Metro Trains is celebrating its first female staff member to clock up 50 years of service.
Eleni Scott started working at Balaclava Station back in 1974, for what was then known as Victoria Railways.
She had moved to Australia from Cyprus in her early 20s. Her husband John, who had been working as a signaller from the age of 16, encouraged her to join the rail industry.
She landed a job as part of the station staff at Balaclava, checking tickets and cleaning the station.
Scott also had to physically lift the boom gates at Glen Iris Station, which wasn’t easy for a petite person.
“The kids would put coins on the track and trigger the boom gate,” she said.
“It would close and block traffic, so I would have to physically lift the gates back up to let traffic through.”
Scott and her husband moved around Melbourne, eventually settling in Glen Waverley where she has worked for the past 26 years.
“My favourite part of the job is working with colleagues and meeting passengers,” she said.
“You make a lot of friends and get to know everyone.
“I remember quickly handing out tickets to passengers running for the train, and then they’d pay me back the next day!”
Scott has always enjoyed her work, and one of her highlights over the years was receiving a personal letter of recommendation from the then Minister for Public Transport Alan Brown. Brown thanked Scott after multiple passengers shared compliments about her and her work.
Scott’s husband John, who has sadly passed away, worked for the railways for 54 years. Scott now lives alone but next to her daughter, and she often helps babysit her three grandchildren, who are all under the age of six.
“Sometimes I think I go to work for a rest, because they’re very energetic!” Scott said.
Glen Waverley station is just a 10-minute walk from home, and she likes living so close to the station.
“Metro has been very flexible with my work, and it is well paid so I don’t know if I will retire yet,” she said.
Metro Trains celebrated Scott and other long-serving employees as part of its annual Milestones dinner at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium last Friday, February 28.
The event hosted more than 380 employees who reached significant service milestones between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, as well as guests from the government, rail industry and external stakeholders.
In addition to Scott, six other members of the Metro team marked 50 years of working on Melbourne’s railways: Philip Sutcliffe, David Bennett, Gerard Warren, LouRandello, Joe Debono and Dale Blackburn.
When they started in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the network looked very different to how it does today – this was well before the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop (City Loop) was built, level crossings were removed, and works on the new Metro Tunnel kicked off.
Chief Executive Officer of Metro Trains Raymond O’Flaherty also celebrated his 15th year in the role.
“I would like to thank my dedicated colleagues for their years of service to the railways and our community,” O’Flaherty said.
“Public transport provides great careers for our people and their wonderful contributions have kept our city moving every day.”
Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams, who also attended the ceremony, said: “Melbourne’s metropolitan railway network is the backbone of our public transport system – it is an integral part of our city and people’s lives.”
“I feel privileged to be able to celebrate the outstanding contributions of so many incredible people who have committed their working lives to the railways.”
