All-female crewed Flying Scotswoman train comes to Doncaster for International Women's Day

Rail operator LNER has rebranded its most iconic service – the Flying Scotsman, which was built in Doncaster – for the whole of the month of March.

And this morning, a service crewed entirely by women thundered along the East Coast Main Line from Edinburgh Waverley to London King’s Cross.

The train displayed a special International Women’s Day livery and hosted a range of women from a variety of organisations in the rail industry as well as from LNER.

The driver, train crew, chef and all other staff on the service were women.

It was organised to encourage more women to seek a job in the rail industry.

LNER found that 86 per cent of women in Yorkshire of working age have never considered a career in rail.

Launching the results of the research on International Women’s Day, LNER’s People Director Karen Lewis said the rail industry needs to work harder to promote itself to women, who are missing out

on a rich source of career opportunities.

“There is a clear need for the industry to work together to demonstrate the unique opportunities on offer with a career in rail, and by doing so to help drive an increase in the number of women in the workplace,” she said.

“LNER bucks the trend with women making up 42 per cent of our workforce, compared to an industry average of 16 per cent. Our diverse workforce is something we’re extremely proud of at LNER and we’re working hard to inspire and attract even more talented women to join the industry.

“LNER has many examples of women who have remained in the business and progressed their careers due to having the right amount of support to do things like further their education or have families. Rail offers competitive salaries and a multitude of opportunities to progress careers, which we know are important factors for women in the working world of 2020.”