Best mates with 63 years’ combined service on the railway across the North East all set to hang up their hats

Martin Rodger and Wayne Seddon work for the train operator Northern at Newcastle station in Tyne and Wear.

Martin, from Cramlington in Northumberland, is the lead driver team manager at the station and along with other driver team managers, including Wayne, is responsible for line managing over 100 train drivers based in the region. 

Martin joined what was then British Rail as a trainee in 1985 before going on to become a driver’s assistant. Between 1986 and 1987 he spent time at depots in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as a short period at Buxton in Derbyshire.

His first train driver job in 1988 took him back up to the North East at Blyth Cambois depot and by 1992 he was working out of Newcastle station. He became a driver instructor in 1998 and a driver team manager in 2000 before finally being made lead driver team manager in 2016.

On his retirement, he will have 39 years’ service on the railway – just three years short of the 42 years’ service his dad gave to the job – who he says encouraged him to join the industry.

Wayne, who lives in Hartlepool in County Durham, joined the industry in 2001, working in the booking office at Middlesbrough station. Within the year, he progressed on to become a driver at the depot in Darlington before becoming a driver instructor at Darlington in 2006. 

He was promoted to driver team manager in 2013 and held that role for the next 13 years. In 2021, he moved to join the driver team managers at Newcastle station after managing depot drivers at Heaton for eight years.

Both have described their driver team manager roles as very rewarding – saying the railway really is a job for life if you want it. Martin said: “It’s a fantastic job – if you don’t mind setting your alarm clock for 3am.”

Since arranging their joint retirement party, Wayne has agreed to stay on for a further three months, to see the team through the upcoming December 2024 timetable change, which is always a busy period for drivers.

Wayne added: “This job has given me so much – when we started planning for the upcoming timetable change, I decided it was the least I could do to help the team. I’ll be joining Martin in the retirement lounge very soon!”

Jason Wade, regional director for Northern in the North East, said: “Martin and Wayne have put in one hell of a shift for the industry – helping hundreds of drivers over the years as they joined the industry, learned the ropes and got customers from A to B.

“The fact that, despite already planning their joint retirement party, Wayne has agreed to stay on for an extra few months to help the team during what is always a busy period – goes to show what sort of guys they are.

“Everyone at Northern in the North East will really miss these guys. We wish them all the best for their retirement.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.