From Keele University to keeping London moving

Hi, I’m Trish Ashton, and I’m the Director of Rail for Transport for London. That means I’m responsible for the Elizabeth line, which is where we are today, London Overground, the Docklands Light Railway, and the trams which operate down in Croydon.

I have teams that run all of those for me, but I’m responsible for the oversight and strategic direction, making sure everything runs perfectly for our customers and moves people around London.

I’ve had lots of proud moments having been here nearly 25 years. I think one of them was when I was working here in July 2005, when we had the 7/7 bombings. Being there the morning after the bombings, we opened the whole transport network to show that London was open for business. Being there and being able to support my team to show the power of people, people coming together, and that kind of will to overcome was really special.

More recently, for the King’s Coronation, I was Gold Control, which means that I was a commander alongside someone from the London Ambulance Service, someone from the Metropolitan Police, and someone from the military. We were making sure that everything went really smoothly while the eyes of the world were on London. Our transport networks ran as planned, and then we got everybody where they needed to be and then home again.

My big bit of advice is that each step is only one step. It’s really easy to look in front of you and think, “Whatever decisions you make now are going to impact the whole of the rest of your career.” That’s just not the case.

So, make the decision for the next step you want to take. Think about what you like doing, who you are, and see if you can combine all of those things together. Because if you do a job that you love, you won’t feel like you’re working.

I think when I was at Keele, I really learned the importance of looking for the value in everybody and making sure you get on with everyone, because you were in that small community and often came back and met the same people again. I think that’s definitely something that’s stayed with me throughout my career.

In the transport industry, you tend to come across the same people a lot of times over the years. So I think having a people-first approach and thinking about what we’re delivering is really important. Transport fundamentally moves people around. That’s why it’s here.

Having that real people focus, I think as a manager and a leader, means focusing on what your team can achieve and helping them surpass their goals.

So, yeah, people have really been at the heart of everything for me. It definitely started with my time at Keele and all the amazing people I met there, and just set me up for a career where I’ve looked for that variety with a people focus.