Rail boss 'surprised and thrilled' at OBE award

A man who has dedicated his life to rail transport said he was "hugely surprised" to be appointed OBE in the King's New Year Honours List.

John Smith, 63, from Naseby, Northamptonshire, was 16 when he took his first railway job as a technician apprentice at British Rail in 1977.

Now chief executive of GB Railfreight, he was honoured for services to rail freight transport.

"I am hugely surprised, honoured and thrilled to be recognised in the New Year Honours," he said.

"It's something I could never have considered when I began my career on the railway."

Reflecting on his career, he said: "I'd always wanted to work for the railways and left school with very little.

"I managed to get this job and then once I found out that you could be paid to be further educated, that created some momentum to it.

"But there are some other elements to it as well. My mother passed away when I was very young and I needed to move away from home and the railway offered you that chance."

He said he went to night school to gather the qualifications he needed to get to university to study engineering.

As chief executive, he said he felt he was "adding something back [to society]" when he saw people in the firm progress.

Mr Smith is also a trustee of the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust and has been at the forefront of GB Railfreight's raising of more than £1m for charities including Alzheimer's Society and Prostate Cancer UK.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.