There is still more work to do regarding diversity in rail. Chelsea Gipson (whom we recently met at the Train Driver Academy Conference in May) tells people she’s a train driver, she gets some surprising reactions.
“A lot of the time, women tend to say, ‘oh that’s brilliant’ and occasionally give me a hug. But sometimes men are a bit like, ‘really? Is that safe?'”
Chelsea works for the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and mainly does the Leeds to London route – but drivers like her aren’t common. Most are male and predominantly over 35. In fact, according to the trade union Aslef, only 6.5% of drivers across England, Scotland and Wales are women.
Find out more about Chelsea’s story by clicking here.