Andrew Peter Nock was born in 1952 and joined British Rail as a Graduate Management Trainee in 1974. He went to hold various roles in the Cardiff Division, before becoming a Freight Manager on the Western Region. He then worked as Infrastructure & Resources Manager in Trainload Freight and also worked in the Privatisation Studies Group at British Rail Headquarters.

At privatisation he joined the English, Welsh and Scottish (EWS) freight company, before moving to Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and latterly the Department for Transport’s Rail Division.