Our workNetwork Rail / shining a light on the railway’s Hidden Heroes
Network Rail has an amazing secret weapon when it comes to keeping trains running and passengers moving: their dedicated team of over 77k colleagues, all of who really care about safety and performance. But the public are largely oblivious to all the hard work that goes on quietly behind the scenes. We were briefed to bring some of the railway’s Hidden Heroes into the spotlight and give them the recognition they so rightly deserve.
Super stories
From keeping people safe in the community and responding to incidents on the track, to working through the night to maintain the railway and helping passengers get to where they need to be… There are so many Hidden Heroes at Network Rail working day and night to keep the railway moving, and we couldn’t possibly show all their stories and contributions.
So we carefully selected four incredible Rail colleagues to shine a spotlight on, that care about the same things rail passengers care about. Meet Jamie, Manny, Anita and Uzma.
Shot by our friend and photographer, Guy Farrow, as the heroes they are, we gave our four colleagues playful new job titles.
Manny, a community safety officer, became ‘Guardian of the community’.
Anita, a mobile operations manager, became ‘Defender of the tracks’.
Uzma, a station shift supervisor, became ‘Protector of passengers’.
And Jamie, a section supervisor (MMT), became ‘Master of maintenance’.
The Network Rail Cinematic Universe
Together, they became the heroes of our campaign, featuring across Network Rail-owned OOH poster sites – and giving passengers a new understanding of the work that goes into delivering a well performing rail service they might not know about.
Working with the Network Rail Film Unit, we also produced a series of films, celebrating the individuals behind the roles – showing their passions and personalities, and outlining all the vital work they do to keep the UK’s rail network running smoothly.
The art of a great campaign
The campaign was launched with a live art event, with the help of our partners Navigation, in London’s Waterloo Station. We invited Sky Portrait Artist of the Year winners Wendy Barratt and Duncan Shoosmith to immortalise two of the campaign’s heroes – Anita and Manny.
Alongside our artist’s creations, the public also had an opportunity to join in, under the joyful guidance of Sara Reeve – a Sky Portrait Artist of the Year finalist. And we were thrilled to see so many passers-by make their mark.
The finished portraits are now waiting patiently to go on tour as part of the Railway 200 Celebrations in 2025.
A warm response to the campaign from colleagues and the public in Network Rail’s owned spaces has led to a planned paid media burst – the campaign is currently live across digital in-station 6 sheets until Christmas.
