By Nigel Wordsworth
Rail Business Daily was saddened to hear of the passing of Tom O’Connor, founder and owner of Rail Media, which publishes both the RailStaff and Rail Engineer magazines.
Tom was a fervent supporter of both the UK railway and its staff. RailStaff magazine was launched at the time of privatisation to keep managers and staff up to date with developments on the newly fragmented railway, to report everything that was good and to make sure that best practice, particularly in terms of safety, was reported fairly and promptly.
The RailStaff Awards grew out of that, a night to celebrate the achievements of railway men and women in all fields. It is still the only awards evening in the industry that recognises people, not companies.
Rail Engineer magazine was launched in 2004, quickly building a reputation for the engineering excellence of its reporting and the breadth of topics that it covered.
Tom was very much involved in the organisation of the privatised railway. He was an early member of the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum – now just the Rail Forum – and was a founder member of the Rail Alliance, which has since become the RBD Community.
Safety was always at the front of Tom’s mind. Every issue of RailStaff carried at least one page on safety – usually two – and his Rail Safety Summit is a well-attended annual event.
Tom’s warm and caring nature made him many friends. He was always ready to help someone in need, sometimes going to extreme lengths to do so, a quality that is seldom seen in current times.
Much admired by his peers and colleagues, Tom will be sadly missed. Rail Business Daily offers its condolences and respect to his family and colleagues and salutes a giant of the railway publishing industry.
