September 2026 update
- Joe Brown
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Hello Journey members and a very warm welcome to our September 2026 update.
As a long hot summer of events nears a close and the evenings start to draw in, we’d like to take the opportunity to thank all the networks in the sector who generously extended the invitation to Journey members to join various wonderful events these past few months. That said we’re not quite done yet, with Alstom kindly inviting us to join them at Derby Pride this Saturday 12th September in Markeaton Park. It’s £3.50 in advance or £5 on the day, the Alstom crew are fittingly assembling at ‘Famous Trains’ model railway in the park at 11:30, if you’d like to join them, please email Joe Tailby: joseph.tailby@alstomgroup.com.
The network of another big player in UK transport engineering, Hitachi’s Pride in Unity, welcomed us to join them at Doncaster Pride on 8th August, Doncaster being one of their main employment centres, maintaining the LNER Azuma fleet. It was yet another scorching day and yet another parched park (a theme for 2026!): we took great pride in carrying the trans flag through the streets of Doncaster and out to Town Field while bopping along to disco classics. At the stall, some great conversations were had with the city’s LGBTQ+ community and allies about careers in transport and engineering, and a LOT of great merch was handed out. Thanks so much to David, Scott, and everyone else at Hitachi – we’re already looking forward to 2027!
Looking ahead, don’t forget we have the latest in our series of hugely popular in-person events at KPMG in London’s Canary Wharf next Thursday 17th September from 17:00, hearing from the amazing Matthew Page about his story spanning his LGBTQ+ identity, his experience of the care system, and his journey to discover his heritage. As ever, there’ll be complimentary refreshments and networking before and afterwards – it promises to be a brilliant evening. Free tickets are still available on Eventbrite: please remember to sign up one per person so building passes can be prepared in advance.
Next week is National Inclusion Week: Rail Unites for Inclusion & EDI Charter invite us all to an online event on Wednesday 16th September 13:00-14:30 to explore inclusion in the rail industry, with an LGBTQ+ breakout room co-hosted by Journey. To join us, scan the QR code on this poster.
Finally, we have been a little quieter in terms of arranging the Journey monthly webinars of late because we’ve been a little preoccupied, but in a good way. We have taken the decision to apply for CIO (Community Interest Organisation) status: this exciting development will allow Journey to be sustainable by raising an income to cover our costs and to grow further. Most of the leadership team assembled and thrashed through the details in Birmingham last week and should be able to submit our application soon.
Exciting times ahead, thanks as always for your magnificent support!
The Journey Team
Comments