Charles J. Belcher joined British Rail: Southern Region as a Management Trainee in 1974. He then became Station Manager at Sunbury, Barnes and then Huntingdon. He moved to become Service Group Manager, on-train catering on the South West Division before working as Assistant to the Parcels Manager at Liverpool Street Divisional Headquarters. In 1981 he moved to Kings Cross as Area Passenger & Parcels Manager, before becoming the Area Manager at Newport. He was then appointed as Resources Manager for British Rail Parcels Group and the National Business Manager (Post Office). He then moved to Rail Express Systems serving as Managing Director. He then joined English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) as Marketing & Sales Manager. He then moved into the passenger railway serving as the Managing Director of North London Railways and the Managing Director of West Coast.