The featured image for this article is a stained glass window in Emneth Parish Church which is a memorial to Revd. Wilbert Vere Awdry who served as the incumbent of the parish from 1953 to 1965. [9]

“It was also spiritual, enabling pilgrims to travel far more easily. But there were natural hesitations before God-fearing folk were prepared to use such an obviously secular phenomenon. The Russian bishops, for instance, were afraid that ‘pilgrims would come to the monastery [Sergiev Posad (now Zagorsk), site of the sacred Troitsk monastery] in railway cars, in which all sorts of tales can be heard, and often dirty stories, whereas now they come on foot and each step is a feat pleasing to God’. Despite this reluctance, the Metropolitan himself opened the line from Moscow to the holy spot, and by the time the Trans-Siberian was opened, the church was happy to commission a splendid ‘church car’ to minister to the congregations en route. [2]

“The pattern was repeated with different religions throughout the world. The first railway in what was then called Persia was a narrow-gauge line which ran six miles from Tehran to a shrine in the village of Shah Abdul Azim. [3] In Japan at least two railways served important shrines, at Ise and a special line from Oji to the temples at Nara. By the 1890s there was a convenient stop for pilgrims to pay their homage to Mount Fuji.

“Some of the promoters of the first railways in India had hoped to spread Christianity, others were afraid that pilgrims would not use them to travel to their sacred shrines. According to Herbert Spencer, Robert Stephenson referred the matter ‘to the Dhurma Subha of Calcutta, the great sanhedrin of orthodox Hindoos, who, after consulting the sacred texts and the learned pundits, delivered it as their opinion that the devotee might ride in a railway carriage to the various shrines without diminishing the merit of the pilgrimage.’ The result was an amazing growth in pilgrimages, to the mutual advantage of the ‘Hindoos’ and the railway companies. (Quarterly Review, 1868).

“Railways could also be used for secular worship. As late as 1968 the pious Chinese built a railway sixty miles from Hangsha, the capital of Hunan province, to Shao-sha, the birthplace of Mao-Tse-Tung. Over the next decade, before the cult of Mao’s personality waned, three million passengers took the leisurely four-hour journey every year.

“Railways were obviously most suitable for mass religious movements and so concentrated attention on a small number of famous shrines, leading to the neglect of older sites. The most obvious beneficiary was Lourdes, which can truthfully be described as ‘The Shrine the Railway Made’. [cf. 19]

“Bernadette Soubirous’ visions had started in the late 1850s, before the route of the line from Bayonne to Toulouse had been decided. So the town council seized with both hands the opportunity to ensure that the line passed by Lourdes.

In October 1862, the council agreed to compensate any land-owners who suffered, even from the railways’ surveys. In May 1863, councillors asked the railway to site its station as close as possible to the centre of town and complied with every one of the company’s requests. They admitted the navvies and railway workers to the local hospital and ignored their riotous behaviour.

“Their reward came in 1866 with the simultaneous opening of the grotto and the railway from Tarbes, which connected with trains to Bordeaux and far-off Paris. Between 1870 and 1878 a total of 958 pilgrimages to Bernadette’s shrine brought 661,000 pilgrims to Lourdes, 100,000 of them on a single day, 3rd July 1876, to rejoice in the newly-proclaimed doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and affirm the idea of la France Catholique.

“At much the same time similar ideas were being spread throughout France by another railway-based religious order, the Assumptionists, who exploited the railways to assemble mass rallies, largely of the most humble of folk. The Assumptionists were a strange, and in their time highly important, sect, founded by the scion of a rich land-owning family, who acquired considerable political influence through their ability to mount mass rallies.

“But the railway’s most dramatic influence was not on Christianity, but on Islam. Throughout the 19th century increasing numbers of pilgrims had made the difficult and dangerous journey to Mecca. In September 1900, Sultan Abdul Hamid proposed to build a railway to Mecca as a pious gesture on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession to the Ottoman throne. The idea was immediately greeted as an important affirmation of Muslim values.

“The Sultan naturally insisted on building a purely Muslim railway. He decreed that, ‘only Muslim workers and Muslim materials ought to be employed; timber from the vast forests of Anatolia and Macedonia; ballast from the country being crossed, rails and wagons from the Imperial workshops; engineering regiments would provide the workforce, the schools of Constantinople the engineers and the foremen.’ [4]

“In the event, much of the material had to be bought in Europe, together with some skilled labour, supervised by the German engineer who had built most of the railways in the Levant. The combination of ferocious piety, the Sultan’s will-power and German organising ability ensured that this railway, nearly a thousand miles in length, was built within eight years.

“Meissner Pasha, the German chief engineer, was simply given the two terminals, Damascus and Mecca, and told to connect them by rail as best he could. He was a genius. He had to handle a huge construction force composed of a dozen nationalities. The line was built across some of the bleakest, hottest, most implacable terrain in the world, without natural resources of any kind. His worst problem was with the Bedouin, furious at being deprived of the pilgrims who had been their prey, ruffians eventually hunted down by an implacably efficient Turkish general, Kaisim Pasha.

“Meissner was not allowed to complete his work. Neither he, nor any other infidel, was allowed to venture beyond Medina Saleh, the 587th mile-post on the line. Fortunately he had trained up a highly-accomplished Turkish engineer, Muktar Bey, who brought the line into Medina in August, 1908. But then the Bedouin took their revenge, wiping out a whole construction camp, and thus scotching any idea of building the railway the final 300 miles to Mecca itself. Unfortunately the line ran for a mere eight years, until T. E. Lawrence blew it up. Since then it has lain abandoned, the break-up of the Ottoman Empire signalling the end of any hope of cooperation between the peoples along the lines.

“In Anglo-Saxon countries deep religious faith produced, not railways, but strong hostility to the very idea of running them on the Sabbath, as a serious challenge to the fundamental Sabbatarianism which was as much a feature of the age as the railways themselves.

“The famous Versailles accident of 1842 was naturally exploited by the Sabbatarians as an awful lesson meted out to the Godless foreign travellers who had dared desecrate the day. After an equally appalling accident in Clayton tunnel just outside Brighton twenty years later ‘plenty of people rushed about proclaiming the accidents as a judgment of God.’ In between times the railways’ Sunday excursions were denounced as ‘trips to Hell at 7s 6d.’ [5]

“But it was not the excursionists (who included such devout souls as Thomas Cook) who forced the railway companies to break the Sabbath. According to Michael Robbins in The Railway Age, it was the absolute need for mail trains to run on a Sunday which broke the resistance of the Sabbatarians in both Scotland and Wales. They were never as powerful as was made out, and most clerics probably reacted like Dr Grantley in Trollope’s Barchester Towers: ‘If you can withdraw all the passengers the company I dare say will withdraw the trains. It is merely a question of dividends’.

“Nevertheless the argument rumbled on. In 1883 the inhabitants of a small Highland village managed to prevent a load of fish from leaving on the Sabbath and were greeted as heroes when they returned from serving the jail sentence to which they were sent-enced. Six years later ‘the anti-Sunday Travel Union’ had 58 branches with some 8,000 adherents. Partly owing to its activities, trains on suburban lines normally ceased running on Sundays during the hours of Divine service.

“Similar battles were fought in the United States. In Galesburg, the railroad was the blunt instrument which broke the power of the Sabbatarians. The first Sunday train was boarded by the impressive figure of President Blanchard of Knox College, who was told to go to Hell when he ordered the engineer to take the engine back to the roundhouse. And that, wrote Ernest Elmo Calkins, was the end of the powerof ‘the little group of pious men who had founded Galesburg to be a Christian town after their own ideal’. [6]

In South Africa, the Reverend Van Lingen managed to prevent any Sunday trains from desecrating the Sabbath at the settlement of Paarl. After denouncing the railway from the pulpit, he founded a Sunday stage coach service for passengers from Cape Town which successfully kept the railway at bay for half a century.

“There was, and remains, a strong counter-current, a positive railway-worship among clergymen of the Church of England. Bishop Eric Treacy and Canon Roger Lloyd were famous railway writers; Canon Reginald Fellows wrote a history of Bradshaw, founding father of railway timetables (which Archbishop William Temple was reputed to know by heart); and more recently the Reverend Wilbert Awdry made a fortune by recounting the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends.” [1: p266-270]

In the 19th century, the rapid expansion of railways in the UK was met with both profound spiritual revival and fierce religious resistance. While some religious leaders initially condemned trains as ‘rank infidelity’ and decried Sunday travel, railways ultimately revolutionized religious life, opening up previously remote pilgrimage sites like Glastonbury to the masses.

The massive influx of migrant workers, known as ‘navvies’, who built the complex rail lines had squalid living conditions. In response, religious groups established dedicated missions. In the Western Dales, the construction of the Settle-Carlisle line and West Coast Mainline left behind a trail of small chapels, churches, and meeting houses dedicated to these workers. [11][12]

The Railway Mission was founded in 1881. It was a Christian philanthropic organization designed to combat the ‘sinful behaviour’ of railway workers. It provided spiritual guidance, reading rooms, and temperance advocacy to railway employees. [13][14]

Spiritual Metaphors: The advent of steam engines gave birth to rich new religious vocabulary. Preachers and poets of the era often invoked railways as metaphors for salvation. In popular broadsides like ‘The Spiritual Railway’, repentance was the ‘station’, the Word of God was the ‘first engineer’, and Faith was the passenger train! [15]

Nikolaus Pevsner transcribed the following lines from a memorial in the cloister of Ely Cathedral to two victims of an accident on the Norwich to Ely railway line in 1845. Pevsner finds it “eminently characteristic of the earnestness with which this new triumph of human ingenuity was still regarded.” [9]

“The line to Heaven by Christ was made,
With heavenly truth the Rails are laid,
From Earth to Heaven the Line extends,
To Life Eternal where it ends.
Repentance is the Station then,
Where Passengers are taken in ;
No Fee for them is there to pay,
For Jesus is himself the way.
God’s Word is the first Engineer,
It points the way to Heaven so clear,
Through tunnels dark and dreary here.
It does the way to Glory steer.
God’s Love the fire, his Truth the Steam,
Which drives the Engine and the Train;
All you who would to Glory ride,
Must come to Christ, in him abide.
In First, and Second, and Third Class,
Repentance, Faith, and Holiness,
You must the way to Glory gain,
Or you with Christ will not remain.
Come then poor Sinners, now’s the time,
At any Station on the Line,
If you’ll repent, and turn from sin,
The Train will stop and take you in.” [10]

Dedicated Chapels in entirely new settlements, such as Tebay in Cumbria, sprang up around major railway junctions. The influx of workers forced the Church of England and Nonconformists to erect new places of worship (like the 1885 Methodist chapel in Tebay) specifically to serve the growing railway community. [16]

Michael Ainsworth wrote an article in 2015 which reflected on Railways, Clergy, Religion and the Law. [17] In it he said:

“The coming of the railways in the 19th century excited deep passions among churchmen, as many novels of the time illustrate. The manner in which building was legally driven through, line-by-line, has been exhaustively documented. For some the speed, the smoke, the ‘blot on the landscape’, were unnatural and diabolical – particularly when Sunday trains broke the sabbath commandment. The vast church of St Bartholomew Brighton was built on a commanding site, and allegedly on the dimensions of Noah’s Ark, as a witness to those travelling down for ‘dirty weekends’. However, one of the most ‘proper’ films ever, Brief Encounter, takes place in a railway station … at Carnforth,” [17]

“Clergy joined with landowners in resisting encroachment. (They had limited success – note, for example, how the line curves round Sacred Trinity Church in Salford.) The perils of rail travel were brought home early by the first railway fatality, in 1830, of William Huskisson MP at the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester line: a memorial at the site, still clearly visible on the line over Chat Moss, was erected in 1913. The dangers were confirmed by the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 which evoked what has been widely hailed as the worst poem in the English language (but curiously enjoyable) by William McGonagall.” [17]

“But others hailed railways as a godsend and a sign of divinely-blessed progress (despite blighting the urban landscape) … By the latter part of the century, they had certainly revolutionised episcopal ministry. The late 19th-century renewal of enthusiasm for confirmation would not have been possible without the railways. For example, of James Fraser, Bishop of Manchester 1870-85, it was written he spent the week travelling through his diocese, so that there were few days in which he was not somewhere on the railways.” [17]

Michael Ainsworth moved on to reflect on clergy interest in railways (model, real or fictional). He said:

“Among clergy who have been ‘keen on railways’, perhaps Eric Treacy, Bishop of Wakefield from 1968-76, significantly described in his Google entry as railway photographer and Anglican bishop, in that order, was pre-eminent. He died in 1978 on Appleby station awaiting a rail-tour arrival. One of the few lapses in Alan Bennett’s chronicling of northern life is in his … Bed Among the Lentils where ‘Mrs Vicar’, the alcoholic wife of a Leeds incumbent (in the diocese of Ripon, as it then was) entertains the bishop who leaves on the pretext of having to bless a steam engine in Keighley (then in another diocese: Bradford, as it then was). However both – plus Treacy’s diocese of Wakefield – are now within the diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, aka Leeds (whichever it has decided to call itself), so no harm is done. Appleby remains in Carlisle diocese.

“It has often been said that the reason why some clergy – probably male rather than female – and others, including church musicians, are keen on railways is because they are reassuringly ‘closed systems’, and Awdry’s setting of his railways on the Isle of Sodor confirms this. Lines and boundaries are set, detailed timetables can be pored over, structures are clear: a joy for those who run model railways in their attics for their own pleasure, or larger versions in their gardens to raise funds – both, according to various reports, threatened from time to time by health and safety regulations.

“This joy is less pronounced now that the real railways have been franchised and fragmented. Responsibility for trains, track, signalling, stations and all else is dispersed among many bodies – providing more benefit to lawyers than to passengers, or ‘customers’. Connections, where they exist at all, cannot be held because they will incur a fine for stopping too long in the station. Problems are always someone else’s fault.” [17]

In their book, ‘The Railway Station: A Social History‘, Jeffrey Richards & John M. McKenzie also make connections between Religion, the Clergy and the Railway (particularly the Railway Station):

“Many … have come to the conclusion that the role and atmosphere of the station large and small is essentially ecclesiastical. G. K. Chesterton, a self-confessed station saunterer, celebrated the station as a temple of tradition, a comforting source of continuity in a world increasingly dedicated to change:

“The only way of catching a train I have ever discovered is to miss the train before. Do this, and you will find in a railway station much of the quietude and consolation of a cathedral. It has many of the characteristics of a great ecclesiastical building; it has vast arches, void spaces, coloured lights, and above all, it has recurrence of ritual. It is dedicated to the celebration of water and fire, the two prime elements of all human ceremonial. Lastly, a station resembles the old religions rather than the new religions in this point, that people go to it. In connection with this it should also be remembered that all popular places, all sites actually used by the people, tend to retain the best routine of antiquity very much more than any localities or machines used by any privileged class. Things are not altered so quickly or coarsely by common people as they are by fashionable people. … If you wish to find the past preserved, follow the million feet of the crowd. At the worst the uneducated only wear down old things by sheer walking. But the educated kick them down out of sheer culture. I feel this profoundly as I wander about the empty railway station, where I have no business of any kind. I have extracted a vast number of chocolates from automatic machines; I have obtained cigarettes, toffee, scent, and other things that I dislike by the same machinery; I have weighed myself with sublime results; and this sense not only of the healthiness of popular things, but of their essential antiquity and permanence is still in possession of my mind.” [26: p11-12][27: p219-224]

Richards & Mackenzie note that a similar sense of ecclesiastical peace was detected by Karel Čapek in Czech country stations:

“There are little stations threaded on the lines like beads on a rosary; they stand in the solitude like places of pilgrimage, far from the profane noises of the world; they are the real chapels dedicated to the silent ceremony of Waiting. They are led to as a rule by a country lane with a straggling row of trees; the longer it is the more profound and lasting is the silence which embraces the pilgrim who comes to the station to wait. … We who are waiting, shuffle from one foot to the other and cough under our breath like worshippers in a chapel; we are dressed in clean clothes and depressed in a Sunday sort of way. … ‘Mummy!’ says the piping voice of a little girl. ‘Be quiet’, her mother reproves her in a whisper. ‘Mummy, when will the train come?’ Be quiet, little girl, we have to wait for the train to come. If you aren’t as good as if you were in church, the train won’t come, and we shan’t go away in it to the ends of the earth.” [28: p99-101]

Ricahrds & Mackenzie comment that it is appropriate that Canon Roger Lloyd spoke of the quietude of Marylebone Station:

“It is essentially peaceful and when some rather fussy penitent told his father confessor that he could find nowhere in London where he could meditate in quiet and peace, he was astonished to hear the caustic answer: ‘Have you tried Marylebone, my son?'” [29: p99]

Richards & Mackenzie argue that it is possible to extend the metaphor ad infinitum:

“For if the station is seen as cathedral or chapel, it can also be seen to possess in its heyday a Bible every bit as imposing and sometimes even as impenetrable as the Authorized Version (Bradshaw), incense (steam), and liturgical chanting (‘The train now standing at platform 3 is …’, ‘Close the doors and stand clear’, ‘All change’). In some countries nature imitates art and makes this fancy reality. In Tsarist Russia, icons were often placed in railway-station waiting-rooms and in Greece there were shrines at stations where the traveller could light candles to protect him on his journey. The ceiling of the Great Hall at the old Euston Station was deliberately modelled on that of the church of St. Peter extra muros in Rome.” [26: p12-13]

So, they go on to note that:

“Somehow sensing this connection, clerics have been drawn as if by a magnet to the rails. Bishop Eric Treacy of Wakefield, who had an engine named after him, was a tireless photographer of and writer about railways. Similarly prolific and passionate in their dedication were Canon Roger Lloyd, author of, among other works, The Fascination of Railways, Canon Reginald Fellows, researcher into the history of Bradshaw, Canon Victor Whitechurch, creator of the fictional railway detective Thorpe Hazell, and Revd Wilbert Awdrey, author of the much-loved children’s books about Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends. Archbishop William Temple when headmaster of Repton had a complete mental recall of Bradshaw and would set as an imposition for an errant boy the best way of travelling from Great Yarmouth to Exeter or Penrith to Ipswich without touching London, complete with changes and times. He would then correct it from memory. It was therefore entirely fitting that, in the celebrated Ealing comedy about the last age of steam, The Titfield Thunderbolt should be driven by the local vicar and fired by a visiting bishop.” [26: p13]

Richards & Mackenzie also talk of trainspotters taking up their hallowed places at the end of station platforms and holding well-thumbed copies of the Ian Allan Guide: “the Bible of their cult.” [26: p13]

‘The Railway Age’, according to Richards & Mackenzie had many faults. But:

“But it was an age which saw the slow, sure, and steady progress of social improvement and it was an age of hope, of optimistic belief in the future, unashamed aspiration for better days and better conditions in the world. The great stations stand, if they do still stand, as towering monuments to that belief, public meeting-places where faith in the perfectibility of man by his own ingenuity and the blessing of a divine providence was daily affirmed. In this respect, the oft-quoted cathedral metaphor is not inapt. Stations were cathedrals of the new technology. They were also places of hope, faith, and inextinguishable humanity, embodiments of that spirit that Charles MacKay captured so well in his poem ‘Railways 1846’. [26: p17]

John MacKay’s poem reads:

For a more about Clergy and Railways, please click here. [7]

It is also worth listening to Railway Mania Podcast Episode 19 to gain an understanding of the way in which Christian non-conformists in the UK were so instrumental in the development of the railways in the UK. [8]

Railway Chaplains

As we have already noted, The Railway Mission is a British mission devoted to the rail industry. It was founded in 1881 based in mission halls, and now operates a chaplaincy service across the rail network in the UK.

In the early days of the Railway Mission there were a number of mission halls at railway stations throughout the country. These days Railway Chaplains cover hundreds of miles by train. Lorraine Worsley-Carter points to one of these chaplains – Revd. Mike Roberts: “Mike works under the auspices of the Railway Mission. He covers a vast area in the North West from Stafford to Carlisle, Blackpool to the Pennines. This includes 11 Passenger and Freight Operators; Network Rail; 11 depots; over a hundred stations and 50 signal boxes. He is also a chaplain to the British Transport Police.” [20]

The Railway Mission is committed to making a real difference to the lives of people in the “railway family.” [21] The Railway Mission says this about its work on the railways:

“Every day, rail colleagues keep passengers and freight moving safely. When something difficult happens a fatality, a serious incident, an assault, a sudden death in the team – it is people who carry it home. … Railway Mission chaplains are present across the network. We offer calm, confidential pastoral support in the moment, and we stay alongside staff and managers as they take the next steps. Sometimes that is a quiet conversation at a depot or station. Sometimes it helps a manager hold a team together after devastating news. … In 2025, our chaplains recorded 9,157 support interactions across the industry. 23.5% were requested by a manager or director, a sign that chaplaincy is valued not only for individual care, but also for coordinated, time-critical support after incidents. …

“Independent social value work using RSSB’s Rail Social Value Tool has estimated that for every £1 invested in Railway Mission chaplaincy, around £3.13 of social value is generated. That is why partner support matters. It keeps chaplains present where and when staff need them most.” [22]

Lorraine Worsley-Carter says: “The introduction of railway chaplains in the United Kingdom has been a significant development in the provision of spiritual and emotional support to both railway employees and passengers. These dedicated individuals serve a crucial role in an industry that operates around the clock, often under stressful and challenging conditions. … One of the primary attributes of railway chaplains is their ability to provide emotional support to railway employees. Working in the railway industry can be physically and mentally demanding, with long hours and often unpredictable schedules. Railway chaplains offer a listening ear and a supportive presence, helping employees cope with the stresses and challenges of their jobs. They provide a safe space for employees to discuss their concerns, anxieties, and personal issues, which can have a positive impact on mental health and job satisfaction.” [20]

What About Patron Saints?

Some are highlighted by John Bull (inspired by writer Anne Thériault). [18] Here they are!

1. Saint Christopher – Patron Saint of Travellers – St Christopher’s sainthood is based on his, allegedly, having carried the baby Jesus across a river. As such he is the generic Patron Saint for travellers. He is also Saint Patron of Truck Drivers!
2. Saint Montague – Patron Saint of Railways – Montague was the abbot of a monastery, but died when he was hit by a locomotive. This is likely another of the Catholic Church’s canonisations to keep up with new transport technologies.
3. Saint Galthus – Patron Saint of Steam Engines – Saint Galthus is the patron of steam engines. Having run the Pope’s private rail line, he was martyred by a faulty boiler. His body was found to be incorruptible after death and he was duly canonized. Although, it is said his Pope just really loved trains.

According to John Bull there are other patron saints who can be considered as being closely allied to railways. [18] Here are a few:

• St Dominic de la Calzada – Patron Saint of Civil Engineers – worked on building bridges and paved causeways to help pilgrims in Spain – calzada means causeway in Spanish. [18]
• St Bénézet – Patron Saint of Bridge Builders – Bénézet saw a vision during the eclipse of 1177 that propelled him to build a bridge over the River Rhône at Avignon. He built the bridge single-handedly, as church and civil authorities refused to help him, thus becoming an early advocate for community based transport planning. [18]
• Saint Barbara – Patron Saint of Tunnellers (and Mining Engineers) – Saint Barbara, has often been invoked to protect diggers and mine engineers in such dangerous work, and so is also the patron saint of miners. And by extension the patron saint of railway tunnels and tunnellers. To this day, tunnels under construction often have a small alcove in which a small statue of her is placed, for her divine protection. The medieval miners also named digging equipment after women in her honour, and this tradition is still followed to the present – tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are still given female names! [18]

In addition to religious saints, John Bull also provides some suggestions for ‘Secular Saints’, including these. [18]

• Thomas Rammell – Patron Saint of Pneumatic Railways – Engineer Thomas Rammell had a single-minded obsession with pneumatic railways, beginning with his London Pneumatic Despatch Railway … Although this seems more like a case for Saint Jude, the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes.
• Antonio Gaudí – Patron Saint of Trams – Architect Antonio Gaudí was struck & killed by a tram right next to his under-construction La Sagrada Familia Basílica. Unfortunately he looked quite dishevelled, so passersby thought he was a vaigrant and he didn’t get the medical help that could have saved his life.
• Saint Harriet – Patron Saint of the Underground Railroad – some Anglicans consider Harriet Tubman a saint, as she was the conductor of the Underground Railroad in the US. Whilst not a physical railroad, but more a concept, Harriet deserves inclusion.

And finally … Having Faith in the Rail Industry (A Muslim Perspective)

This is an article from RailDirector magazine: [23: p46-47]

“Landing a job in a railway-focused company was very exciting, yet overwhelming, as I came from a country that did not have a railway,” said Farah. “I was a little apprehensive at first as I was concerned about being credible and having a successful career there, not knowing much about rail, but everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and I’m really enjoying it. Another pleasant surprise was getting a graduate placement in a company that is understanding and inclusive of other cultures and religions. I’d often heard friends saying that the working environment can be tough and that people from a different ethnicity, religion, education and national origin can sometimes feel left out in the workplace, but I have been fortunate at CPMS-Egis. I have felt included from the outset of my placement and am now Scheme Project Manager. I am also actively involved in the company’s EDI and Community Kindness Groups.”

In February [2021], Farah was invited by Women in Rail (WR) to join the Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter Working Group created by Women in Rail (WR) and the Railway Industry Association (RIA) following its launch last November. “I’ve joined the Charter Working Group because I want to make a difference and help organisations understand better how to attract a more diverse workforce and be more inclusive,” she said. “I think every person, regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs and background should be able to contribute equally to the growth and wellbeing of the organisation they work for, thrive in their job and realise their full potential.”

The EDI Charter has already been signed by more than 160 organisations which demonstrate the industry’s commitment to the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda. The EDI Charter Working Group comprises young professionals in rail chosen by WR and RIA on the basis of their personal commitment and qualities and the fact that they represent a spectrum of the backgrounds, ages, genders and identities and various grades, roles and companies within the UK rail industry at this particular point in time.

“Being part of the working group is the opportunity to share my experiences and to help organisations understand better what may be holding them back from attracting a diverse workforce and being more inclusive,” she said. “It is also a way for me to be the voice of the people who share my background who may be facing challenges in the workplace but are not able or prepared to speak out. Each member of the group brings a different perspective on EDI and the challenges to inclusion so the group is not only about sharing my experiences, explaining how companies can be more inclusive of Muslim women, but also about learning about others, listening to their experiences, their challenges, and understanding how I can myself help foster better inclusion in the workplace and the railway.”

Farah is using her voice to inform the industry about what can be done to encourage more Muslims into the rail sector. Like nearly all industries in the UK, Muslims face universal barriers to employment, with prejudice believed to be a contributor as to why unemployment rates are more than double that of any other community. … “I am keen to use my voice to raise awareness to the need to create more flexibility around the working environment in the railways for people like me,” she said. “For instance, as a Muslim, I don’t celebrate Christmas and I don’t do anything special on Boxing Day, yet as an employee, it is automatically assumed that I will take those days off because it is a bank holiday. It would be good to be able to work those days and use that credit to take time off on the days I celebrate my religion such as Eid-al Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast) which follows Ramadan (a month of fasting).”

“Again, with Ramadan it would be good if organisations could make people more aware that they have colleagues fasting and ask them to be a little bit more understanding. I have found my colleagues at CPMS-Egis to be really supportive, but I am aware that it is not always the case for other Muslim people. … In the long term, it would be good to see employers make prayer space available for everyone. I pray five times a day so it would be nice to have a personal space to do this, but this space could also be used as a meditation room for individuals or just somewhere where anyone who needs to take a moment can decompress, … I am pregnant at the moment and flexibility is important to me, to go to hospital appointments for instance. As long as I am doing my job right and making up the working hours, that should be the main focus.”

It is these sorts of ideas that Farah hopes to promote and move forward as part of her role in the working group of the EDI Charter. “When I first joined the rail industry, I did feel a little awkward when I was taking time off to celebrate my faith and during Ramadan when I was fasting,” she said. “Organisations could look at offering more flexible hours for employees during these times, because for example I don’t take a lunch break when fasting. … A lot of it comes down to raising awareness, which is a priority for me with the EDI Charter Working Group. Inclusion is not a case of one size fits all and what works for one organisation. might not work for another. Employers need to connect with their employees, open the discussion and both need to work together to make it work for them.”

“Our role as the EDI Charter Working Group is about understanding our respective challenges and come up with ideas and suggestions as to how employers can address them so they can attract a more diverse workforce and create better inclusion. … I have really enjoyed my time in the rail industry so far and I really want to play my part in making sure I help everyone feel included, whilst at the same time encouraging others to join the industry. … Based on my overall experiences so far, I would recommend the rail industry to everyone and I would encourage everyone to speak up if they face challenges. … There are lots of opportunities to work in the railways. You just need to understand the industry and make sure the industry understands you.” [23: p46-47]

References

1. Nicholas Faith; The World the Railways Made; Pimlico, London, 1990, 1994, p259-270.
2. J. N. Westwood; A History of Russian Railways, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1964.
3. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/23/railways-in-iran-part-1-tehran-to-rey-1888.
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