DIVERSITY TRAIN REVEAL

On Monday 26 June, TfL unravelled the London Overground train alongside a London bus that was wrapped in a unique and vibrant design. The design, shaped by the lived experience of the LGBTQ+ community, reflects the diversity of London and will be seen by people across London.

ARL's Louise Jury, train driver, had the privilege of taking the diversity train on its first journey. Several colleagues were in attendance to witness this monumental drive. We met with Stevie Buxton, planning & diagramming specialist, who outlined his experience.

"I was so excited to have the opportunity to be at the reveal event for ARL's Pride/Diversity train. As a complete geek regarding trains, let alone our trains, I always like to see something special. Being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community had a special meaning to me personally.

"Upon arrival at New Cross Gate Depot, it was difficult to contain my excitement at one of our depots for the first time, meeting so many new people and seeing our new liveried train.

"Before even getting to where the presentation took place, we saw the brilliant design as the train pulled out of the shed.

"The design is fantastic and has five carriages filled from top to bottom, showing the diversity of people who use our trains daily.

"I listened to a few stories about what people had to put up with growing up. Learning what the pride train (and pride as a whole) meant to them was interesting. It made me realise that my life was nowhere near as bad by comparison but would have been much better if we had pride-related events like this, say 30 years ago.

"The design is a perfectly brilliant representation of the diverse community of London that we serve; we should have had this years ago.

"Also, to get to meet and talk to Louise, the driver who took the pride train to our network for the first time, was like the icing on the cake, a true superstar in the making."

Scroll down to see a video and pictures taken on the day.