Anna Agkortsa joined Southern as a platform assistant in 2022 before she bagged her dream role as a shunter driver last year. Now the fourth generation of her family to work in rail, Anna, 31, is encouraging more people to join the industry after she made the bold decision to move from Greece to the UK to progress her career.
Originally from Greece, Anna hit the ground running after university and successfully applied for a ticket office role near Athens in 2018. With a few years of experience under her belt, Anna set her sights on moving to the UK.
“The railway is a huge part of my family because three of my relatives worked in the industry, including my dad who was an On-Board Manager for 37 years. My first role in the railway was at a ticket office and, although I enjoyed helping customers with their journeys, my dream was to work in a train depot because I’ve always been fascinated by the technical side of the railway. I’d heard great things about Britain’s railway and the opportunities to progress within the industry, so I took a leap of faith and moved to the UK during the pandemic.
“It was challenging jobhunting because the interviews were remote, but I kept persisting and was thrilled when I was told I’d got the platform assistant role at London Victoria. Being in a frontline role was the best introduction to the UK’s network, since I learnt a lot about passengers’ needs as well as ensuring services were running safely and efficiently at one of the country’s busiest stations.”
After working with Southern for two years, Anna, who lives in Norwood, successfully applied to be a shunter driver at Selhurst depot in 2024. She’s urging more people to consider joining the railway as a new and exciting career could be just around the corner.
“The training for my role was quite demanding because there was a lot of material to learn and English isn’t my first language, so I was doing a lot of translating. However, my manager and colleagues were happy to help when I needed extra support. One of the best bits was learning how to drive a train a short distance, as we must be able move stock in and out of the depot to prepare them for service. It was exciting doing this alongside my driving instructor since I’d never experienced anything like this before!
“Another key component of my training was learning to accurately form train units by coupling and uncoupling them. If a unit is damaged, I need to move it to the repair shed for inspection and repair.
“I’d recommend this role to anyone who is keen to go behind the scenes and experience a more hands on side of the railway. Being a shunter driver has a huge impact in making sure services run smoothly and I’m proud to be part of this team which champions safety and maintenance.”