Waqas Mahmood has been a Customer Welcome Host at Nottingham Station with East Midlands Railway since September 2018. In this role, he is often the first point of contact for passengers, ensuring they feel safe, informed, and supported as they move through the station. From assisting customers with accessibility needs to managing high-footfall periods, Waqas approaches every interaction as an opportunity to improve the passenger experience.
A key part of his role involves acting as a vital link between EMR Control and customers during both planned and unplanned disruptions. In these situations, accurate, calm, and timely communication is critical. Waqas takes pride in providing clear, real-time information that reassures customers and helps them understand what is happening and why.
Before joining EMR, Waqas worked as a Travel Officer with Nottingham Trams, developing strong customer service and operational awareness skills. Earlier in his career, he served as a Constable with the Punjab Highways Patrol in Pakistan, an experience that reinforced his commitment to public service, safety, and community support. Together, these roles have shaped him into a resilient, customer-focused professional with a growing passion for railway operations.
While Waqas had a strong grasp of the customer-facing side of the railway, he became increasingly curious about what happens behind the scenes. Questions around disruption management, operational decision-making, contingency planning, rolling stock utilisation, and authority structures sparked a desire to learn more.
This curiosity became more focused when he completed the POD Self-Assessment on the CIRO website. The results highlighted the depth and complexity of railway operations, making it clear that there was far more to understand beyond frontline delivery. Rather than being discouraging, this insight motivated him to explore the industry at a deeper level.
Waqas had long wanted to build his knowledge of railway operations but was looking for a credible, industry-recognised route to do so. Discovering CIRO provided exactly that. The POD framework showed him not only what he needed to learn but how to structure his development into a clear and achievable pathway.
What stood out most was the accessibility of the platform. Despite covering complex operational concepts, the POD framework is structured in a way that makes learning approachable and engaging for people from a wide range of backgrounds. For Waqas, it provided direction, motivation, and a solid foundation for progressing towards an operational career.
The POD framework helped Waqas reflect on his strengths while identifying areas where further development would add value. His frontline experience was reinforced rather than replaced, but the structured learning highlighted how different railway functions interconnect and depend on each other.
This broader systems perspective helped him recognise the importance of expanding his understanding beyond his immediate role, particularly in areas such as operational planning and strategic decision-making. The POD gave context to his existing knowledge and helped him see where targeted development could make him even more effective.
Several POD sections, such as Emergency and Incident Management, Managing Safety, Customer Service, and People and Change, are closely aligned with Waqas’s day-to-day responsibilities. These sections validated his existing experience and strengthened his confidence in the work he already carried out.
However, the greatest impact came from the sections that introduced unfamiliar concepts and wider operational frameworks. These helped bridge the gap between frontline delivery and system-wide thinking, giving Waqas a more holistic understanding of the railway. Through CIRO, he developed knowledge of key industry frameworks, including the Service Quality Regime (SQR), the Performance Improvement Management System (PIMS), and the Risk Management Maturity Model for Performance (RM3P), areas he had previously limited exposure to.
One of the most significant benefits of the POD learning has been Waqas’s improved understanding of Passenger Information During Disruption (PIDD). With a clearer picture of operational processes and decision-making, he now feels more confident and composed when responding to customer queries during disruption.
This enhanced understanding allows him to communicate more accurately and calmly, improving customer trust and reassurance. Learning around prioritised planning and service recovery has also strengthened his approach to disruption management, helping him organise tasks more effectively, make better decisions under pressure, and support smoother service recovery.
Waqas’s long-term ambition is to move into railway operations and control. CIRO has played a crucial role in helping him understand both his current position and the steps needed to progress towards that goal.
Through structured training programmes, mentorship, CPD opportunities, short courses, and academic pathways up to degree level, CIRO provides a clear and tangible framework for long-term development. For Waqas, this alignment between learning and career ambition has been invaluable.
Waqas strongly encourages other railway colleagues to consider joining CIRO. He believes the biggest barrier is often taking the first step, but once engaged, the growth in knowledge, confidence, and professional capability becomes clear.
He describes CIRO membership as a worthwhile investment, one that offers credibility, structure, and genuine opportunities for progression within the industry.
Outside of work, Waqas enjoys watching documentaries and travel vlogs, which allow him to relax while gaining new perspectives on the world. He has a strong interest in music and enjoys learning new languages; currently, he is studying Arabic and Hebrew, finding both the challenge and the process rewarding.
Accelerate your career journey by upgrading you CIRO membership. Find out how, and take the first step here: https://www.ciro.org/upgrade-your-membership/
