Network Rail celebrates railway mums ahead of Mother’s Day: Railway mums Sarah Fraser and Sam Patterson

Friday 29 Mar 2019

Network Rail celebrates railway mums ahead of Mother’s Day

Region & Route:
Wales & Western: Western
| Wales & Western

Network Rail’s Western route is celebrating the hard work of all the fabulous mothers working on the railway, who balance being a full time mum with careers in an industry which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – including times when most people are enjoying time off with their families, such as Christmas, Easter and bank holidays.

Working on the railway is challenging, interesting and exciting, and managing railway life and family life can be a fine art.

Samantha Patterson, sponsor for electrification based in Swindon explains: “Getting the balance between work and family life is not always easy. However, when you work bank holidays and over Christmas and Easter, knowing that you’re doing a good job and making the railway a better place makes it all worth it in the end.

“My daughters are really proud of me for working on the railway. Being a woman in the industry shows them that equality is out there for everybody. Being able to be part of something which is changing the way that we travel in the UK is something that is really special to me, and it’s also important to my two girls.”

Sarah Fraser is a project manager from Bristol, working on schemes such as the remodelling of the busy Westbury junction in Wiltshire which took place over Christmas 2018.

Sarah says: “Sometimes it is quite challenging; I work evenings and weekends when we’re working when the railway is shut, but whenever I do that, I can have time off in lieu during the week. This allows me to spend even more time with my three-year-old son, as he isn’t in school yet.

“The good thing about working on the railway is that it’s very easy for him to relate to. He knows what diggers and dozers are, and he can play ‘mummy’s job’ because what I do is build railway tracks.”

Network Rail welcomes employees from diverse backgrounds, and the skills and experiences that mums bring to the team are invaluable. With flexible working hours available if required, and an inclusive family-friendly policy, Network Rail looks forward to welcoming mums and dads to the railway family for many years to come.

For more information on working with Network Rail, including current vacancies please visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/careers/

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office -Western route
07730 354394
MediaRelationsWestern@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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