Karen Bennett interviewed by Claire Mayoh

Interview with Karen Bennett recorded by Claire Mayoh on 23 March 2026 at the National Science and Media Museum, Pictureville, Bradford. Duration: 2 hours 7 minutes 51 seconds. [Start of interview, track 01] Childhood in Dartford, Kent; early interests in history, music, drawing and train travel; work as a Butlins Redcoat and for Thomas Cook before moving to Yorkshire, training as a teacher at Bradford College and teaching at Lidgett Green Primary School. [00:06:19] Redcoat and teaching work built performance, public speaking, confidence and people skills; discusses exploring sexuality [bisexuality], attraction to women, teaching friendships and pride in teacher training. [00:15:26] Leaving a restrictive school culture and moving into Community Rail, where autonomy, trust and creativity helped restore confidence and allowed her to develop her own curriculum and projects. [00:23:01] Explains Community Rail Partnerships [CRP], station adopters, Community Rail Lancashire and Community Rail Network; school and community work on rail safety, confidence, careers, tourism and accessibility; working with Train Operating Companies (TOCs), Transport for Wales and Northern, and chairing monthly network meetings to support CRP delivery. Describes projects including Dewsbury Station mural, women’s rail stories, 100 Women 100 Journeys, 100 More Women 100 More Stories, 200 Stories of Railway Pride with the LGBTQIA+ community, and Arlo’s Adventures rail safety books, with 100,000 copies distributed. [00:32:58] Discusses rail’s safety-focused culture, LNER [London North Eastern Railway] Bradford City of Culture 2025 moquette project with young people, reduced funding, nationalisation and evidencing Community Rail’s social impact, including low-cost projects with high community value. [00:38:48] Working in rail as part of the LGBTQIA+ community; bisexuality, assumptions of heterosexuality, coming out, dating women while teaching, dating a transgender person, being a vocal transgender ally, and feeling uncertain at Pride or LGBTQIA+ events when dating a man. [00:45:02] Allyship, avoiding assumptions about sexuality or partners, using 200 Stories of Railway Pride to present rail as inclusive, Devon’s story as a transgender woman at Freightliner, pockets of poor rail culture, supporting people facing prejudice, and planned CRP work with LGBTQIA+ communities, including older LGBTQIA+ people in Bradford. [00:52:14] Family views, the threat Reform UK pose, transphobia, and why respect for LGBTQIA+ rights cannot be treated as “agree to disagree”. [01:03:12] Social media backlash during LGBTQIA+ History Month, political hostility towards transgender people, changing attitudes, rail as comparatively inclusive, union culture, misogyny in rail and hope in younger generations. [01:08:25] Career progression, possible future move into TOCs, GBR [Great British Railways] transition, Community Rail’s role in inclusion and loneliness agendas, and work on violence against women and girls. [01:26:13] Family history research, archives, DNA testing and ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). [End of track 01] [Track 02] Singing and performance through Bradford City Football Club ‘Bantam of the Opera’ choir [2025], including performances with Lesley Garrett (English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality) and Chris Kamara (English former footballer and manager), for King Charles and Queen Camilla, and on BBC1 Sports Personality of the Year. [00:13:41] Son’s pride in KB’s rail career, feeling more supported in rail than teaching, pride in rail’s future role. Work on the Railway 200 Exhibition Inspiration Train as Railway Teacher, travelling to 60 locations between 2025-2026. [end of interview]

This interview was made as part of People Pride and Progress (PPP) project. The project was initiated in 2023 to record the stories and memories of the LGBTQIA+ community in a new oral history archive over two years. It aimed to connect past, present and future through intergenerational interviews, offering opportunities for colleagues across all parts of the rail industry to connect, reflect on and learn from each other’s lived experiences while creating an archive of oral history interviews.