One of the Tyne and Wear Metro’s longest serving drivers has retired after 40 years in the role.
Brian Bulmer, 67, of Hebburn in South Tyneside, has bid an emotional farewell to his colleagues, a job he has “absolutely loved”, and to his many thousands of customers.
Brian started driving Metros in 1986 and described the train cab as the ‘best office in the world’. He even met his wife through work.
Metro operator Nexus said he had given them outstanding service for the last four decades and wished him well for the future.
Brian is among a unique and declining group of drivers who were there in the early 1980s when the Metro system was new.
He said: “I’ve absolutely loved my time in the role. It’s been fantastic. I feel emotional to be going. I’ll miss it.
“I just felt that now was the right time to retire after so many years.
“There aren’t that many of the original team of drivers from the 1980s who are left now. I think I might be one of the last ones.
“Above all my experiences the one I treasure the most, of course, is meeting my wife Chrstine at a work social event in 2010.”
Brian joined the Passenger Transport Executive, now Nexus, after 10 years working as a bus driver.
As well as driving Metros, he spent 20 years as a coach and an assessor, mentoring new drivers to get them through their test.
When the Sunderland line opened in 2002, he played a key role in getting Metro train crews prepared for taking their trains on to the Network Rail line.
And train driving is a family affair too. Brian followed in the footsteps of his own brother Alan, who also worked as a Metro driver for many years.
Brian said: “When you add in my time as a bus driver, I’ve done 50 years in the public transport industry. That’s not too bad!
“The Metro, for me, is the best office in the world. I enjoyed it so much it never felt like a job, it was a way of life. I’ve never been one for sitting behind a desk.
“It was an amazing experience to join Metro in the mid 1980s, when it was all new and much talked about. A lot of bus drivers and former British Rail workers made up the driver team in the early days. Now you see people applying from all walks of life. It’s a great job.”
He added: “The new trains are fantastic. I’ve been lucky enough to get the chance to drive them.
“All of the drivers will say the same, the leap from the old train fleet to the new one is immense in terms of the technology. It’s an exciting time for the Metro and I wish them every success for the future.
“A big thanks also goes to my many thousands of customers, who I’ve taken to places of work and leisure over so many years now.”
Kevin Storey, operations director at Nexus, said: “On behalf of all the team I want to wish Brian well for his retirement. He’s given us 40 years of dedicated service. It’s an outstanding record and he can be rightly proud of his time here.”
Image credit: Nexus
