talk Saves Lives campaign. For more information visit: www.samaritans.org/smalltalksaveslives
Anyone can contact Samaritans free for confidential emotional support 24/7 on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
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