People

We’re one of the fastest growing businesses within our highly competitive sector. And we believe our success is down to the dedication and hard work of our people.

We feel that our vast workforce of 1,400 people should be supported and rewarded well. After all, it is happy team members that form the foundation of a successful company, allowing it to thrive.

Ethos

We pride ourselves on our team ethic and sense of community. It’s this ethos that helps us really enjoy working and growing together.

Directors

Meet our Directors

John Smith

Chief Executive Officer

Our CEO, John Smith founded GB Railfreight in 1999, with the aim of undertaking more open access work on our rail system. He has worked in the industry for 44 years, joining British Rail in 1977 and later Anglia Railways, where he became Deputy Managing Director. He is a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Liam Day

Asset Director

Liam began his career in Network Rail’s graduate management training programme before moving into the world of rail freight. Joining GBRf in August 2014 as Terminal Development Manager, he then transitioned to the positions of Head of Estates, General Manager and, latterly, Commercial Director, looking after GBRf’s client relationships and contractual arrangements since March 2020. Liam commenced his new role as Asset Director in September 2024.

Elizabeth Delafosse

People Director & General Counsel

Liz qualified as a solicitor in 2009 specialising in Employment and Commercial law. She started to work with GB Railfreight under Eurotunnel's ownership in 2013, before later transferring to become a GBRf employee following the sale to EQT. Liz has grown the legal team over the past 11 years and with her experience in Employment law is now going to be taking responsibility for the HR function of the business.

Julie Garn

Intermodal Director

Julie joined GB Railfreight in 2003 to establish its intermodal operations from Felixstowe. Since then, she has played a key role in growing GBRf’s intermodal business which now operates more than 50 trains per day from the UK’s major container ports to inland terminals across the country. She’s been a leading figure in the intermodal market for nearly 30 years and instrumental in driving modal shift ensuring that more containers are moved by rail.

David Golding

Safety and Sustainability Director

David served in the British Army for 23 years as an engineering officer. In 2008, he managed the military logistics supply chain, equipment support and engineering organisation during operations in Basra. Since then, he’s worked with British Sugar and Silver Spoon where he was responsible for health and safety and Go-Ahead Group. David’s contributions within GBRf include growing our business and providing carbon-efficient logistics solutions.

Karl Goulding-Davis

Chief Financial Officer

Karl joined GB Railfreight in 2002 and has previously worked for KPMG, Fred Olsen Limited and Anglia Railways. Karl was integral to the founding of both GBRf and Hull Trains Services Ltd. During his time at GBRf he has secured funds for major investments and been instrumental in the acquisition of the Eurotunnel proposition in 2010, EQT in 2016 and Infracapital in 2019.

Carl Kent

Sales Director

Carl entered the rail industry in 2010 joining Network Rail’s graduate programme, working as part of its national freight team. He joined GB Railfreight in 2014 - initially designing, implementing and improving new and existing services. In 2018, he moved into a business development role and has played a significant role in helping the business more than double in size in that time. For the past five years, Carl has led GBRf’s sales team.

Alex Kirk

Commercial Director

Alex launched his railway career at Network Rail as a graduate manager and held a number of roles across the organisation. In May 2020, he joined GB Railfreight as Head of Infrastructure. In this role, he managed GBRf's contracts with Network Rail and Transport for London and their associated supply chains. Since November 2023, Alex has also served on the board of the Rail Freight Group.

Ian Langton

Production Director

Ian leads the day-to-day delivery of GBRf’s services. Joining the business in April 2012, he has over 27 years experience in the rail freight sector. Prior to this, Ian spent 22 years working with DB Schenker and its predecessors, EWS, Transrail, and British Rail. In his last two years there, he held the position of Operations Manager for the Netherlands.

Infracapital invests in, builds and manages a diverse range of infrastructure to meet the changing needs of society and support long-term economic growth.

Their approach creates value for investors, as they target investments with the scope for sustainable growth.

Their portfolio companies work closely with the communities where they are based, to the benefit of all stakeholders. Infracapital is well positioned to deliver the significant investment required to help build the future. The team of experienced specialists has worked with more than 60 companies around Europe and has raised over €9 billion of client capital across seven funds.

Find out more

Well-being

A team that plays together,stays together.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: In 2021, we launched our first EDI policy; an initiative encouraging diverse thinking which aims to empower all staff to achieve their potential. The rail freight industry has traditionally been male-dominated. We are actively working to break down the barriers for women to join our industry and excel.

Charity Work

Supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity

GBRf staff are keen to play their part in supporting charitable work. In 2024, we are working with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity who give hope to seriously ill children and their families.

Learning & Development

We offer tailored development opportunities to help you develop key knowledge and skills to build your career.

Training

Careers

GB Railfreight has a lot of different career paths, for every kind of person.

Whether you’re ready to jump right into the world of work as soon as you’re out of the school gate, or want to study more first.  Or maybe you want to do both? Whether you want to be outside and up front driving a locomotive, or backstage making it all happen, GB Railfreight provides the opportunity.

Job Enquiry

Share our values of Support, Trust & Empowerment, Professionalism, Communication & Enjoyment? We’d love to hear from you.

If you would like to know more about our roles or our apprenticeship scheme then please enquire using the link below.

If you have any questions, please e-mail the recruitment team at recruitment@gbrailfreight.com or fill out our Recruitment Enquiry form.

Job Enquiries

Testimonials

“I have seen GBRf grow in size, yet still retain its key ethics. They employ the best staff and we are all valued and treated well. This motivates you to work hard and help contribute towards the success of the company.”

Kevin Crane

Performance Team
“At GBRf, every day is different! I thrive on the variety of routes and traction. I feel part of the GBRf family, well supported and rewarded both from a professional and a personal point of view.”

Marcus Betts

Southampton Team
“This business has helped define who I am as a person today. It’s brought out the best in me, thanks to the support, encouragement and investment I have been given.”

Gemma Platt

HR Business Partner