Destination Profile: Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains Melbourne is the suburban operator of the Melbourne rail network; it’s used by 400,000 people daily. Metro is a joint venture by MTR Corporation, John Holland Group and UGL Rail. It was contracted by Public Transport Victoria to run the network in 2009. Metro employs thousands of people in customer service, train operations, engineering and maintenance, projects and at Metro HQ. They operate over 400 trains across more than 800km of railway track. Metro is an award-winning organisation, consistently recognised for excellence in training, innovation and marketing. For example, their Dumb Ways to Die campaign has won scores of awards worldwide including several Cannes Lions.
Read our Destination Review of Metro as a workplace.
Metro as a business
Metro’s job is more than making sure the trains run on time — though they do that too. There is a lot more happening behind the scenes than the casual observer would realise. From people on the ground — doing maintenance, creating infrastructure and interacting with customers — to Metro HQ where running the company, in general, happens, as well as marketing and communications. Metro is also a key consultant to the government, working with them on infrastructure projects like the level crossings removal, the underground Melbourne Metro Tunnel and the Skyrail, as well as working with MTR Sydney to introduce driverless trains. These projects are all part of Metro’s desire to help Melbourne transform into a more sustainable, liveable city as it grows.
The Metro team
The Metro structure is made up of different operations and divisions. There are around 250 types of jobs across four areas.
- Rail operations — the train drivers, timetable planners, signallers, performance improvement teams —these are the guys who manage the day to day service you see as a customer
- Customer service — helping people with the Myki system, interacting with customers
- Corporate suite — this is the the traditional corporate environment, including procurement, finance, HR, legal and compliance
- Maintenance and projects— mechanical and electrical engineers, design work on civil projects , infrastructure design . This is the engineering area and where they take care of rolling stock (aka the trains). There’s also track engineering which is a specialist field in the industry, beyond civil engineering.
What don’t people know about Metro
Jacques Liebenberg, Director of People and Performance at Metro, believes many people have a “limited view of what the rail industry is — that it’s just trains”. Rail is experiencing a huge growth spurt as an industry with around $1–2 trillion being spent in rail infrastructure and digital innovation globally over the next ten years.
“It is actually a very dynamic, interesting and exciting workplace,” Jacques says. “Some of the smartest people I know work in the rail industry. Engineering is a very complex environment — the program management, the big projects — we’re now supporting the government with programs and projects like the Level Crossings Removal Program. Lots of money is being spent on infrastructure which is the right thing to do, and that creates great opportunities for young people to join a fantastic rail organisation that can give you a career for many many years.”
For Kristen Fernandez, a Business Graduate who started with the company in early 2016, Metro wasn’t what she expected. “Before starting Metro, the only encounter I would have with trains is getting on the train, reaching my destination and then getting off the train,” she says.
“It’s so much more complex than that. I’ve come to appreciate every single role that I’ve seen. For train drivers — it’s not as simple as pressing a button and the train moves. There’s a lot involved behind the scenes. Every time it runs correctly — people don’t notice as much as the one or two odd times that it does have its mishaps.”
The challenges
Every day, Metro is moving 400,000 people on their rail network. Getting all the pieces moving in the right direction comes with new challenges every day. But pushing up against this daily, Metro employees appear to be dedicated and driven to achieve excellence, and to reach a little further.
“That’s what metro provides people,” says Jacques. “The chance to grow and to learn, to be tested and to stretch yourself, so that you can become better.”
Industry-wide, the innovation and growth with digitisation of rail and how it operates, including driverless trains and how rail networks are designed and run, means demand for new skill sets and opportunities worldwide will only increase. For those wanting a challenging, dynamic and global career, Metro could be the start of that journey.
The employee endorsement
Kristen Fernandez, Business Graduate
“My journey at Metro so far has been quite amazing. Not something that you expect just being a passenger of Metro. Coming on board at Metro has given me a greater appreciation of the company.”
Asimina Vanderwert, Engineer Graduate in Rolling Stock
“Honestly, I love working here. My friends always say its your first full-time job you’re never going to really like it but I really enjoy working here. It’s a vibrant and accepting culture here. Everyone wants to improve the system, they want to do their best, they want to be excellent at what they do, they want to show that Metro is a good company for Melbourne and we are wanting to improve Melbourne and the public transport system. For me that shows in everyone here. Everyone is positive and everyone is trying to do the best for the city as well as the passengers that are going through the public transport system every day.”
Find out more about what it’s like to work at Metro in our Destination Review.
Apply for internships and jobs with Metro through the Paddl app.
