TRANSPENNINE Express (TPE) is celebrating International Women’s Day by highlighting some of the fantastic women working for the operator and encouraging more to join the rail industry.

In the last year, 27% of TPE’s new hires and 31% of internal promotions are women, as the operator continues to embrace equity and break the perception that the rail industry is male dominated.

To mark International Women’s Day, TPE has released a video highlighting some of the amazing women leading the way and is encouraging more to join the industry.

The video showcases women from across the business including Human Resources Director Nicola Buckley, Head of On-Board Services Alison Murray, Fleet Support Engineer Alice Callaghan as well as frontline colleagues Kate Holmes (conductor) and Joanna Collins (trainee driver).

Nicola Buckley, Human Resources Director at TPE, said:- “We’re extremely proud of the women working throughout our business and we’re encouraging more to join the railway industry by offering a diverse range of opportunities, from apprenticeships, to frontline roles and management positions. We’re delighted that 41 per cent of our directors are women and 37 per cent of our senior management team are women, but there’s still more work to be done. We’re delighted to be celebrating International Women’s Day and proud to be able to shine a light on some of the fantastic women leading the way in the rail industry.”

Georgie Young, Regional Customer Experience Manager at TPE, who joined the operator 22 years ago, said:- “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it, and so it’s important that we show off the incredible talent we have on board. It’s even more important for us to encourage women, especially young women, to join the industry as we could be missing out on a wealth of expertise and skills.”

Joanna Collins, a trainee driver for TPE, is hoping she can be one who breaks the status quo when it comes to train drivers:- “My dad, 2 of my great-grandads and my great-great grandad were all drivers, and I’m the first woman in the family to follow in their footsteps. I broke the mould in my family and I’m hoping we can do the same throughout the industry. In my depot I will be the 2nd woman driver in a group of 25. When it comes to trains, there’s no gender bias and I’m hoping that I, along with my co-workers, can inspire more women to become drivers.”

Alison Murray, Head of On-Board Services, said:- “There is a belief when it comes to the railway that it’s a male-dominated environment, that is changing. I would say to any woman, please have no fear. There are so many options within the industry and so many journeys women can take. We want to educate every woman who may be interested in joining the railway that the opportunities are here for you.”

TPE is showing it is leading the way when it comes to diversity and inclusion after winning the Diversity & Inclusion in Rail award at the prestigious Rail Business Awards ceremony last week. The award recognised some of the incredible schemes and programmes TPE has available, especially to women.

The Step Up and Step Forward programmes are in place specifically to promote professional development of women and the Reach Up and Reach Forward programmes focus on TPE’s continued commitment towards supporting under-represented groups to reach management roles.

The rail operator also has increased development opportunities with two new offerings, the Women in Rail Mentoring Programme and a Senior Women’s Development Programme.

Nicola added:- “It’s simple, the women who work for us are a leading light in the industry and we want more to join the incredible team we have here. The rail industry is changing and we want women to be a part of that change.”

To find out about careers and job vacancies at TPE, visit:- https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/about-us/careers