Nyleve joined Pacific National as an Operations Supervisor in October 2015, overseeing and managing day-to-day rail operations so as to get all employees home safely every day.
Nyleve conducts safety engagements and pre-start talks at every crew sign-on to ensure drivers are aware of any potential risks or hazards that may arise during their shift, and how they can manage risk as a team to ensure everyone’s safety.
“My job is to get the most out of the team, strive to achieve continual improvement, look for ways to grow our depot and make the team want to perform at their best and safest,” says Nyleve. “I want them to know that they have a leader they can rely on and that we are working together.” Previously a team leader in the mining industry, Nyleve says her rail colleagues drive her passion for her job.
“Coming in green to the rail industry, it’s taken a little time to get up to speed with the technical side of things, but my fellow Operations Supervisors and the drivers have always been incredibly welcoming and willing to explain or teach me the things I’ve needed to know. You could say my mentors are all those at Gracemere Depot – we’re a great team who support one another!”
Since joining Pacific National as a Stores and Admin Officer at Lithgow in 2012, Moe has performed a number of roles, including maintenance coordinator, trainee driver and locomotive train driver.
Currently an Operations Supervisor at Gunnedah Coal, Moe is part of a leadership team that oversees 60 drivers operating in from Narrabri to Werris Creek. They monitor Pacific National trains, help crews work through the issues they face, ensure Pacific National delivers excellent customer service, and drive community engagement through local safety and charity initiatives.
“Joining the railway family is the highlight of my career, and I’d tell anyone thinking about joining the industry to go for it,” says Moe. “It’s hard work, but I’ve met and worked with some terrific people, and knowing what I do provides a vital link in the chain that’s moving Australia’s economy is a great feeling.”
Moe has experienced challenges throughout her career but believes Pacific National’s robust workplace inclusion policies are changing the perception of rail as a male-dominated industry.
“As a female I’ve come across the mentality that ‘women shouldn’t be driving trains!’ or ‘this is no place for a woman,’ says Moe. That rhetoric is slowly changing and this in turn is leading to an increase in female participation rates on the railway, and a much more diverse workforce.”
The only female to drive the Ghan and one of only a handful to drive the Indian Pacific and the Overland, Stacy joined Pacific National in 2006.
Stacy drives both interstate and intrastate, ensuring her trains get from point A to point B in an economical, timely and safe manner. Track monitoring, situational awareness, and adhering to Pacific National and ARTC rules are all integral parts of Stacy’s role, but she says her favourite part of the job is “sounding the horn at kids trackside and making them smile”.
After 13 years in the driver’s seat, Stacy has also had the opportunity to pass her knowledge onto the next generation of Drivers when she acted as a mentor driver on track.
“I think it’s important to highlight that there are women in the rail industry now and that newcomers don’t need to worry about having to do the heavy lifting of pioneering the job,” says Stacy. I believe in a mentor program, even if it is simply telephone contact every now and again. As a female, I would have liked someone to talk to on occasions.”
Stacy’s achievements in the rail industry saw her invited to speak on the highlights of her job, and the benefits of being bold and thinking outside the employment square at the 2017 International Women’s Day Conference in Horsham.
Elizabeth has a degree in Commerce majoring in accounting and is a qualified CPA. She joined Pacific National in January 2018 as NSW Coal’s finance manager, based in Port Waratah in Newcastle.
Elizabeth’s team supports Pacific National’s President of Coal, and the operational and customer coal teams, providing them with timely financial insights and forecasting that assists their strategic decision making.
“At times the rail industry is seen as old fashioned and stuck in its ways, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover Pacific National’s accounting and business operations are best-practice,” says Elizabeth. “Pacific National has significant impact on the Australian economy. I’m exposed to a wide range of areas within the accountancy field and get to meet a diverse group of people, which are valuable workplace benefits.”
Much of Elizabeth’s role is driven by customer contracts so she is undertaking a law degree to improve her understanding of legal language.
“The culture at Pacific National is extremely supportive of further education,” says Elizabeth. “Everyone is empowered to undertake professional development and encouraged to step up and take on opportunities and challenges, and to seek operational and technological improvements. The business encourages us to strive for excellence and challenge how things have been done in the past, and that excites me.”
Bob has worked in the rail industry for 35 years, having started his career as a Junior Station Assistant in Teralba, NSW. When Pacific National was formed following the acquisition of National Rail and FreightCorp, Bob was a Live Run Supervisor based at Port Waratah. Over the years he has enjoyed a variety of roles but one of the most memorable periods was being seconded to the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Logistics Team. This was a joint project between Pacific National, Port Waratah Coal Services and Rail infrastructure Corporation, and was an important introduction to ports, tracks and above rail.
Another successful project for Bob was the implementation of slot management at the Port of Newcastle in 2014, which delivered Pacific National with improved Service Delivery performance.
“The improvements we made really levelled the playing field, and it was a memorable project not only for its success, but also because it really showed me that any project you are working on has the potential to make greater inroads than you originally expect.”
Bob now works as a Planning Manager based in Sydney, keeping Pacific National trains running to plan and . The range and size of the projects Bob has been involved in over his many years in the industry has been interesting on many fronts, including the people he’s worked with. “It’s really highlighted for me the value of hiring and retaining highly capable employees who are adaptable and resilient in a dynamic environment”.
