When Gerald Riley first joined British Rail in 1965, he wasn’t entirely sure what awaited him. Fresh-faced and eager, he approached BR hoping for a clerical role on the operating side, the beating heart of railway activity.
“I was perhaps initially a little disappointed,” Gerald recalls, “because what I got was what would now be regarded as a retail job.” At the time, the lines between operating and commercial departments were blurred. Yet, what began as a modest placement soon turned into the first chapter of a lifelong journey in rail.
What struck him most in those early days wasn’t the paperwork or the rigid hierarchy, but the people. “There was a wide variety of characters, all friendly, all passionate about what they did,” he says. “It was an opportunity to be involved in railway activity at a local level, and that gave me a real sense of belonging.”
His fascination with trains, it turns out, started much earlier, perhaps even before he could walk. “My mother said that when she pushed me down the road in my pram, I’d always look up at the passing train with fascination,” he laughs. “It rapidly became an absorbing interest.”
Throughout six decades, Gerald has witnessed the railway transform in almost every conceivable way. “The industry now has far greater access to data, real-time information, and detailed analysis that would have been unthinkable in the 1960s,” he explains.
Revolutions in telecommunications, advances in train protection systems, and a dramatic improvement in safety have reshaped how the network operates. “When I started, we’d wander about the running lines without high-visibility clothing,” Gerald admits. “It’s hard to believe now, but safety standards were very different then.”
He’s also witnessed a profound cultural shift. “The diversity in the workforce today is remarkable. In 1965, you wouldn’t have dreamed of women being in many of the roles they now hold.”
Yet, amid all the change, one thing has remained constant: people. “The railway is, at its heart, an assembly of people,” he says firmly. “Right people, right place, right time, doing the right things, that’s what makes the service run, and that hasn’t changed.”
Two achievements stand out as career highlights. The first was being part of the team that implemented TOPS (Total Operations Processing System) in the 1970s, a revolutionary computer system that gave British Rail a new level of operational visibility.
“It was a transformation,” Gerald says. “We could finally understand what was happening across the network, especially in freight operations. The fact that TOPS has served the industry for 50 years speaks to its significance.”
The second was leading work on the modernisation of the railway rule book around the turn of the millennium. “We set out to create a consistent set of rules written in plain English,” he explains. “While the content has evolved, the structure and layout we introduced have stood the test of time for over 20 years.”
When reflecting on his involvement with the Chartered Institute of Railway Operators (CIRO), Gerald is modest about his participation but acknowledges its value. “If CIRO had existed when I started, it would have been an obvious choice,” he says. “Back then, the only option was the Institute of Transport, which covered a much broader scope.”
He credits CIRO for offering today’s railway professionals structured pathways for development that simply didn’t exist in his early years. “It opens up opportunities and helps people demonstrate their achievements in ways that might not otherwise be recognised.”
For those entering the railway today, Gerald offers timeless advice: learn from others.
“You can never underestimate the value of understanding why things are done the way they are,” he says. “When I started, roles like drivers and signallers came only after years of apprenticeship. You picked up knowledge by osmosis, by working alongside experienced people.
With the modern railway now split between train operators and infrastructure managers, he believes future professionals will need to understand both sides of the industry. “As Great British Railways takes shape, there’ll be a real need for people who can see the full picture, the 360-degree view of how it all fits together.”
Looking back, he admits he could never have predicted where his career would take him. “On my first day, I remember wondering who wrote the rule book,” he laughs. “I thought they must be some sort of gods among men. I never dreamed that one day I’d help write it myself.”
It’s a fitting reflection for a man whose quiet dedication helped shape the rules, systems, and standards that keep Britain’s railways running safely and efficiently, and who still starts each day eager to learn something new.
