Network Rail Appoints Lucy McAuliffe to Run Sussex Railway

Lucy was appointed acting route director last December following two years as Southern region’s stations and security director, and since then has been overseeing efforts to improve reliability on the Sussex route.

“The route plays a key part in connecting passengers from London to Brighton and across the south-east of England as well as supporting commuters, leisure travellers and critical freight services,” said Lucy McAuliffe.

“My primary focus remains supporting our railway industry colleagues and working with our many stakeholders to deliver a safe and reliable service for our 300,000 (pre-Covid journey estimate) customers who travel with us every day,” she added.

Prior to this, Lucy has developed her leadership experience right across the transport industry including in bus, coach, rail and aviation – from managing stations to working for Network Rail High Speed before moving to lead signalling, control and incident response operations.

Lucy also worked at Gatwick Airport as head of passenger security before returning to Network Rail’s Southern region in 2021 as stations and security director. 

Lucy is passionate about creating an environment where everyone feels valued and supports behaviours which reflect Network Rail Southern region’s culture principles – show you care; listen, learn, and improve; and keep it simple.

Network Rail’s Sussex route is among the busiest and most congested in the country, carrying 3200 trains every weekday. The route includes the Brighton Main Line and provides a direct rail link to Gatwick Airport, the country’s second busiest international airport.

“Our Sussex route is an integral part of the rail network and I have every confidence in Lucy’s ability and experience to help us keep exploring ways of improving the performance of our railway and putting passengers at the heart of everything we do,” Ellie Burrows, regional managing director for Network Rail’s Southern region, said.

The Sussex route also contains some of the oldest railway infrastructure, which is why Network Rail has spent more than £750m to improve the track, signalling, structures, and stations as part of the Sussex Upgrades programme.