Mind-blowing. A relief. Amazing. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
That’s how the station masters of Melbourne’s brand-new Parkville and Arden stations describe the opening of the Metro Tunnel to passengers, a historic moment for both the city and the thousands of workers behind the $15bn project. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
On Sunday morning, trains teemed with cheering and curious commuters, chomping at the bit to explore the five new underground stations that have taken eight years to come to life.
But quietly, another milestone moment was achieved for Melbourne’s South Asian community, with four of the five senior station masters appointed to these highly anticipated stations from South Asian backgrounds.
“There was a real strange feeling, and I wasn’t expecting it, but I just felt exhilarated; I think that’s the closest word…it was a very emotional time for us,” says Christopher Rosario, Arden’s Senior Station Master, of the station’s opening.
The journey to Melbourne
Born in Kolkata, Rosario’s grandfather was a senior railwayman for the Eastern Railways, sparking a love of transport and helping people. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
“It brings back good memories,” he says. “I think it runs in the genes possibly to get into railways.”
Coming to Melbourne in 2003, a newspaper ad led Rosario to a ‘life changing break’ as a station assistant, and he worked his way up over the last 21 years to become Senior Station Master at Parliament station, before being selected to be Arden’s first Senior Station Master.
“I don’t know what attracted me to that advertisement in the papers, I just put my application in, went for three interviews and then got the job,” he remembers. “I was very nervous, very new in the country; you know, you’ve got so many responsibilities to take care of your family – it was a hard and trying time for me.”
“But when I started working in stations, I think the biggest thing is I was able to help someone to get around Melbourne…I just fell in love with the job from day one.”
His colleague, Station Master Christine Rodrigues distinctly remembers squeezing onto Mumbai’s local trains to get from Kurla to Cuffe Parade back when she worked at a bank.
Migrating to Melbourne 17 years ago with her husband and two kids, she faced a decision: “I was offered two jobs immediately, one in the railways and another in the banking industry…I thought trains are never going to go out of fashion, let me join railways.”
Over this time, she spent around 10 years in the control room of Melbourne’s oldest and busiest station, Flinders Street, and was a Station Master at North Melbourne before coming to Arden, where she’s proud to be part of this historic moment for the city. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
“I [wouldn’t have] believe[d] when I was back in India that I would first of all come to Australia, secondly, join the railways, and thirdly, be part of the leadership team,” Rodrigues says.
“I was so thrilled I’m going to be one of the people who have actually led the station; down the line when I get grandchildren, I’m going to bring them to [Arden] station and say, guess who was the first station master…No matter when I retire, where I go to, I always have this to show.”
Originally from Bangladesh, Khon Hossain had also worked his way up over 17 years to his ‘dream job’ as Senior Station Master at the iconic Flinders Street station.
“I had absolutely no plan for joining the railway. I was looking for financial stability and security. But when I joined it, nine months later, I said, I should have joined a long time ago,” Hossain says.
He remembers fondly the moment he got the call to be Senior Station Master at the new Parkville station. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
“The only thing I didn’t do is to scream; I was just jumping up and down!” Hossain remembers. “It is such an honour to provide service to people to move from one place to another place safely.”
Putting smiles on passengers faces
With over 80 years of combined rail experience between them, the new stationmasters have seen everything from lost property to emergency stops, and now, a station opening, all while navigating life in Australia.
“Wanting to support and help people is something that drew me to this industry,” Rosario says. “We see a whole spectrum of society…it has opened up my eyes and made me a more matured person.”
“Our tolerance level has to be extremely high,” Hossain says of dealing with unpleasant customers. “We’ve been trained on how to deal with it; as soon as the customer leaves, we just treat the next customer as a completely new one. We forget about it. It’s not easy.”
Migrant communities are vital for essential transport jobs across our cities; in 2022, a Grattan Institute report highlighted almost 40% of Australia’s transport, postal and warehousing workforce were born overseas.
That four South Asians were chosen to helm Melbourne’s most anticipated stations is nothing special in itself, but becomes significant in a year that’s seen the South Asian community mocked, criticised by politicians and protesters, and even physically attacked.
Unsurprisingly, these high-profile appointments have encouraged detractors to emerge from the woodwork online, to decry everything from ‘taking Aussie jobs’ to ‘ride on top of the train’.
The station masters, however, prefer not to concern themselves with such sentiments, and let the work speak for itself. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
“We’d actually rather be positive about the whole thing. I know there’s a minority that might have that mindset, but they are what they are, a minority,” Rosario says.
“There’s no place at Metro; there’s no place in our lives for negativity.”
“When I’m in Melbourne in general, not only at work, but everywhere, I feel very welcomed and very much part of the culture,” Rodrigues says.
They’re keen to move on and shift their energy to where it matters – helping their fellow Melbournians.
“I feel like I am responsible for putting the smile on my staff who are then responsible for putting the smile on the passenger’s face,” says Rodrigues.
Hossain recalls a young girl he encountered on a platform late at night, who had thoughts of self-harm: “I had to go down there and talk her out of it…I contacted the parents, and they were so happy because they were out there looking for her.”
“One week later, I got about ten people waiting outside to see me – the whole family came down to say thank you and give me a box of chocolate…the important part was that I can say that I was able to stop the end of [a] life or some serious accident. That’s something I will carry with me forever.”
Knowingly or not, these station masters evidence the quiet contributions our community makes to the everyday functioning of our cities. Metro Tunnel Station Masters
“I personally would like the public to know that we [station staff] are also all human,” Rodrigues says. “We just ask that everyone treats everyone else with respect, because everybody deserves to have a safe and comfortable journey.”
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