You may think of the rail industry as a bit of a man’s world, but it has not always been that way. As early as the 1850s, women were breaking stereotypes as labourers on the very first train lines. And throughout World War II women kept our railways running, supporting our economy at a time of national need.

So when I see that only 5 per cent of train drivers are women, I know we need to look at it seriously and think about how it can be addressed, to keep women’s strong involvement in rail alive.

We need to be frank with ourselves: the rail industry has to do more to improve diversity in their sector. Concrete action is needed – we are reaching