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Conversations with
Anne Mordi
A Driver in the Dark Tunnels of the
London Underground
By Uche Nworah
Anne Mordi
is not your typical interview subject, and so is her day
job. She lives her life on the fast lane, a different
type though. This beautiful entrepreneur holds down a
day job navigating the dark tunnels of the London
Underground as a driver on the Central Line. In this
conversation with Uche Nworah, she talks about
what it is like to be a female train driver and her
plans for the future.
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Family and Education
My dad is from Issele-Ukwu in Delta state – Nigeria
while my mum is from Cross River state. I was born in
Dulwich, South London, the second of 4 kids.
I attended Lambeth College, West Norwood and London
Guildhall University (now London Metropolitan
University) where I studied International Relations and
Languages. My passion however remains in interior and
fashion design.
Career
As a teenager I worked in Macdonald’s like most
youngsters did to make some pocket money. I then moved
on and worked in Debenhams as a food service adviser,
this was while I was already at college. I started
working for the London Underground at19, but in between
I’ve also done some voluntary work for the Down Syndrome
Association, FCO etc. I have also served as a local
community representative.
What a beautiful woman like her is
doing in a ‘man’s job’
I’m a bit of a tomboy and have always been drawn to male
dominated roles. It was either driving trains or
driving buses. Since I could already drive a car, I
didn’t think bus driving was challenging enough for me
hence my decision to go for trains. I laugh at people
who tell me that I’m doing a man’s job. I usually reply
that it is one up for the ladies, if the men want to get
even then they should try their hands at having babies
(laughs).
Her family’s reaction on hearing
of her plans to become a tube driver
My dad and siblings were actually impressed; my mum
wasn’t crazy about the idea though. She kept
highlighting the dangers of the job (don’t we just love
our mothers?). I quite understand her worries especially
under the circumstances we live in today, especially
after the London bombings of July 7th 2005,
but hey, it’s just a job and somebody has got to do it.
The lure of the salary
Train drivers are well paid, and that’s because of the
role we play and all the critical safety things we have
to remember. There is really no margin of error in my
job. I’m not going to pretend that money didn’t play a
role in choosing my career path; but it wasn’t the
prevailing factor for me. I was actually fascinated by
the mechanics of how trains work and my mum who is a
mechanical engineer has always wanted one of us to
follow in her footsteps. Though it’s not exactly the
same but you could see her imprints in my choice.
A day in the life of a London tube
driver
I currently work on the Central line service. No two
days are exactly the same. We do extreme shifts, this
week you may start work at 4.15am and the next week
you’re booking on at 5pm to finish at 1am. You can go
months and not see some of your colleagues because of
the extreme shifts.
A typical day
would involve booking on for work, reading the notice
board to check if there have been any disruptions on the
line, and then picking up your train either from the
platform or the depot (where trains are kept when
they’re not in service). We have duty books which
already tell you where you’re taking the train to.
The feelings of speeding down the
dark tunnels all by herself in the controls
At first it was scary especially because I have some
phobia about darkness but after a while you get used to
it After a few years driving through the dark tunnels as
you described it, the thrill is still there, it hasn’t
worn out yet but it is not to be confused for a joy ride
or ride in a theme park.
Between driving trains and cars
Train driving is nothing like driving a car. It is
completely different; there are no pedals or steering
wheel on a train as you have in cars. Before you
actually take charge, you receive 6 months intensive
training as there are lots of procedures to remember for
example, what to do if your train breaks down and how to
repair it, enough to move it to the nearest depot.
London Underground takes staff training and passenger
safety seriously.
On the trains, we have what is called a Traction Brake
Control (TBC) which is used to control the speed of the
train. The handle is pushed forward to move the train
to whatever speed you want and pulled back to slow it
down or stop the train.
How one can become a train driver
Unfortunately the Underground doesn’t do direct
recruitment anymore (where they advertise to the public)
so you have to be working for LUL (London Underground
Ltd) or TFL (Transport for London) already before you
can apply to become a train driver. When a vacancy
comes up, you request an application pack, fill it out
and depending on the strengths of your application,
you’re called in for an assessment. The assessment has
4 stages and you’re expected to achieve a minimum of 80%
at each stage.
When that has been achieved, you’re then invited for an
interview where your competency amongst other things is
assessed. After that, you are sent to the training
school at the training centre of the Line you’ve chosen
(e.g Victoria Line, District Line, Central Line etc)
Rookie on the
job
My first day was actually scary. Unfortunately for me I
was thrown into the deep end on my first day as there
was an incident on my train that morning and I had to
de-train passengers from the tunnel to the station
platform. At that time, my nerves were already on end.
Gender rivalry
Unlike what people say that women are bad car drivers,
actually it’s the complete opposite here. We (women)
are said to be very cautious train drivers more than the
men. (Don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing). The men
do tease us and say that we drive the trains too slowly.
Near misses and close calls
I have had a near miss before. Once there was a lady on
the track, I thought it could be a staff member working
on the tracks ahead but then I realised it wasn’t when I
saw she was naked. In terms of getting lost, it’s
impossible to get lost navigating on the underground,
our board equipments are there to ensure that that
doesn’t happen.
On the day of the London bombings
(July 7th 2005)
On that particular day, I was a driver on the Jubilee
line and was at Wembley Park bound for Stratford when I
got a call telling me that a bomb had just gone off on
the underground. I thought it was some kind of post
April fools joke or that they had got it wrong and still
set off on my journey. At that point the only
information we got was that there had been a power surge
on the Underground system. A few minutes later, I got a
call from my mum in Nigeria who had heard the news and
was extremely worried; then the calls kept flooding in,
first it was my sister, who also works for London
Underground asking where I was and telling me a bomb had
just gone off near her station. This is when I knew
that the London Transport system was under attack.
Passengers were then informed of what was going on and
advised to use alternative routes.
Life after
train driving
On the side I also run my own fashion business;
www.jewellerybyanne.com where I make bespoke
accessories. I’m also actively involved in creating
awareness in Nigeria for children with Down syndrome
www.dsa-nigeria.org . This is an issue close to my
heart as my little sister has Downs. Unfortunately there
is still a stigma attached to it and other forms of
disability in Nigeria. There needs to be more awareness
not just in Nigeria but Africa as a whole. At the moment
we (DSA) are running a resource centre in Nigeria for
kids with disabilities.
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Chilling out
I love to travel. I
don’t even want to think of what my carbon
footprints would be like if ever I decide to
be conscious about stuffs like that. I love
to explore the world and have been to
Tunisia, Ghana, Dubai, Cyprus, and Pakistan
(just to name a few). I also volunteer my
time for good causes. I also enjoy educating
my mind; I read a lot because it relaxes me.
On flying an airplane
That’s definitely the next challenge for
me. Even if it’s not as a profession, I’ll
just love to be able to fly a plane. |
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If she is not
driving trains
I would probably
be a diplomat, an ambassador or an activist of some
sort.
* * * *
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Anne Mordi could be
seen navigating dark tunnels of the
London Underground on the Central Line by day, but
still finds time to run an online fashion accessory
business
www.jewellerybyanne.com.
info@uchenworah.com
July 2007
http://thelongharmattanseason.blogspot.com/
posted 7 July 2007 |
