Student Support at Uni to Senior Timetable Analyst
After Graduating from Uni, I spent 8 months there working in student support as I had built good relationships with lecturers and staff during my Student years in Ambassador work. I applied for a Timetable planning role have no railway background or relevant understanding apart from showing an interest in the role and being a good problem solver. 7 years later I'm still solving problems and the work I do stimulates the mind in finding solutions to railway capacity constraints on the network.
Senior Advanced Timetable Analyst for Southern & Anglia
I evaluate and investigate the potential changes to the railway capacity from a range of reasons from things such as when plans of new railway infrastructure are proposed, a restructure of operator service plans, change of speed restriction due to network capability and many more.
Using a range of Planning Tools we have to our disposal I produce detailed outputs and highlight the impact the change has on railway capacity, the key constraints and considerations to best inform the decision makers to proceed with the potential transition.
Making a difference to the Future of the Railway
The work I do directly impacts and shapes the future of the Railway. Its exciting to see the developments in mind for the future and how much of an improvement it can make to railway users. Offering solutions for better utilization of the network does make me feel good that my contribution will make a difference for generations to come.
Make the best of every opportunity
Don't be afraid to try new things. Be open to new opportunities that stumble across your way and go for it! The least that will happen is you'll gain a greater insight into a whole new area. And you never know when that experience may come to use in the future.
New opportunities can put you out of your comfort zone, but embrace it. It will help you grow personally and professionally. Your future self will thank you for it.
Half mile long freight into the Timetable plan
In December 2022 we successfully included 775m long freight services (Almost half a mile) into the timetable plan over 3 timetable change windows. This was driven by the Docks in Southampton being able to accept longer trains after infrastructure enhancements in the docks. It was our job to plan the services from beginning to end destination in the timetable and I was there from the beginning stages of the concept train plan to the end of the final timetable delivery. Due to this work we were able to make the railway greener as each 775m long freight can take up to 14 additional containers. That's 14 lorries off the road.
