Press release -
Preston Driver overcomes trials to triumph
Preston Driver, Tony Barrett, has won the ASLEF Learner of the Year Award 2014. The presentation took place at the annual ASLEF Union Learner Representative (ULR) Development Seminar which, this year, was held in Bristol. Tony was nominated for the award by his ULR, Preston Driver Paul Harnett, who put his name forward because of the learning journey he had been through.
Tony joined the railway as a train driver in March 2003, from the Prison Service, and felt exceptionally lucky to have been entrusted with the job. However, after five years as a Virgin Trains Driver, Tony’s journey almost came to an end following a freak accident at home which resulted in serious damage to his left arm. A previously diligent Virgin Trains employee, Tony ended up spending four days in hospital and another four months away from the railway while he recovered. The extent of his injuries meant he could no longer drive trains and instead assumed a new role as Booking Office Clerk.
Refusing to accept his fate, Tony continued with physiotherapy privately and, having passed a series of stringent medicals, returned to his previous post as driver in May 2013. He didn’t stop there! Tony enrolled in an IT course (the result of a partnership between the Trade Unions and Virgin Trains), aimed at lifelong learning in the workplace. His successful completion of the Level 1 IT course with Wigan and Leigh College tutor Andrew Leyland earned him the ASLEF Learner of the Year Award 2014, which was presented at the annual ASLEF Union Learner Representative (ULR) Development Seminar. His quest for knowledge and personal development is ongoing and Tony has since progressed to the Level 2 course.
Tony credits his wife and Virgin Trains for their support during his hiatus from the driving seat which, by Tony’s calculations, lasted “six years, one month and eleven days. But who’s counting?”
The resilient Virgin Trains employee asserts that while his injuries weren’t work-related, he was accommodated throughout the transition, with various colleagues keeping track of his progress while based at Preston Station’s Booking Office. “Virgin was absolutely phenomenal. I consider myself fortunate to work for a company like that,” Tony enthuses.
Tony has defied the odds and triumphed over adversity but he cautions, “Don’t take things for granted. You never know what’s around the corner.”
Topics
- Travels
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Virgin Trains has
revolutionised rail travel by creating a high speed, high frequency service
that has cut journey times and made rail journeys more comfortable. It has
operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997, serving key UK
cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and
Glasgow.
Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach. The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded VRG a franchise contract, which started on 9 December 2012 and was initially due to run for up to 23 months. The Transport Secretary announced on 26 March 2013 that it will be extended until April 2017, when a new long-term West Coast franchise is expected to start.
Virgin Trains has been recognised in numerous awards. In October 2013 Business Traveller magazine readers voted the company the Best UK Domestic Rail Operator for the seventh year running. In 2011 the company was named Best Rail Operator in the Group Leisure Awards (which it also won in 2009 and 2010). In 2011 Virgin Trains won the British Quality Foundation's Achievement Award for Customer Satisfaction.
Customers consistently rate the company the top long-distance rail franchise operator, as measured by the National Passenger Survey (NPS) run by industry watchdog Passenger Focus. In the most recent NPS (Autumn 2013) overall satisfaction was 91%, meaning the company has remained unbeaten over nine successive surveys in the long-distance franchise category.
Virgin Trains was awarded certification to the internationally recognised ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard in January 2014.
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