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Conductor starts her career on service in Skipton with her dad

Wednesday, 25 June 2025 09:08

Ella with her dad, Daniel.

A newly qualified conductor was pleasantly surprised when she realised the first driver she would be working with was her dad.

Ella Phillips, 18, and her father Daniel, 50, took charge of the 6.04am Northern service which ran from Skipton to Bradford Forster Square on Wednesday, 11 June.

Her mum, Donna Phillips, who works for Northern as a station supervisor, greeted her daughter and husband on the platform in Bradford, after travelling on the train as a passenger from Shipley.

Ella, who lives in Baildon, decided to become a conductor after leaving college and completed three months of training with Northern.

When she showed her dad the schedule for her first shift, they realised he would be driving the first three services.

“We thought we might be put together on a random day, but not on my first shift", she said.

She added:

“It was a bit nerve wracking thinking that if I mess up my dad will be watching.

"But I also knew that if anything went wrong and I needed help, he would be there.

"He’s a really good person to work with.

“I love my job, I like that it keeps you on your toes and every day is slightly different

“I’m the youngest at the depot in Skipton but we all have a laugh and everyone makes me feel comfortable."

Daniel, who has been a train driver for two years, said:

“I was happy that it was me driving, to make her feel a bit more comfortable on her first time out.

“I was checking the cameras to see if she was doing everything right and I was really impressed with how she owned it.

“To see her bossing it made me really proud. She’s doing a great job.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

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