One of the longest-serving drivers on the Tyne and Wear Metro has retired after 40 years on the network. Brian Bulmer, aged 67 from Hebburn, started driving in 1986 and has described the train cab as the “best office in the world”.
Brian 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 Christine at a work social event in 2010.”
Brian originally joined the Passenger Transport Executive (now Nexus) in 1986 after ten years as a bus driver. As well as being a driver he has spent 20 years as a coach and an assessor, mentoring new drivers to get them through their test.
He added: “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.
“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.”
Train driving also runs in the family. Brian followed in the footsteps of his brother Alan, who also worked as a Metro driver for many years.