Bridging the Gap

The Big Rail Diversity Challenge

Teams will need to build a bridge strong enough to support a mascot for 10 seconds.

Armed only with a limited amount of materials, who will bridge the gap and who will be left on a cliff-hanger?

This challenge is aimed at helping rail personnel who have had to take time out of work to become a primary caregiver.

CHALLENGE SPONSOR: Greater Anglia

At Greater Anglia, not only do we run 1,200 trains a day and do so at consistently high punctuality levels, but we also have four thriving network groups at Greater Anglia comprising of Ability (focusing on disability and carers), Affinity (LGBT+ focused), Culture (race, ethnicity and religion-focused) and women’s group, UP.

We serve diverse areas, from rural Suffolk and Norfolk towns to busy inner suburban London areas and with our network terminating at London Liverpool Street, the country’s busiest station. Diversity is at the heart of what we do as a train company be it where we serve, or the people we employ or transport.

We hold International Women’s Day events with talks from female rail industry leaders to discuss careers, professional development and generally making the railway – traditionally male-dominated more of an inclusive industry, while championing their work in blogs, articles and videos across our social media channels.

We’re always thinking of ways to do things better, and this year, securing a place at The Rail Diversity Challenge, is a shining example of that.

We will have nine spectators and a mixed gender team of 10 colleagues who are up for taking part in the various challenges that are set, along with our colleagues having a great chance to network and build relationships across the wider industry – and we can’t wait to get started, have a bit of fun and hopefully win!