Merseyrail has held a special awards ceremony to recognise long-serving member staff members, including its longest-serving employee, David Hunter, who has been with the company for an incredible 53 years.

David Hunter, who is aged 77, started work on the local train network in 1970, only two years after steam trains were consigned to history. He hasn’t yet said goodbye to the company, as he still works part-time on the network as an on-board cleaner.

Also recognised at the ceremony were four other colleagues who have worked for Merseyrail for more than 45 years, and nine more with more than 40 years’ service. They work in a variety of roles, including drivers, station retailers, station assistants, HR support, control centre staff, train managers, and cleaners.

The awards night recognised the dedication of 50 staff who between them have accumulated a total of an incredible 1,682 years of service.

Throughout his 53 years of service with Merseyrail, David has been known as a real gentleman, ever-popular with all his colleagues and the management team. With a vibrant and infectious personality, David continues to keep his colleagues entertained with stories and anecdotes of his life.

Enormous changes have taken place during David’s time at Merseyrail. He has witnessed a great transformation of the network, including the huge remodelling of the underground system in the 1970s, the introduction of the Class 507 and 508 trains, and now their imminent replacement by brand-new state-of-the-art Class 777 trains.

In January, Merseyrail employee Sally Ralston was presented with the British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of her services to the community, and last November two other Merseyrail colleagues were nominated for a Railway Benevolent Fund Heart of Gold award for making a real difference in their workplace or their community.

I was 22 years old when I started on the railway. I started working at Meols Cop near Southport and became a porter guard. From there, I progressed to become a station guard and worked at Liverpool Exchange until it closed in 1977 before moving up to Kirkdale station.

I have been working as an on board cleaner now for about seven years. I really enjoy it and I’ve got no plans to retire anytime soon.

I’m really happy in my work – when I started I thought I would only last six months!

David Hunter, Merseyrail employee with 53 years service

I am so very proud to be able to acknowledge and recognise the service of these dedicated staff to not just Merseyrail but the rail industry as a whole.

It’s staggering to think that 50 of our longest serving staff have a combined total of 1682 years of work in the rail industry – that’s definitely something that deserves recognition.

David’s contribution to the success of Merseyrail cannot be understated. He is a Merseyrail legend and someone we consider lucky to have as a part of our team.

I want to say thank you to David and also to all of the colleagues we recognised for their years of dedicated service.

Neil Grabham, Managing Director of Merseyrail