Destination Review: Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains is the rail operator of Melbourne’s suburban train network.
Culture
Metro supports people’s work-life balance
Metro has a positive and vibrant culture powered by people who care about excellence in performance and customer service. Metro values the work-life balance of its people and supports them in a number of ways from healthy eating cooking classes, to gym memberships to policies to support people with families. Their goals are to be the best rail system operator out there and to play their part shaping Melbourne into a city for the future.
Their values are safety, teamwork, excellence, passion and honesty. Safety includes both physical and mental health, which they see as vital to creating an environment where people can strive to be successful. It is a culture that focuses on performance and customer service, but safety comes first.
When it comes to celebrating success, Metro holds BBQs, has award schemes and incentives for both teams and individuals, as well as encouraging people to do the thanking there and then. Staff often get tickets to events like the Melbourne International Film Festival and the Royal Melbourne Show.
Experience
Metro is a place to develop your career and part of a growing industry
The jobs available at Metro don’t start and end with driving trains. Roles exist across rail operations (timetable planning, signalers), the traditional corporate suite (marketing, HR, legal, finance) to maintenance and infrastructure projects (mechanical, civil, electrical and track engineering) and customer service (people helping support customers at the station).
Metro has structured graduate and apprentice programs which give a full view of Metro as a business; there are a lot of opportunities to move around and learn about the rail industry. Metro is big on learning and mentoring, so grads and apprentices are encouraged to ask questions and challenge themselves. Metro is a registered training organisation, spending around $2.5 million on training each year, and provides over 16,000 hours of training per month through the Metro Academy. Opportunities for growth and improvement are offered throughout your career, and if you express an interest in a particular project or area, they will help you work towards that. Using your initiative is rewarded and Metro support skill and leadership development.
Unlike other industries which are experiencing a downturn at the moment, rail is seeing huge growth. Around $2–3 trillion is expected to be spent in rail globally over the next ten years. Technology is also rapidly changing rail; the digitisation of the industry is leading rail towards driverless trains, virtual reality training and an overhaul of how train systems are designed and how they operate.
Metro’s parent company is Mass Transit Rail (MTR), based in Hong Kong, and is one of the biggest rail operators in the world. MTR and Metro’s connection to the global industry means that a job with them could take you all over the world — the Middle East and Europe is where a lot of innovation is taking place.
“Other employers like to poach them, which is fantastic because we are contributing to the growth of the industry.”
Jacques Liebenberg, Director of People and Performance at Metro, says their development of staff makes them “very marketable”.
“Other employers like to poach them,” he says. “Which is fantastic because we are contributing to the growth of the industry. Both from a technical and a people leadership perspective.”
Atmosphere
Every day is different at Metro
The Metro pace is fast-moving, and there are times where staff are required to be formal. However, the staff we interviewed said they felt they had flexibility in how they did their work as long as you complete your tasks. Metro has won awards for training, innovation and marketing, among many others. All of the staff described “every day [as] different” with new projects and opportunities coming up daily, from working with government to remove level crossings, building the underground Melbourne Metro Tunnel and the Skyrail, to visiting depots and day-to-day operations. Dress is professional corporate attire.
Getting to work isn’t a problem as Metro staff get free public transport across the network. While they have depots around Melbourne, the Metro Trains HQ office is right next to Southern Cross Station on Collins Street.
Getting to work isn’t a problem as Metro staff get free public transport across the network.
Getting to work isn’t a problem as Metro staff get free public transport across the network. While they have depots around Melbourne, the Metro Trains HQ office is right next to Southern Cross Station on Collins Street.
Housed over several levels, the contemporary interior design of the office wouldn’t be out of place in a lifestyle magazine. The office has panoramic views overlooking the city and the Metro train network. The layout is open plan cubicles, with kitchens and spaces to relax out on every level. The ground floor lobby also has a food court and cafe lounge.
Community
Metro is helping shape Melbourne as a city
Metro has become a trusted consultant to local and state governments, playing a large role in developing major infrastructure (as mentioned above). Part of this is helping Melbourne’s network grow as its population grows and to become more like the London Underground — one of the best networks in the world — and to aid Melbourne as it becomes a more sustainable, liveable city.
Six days a week, Metro deploys the Salvos-Metro Transit Teams to help vulnerable people on their rail network. Metro supports not-for-profit organisations through fundraising at their stations, community artworks, corporate sponsorship, community festivals, and station activities and performances in partnership with local councils.
They also help unpaid volunteers rattle the tin for a number of organisations including: the Salvation Army, RSL Victoria, Heartkids Victoria, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, National Stroke Foundation, Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Foundation, Alzheimer’s Australia, Victorian AIDS Council, Legacy, Cancer Council, Lort Smith, Starlight Foundation, Australian Animal Rescue, Very Special Kids and more.
Read more about Metro in our Destination Profile.
Apply for internships and jobs at Metro through the Paddl app.
Find out more about job opportunities at Metro Trains Melbourne.
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