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Steve Murphy, chief executive officer at MTR UK, leads the tributes to Adrian Shooter CBE, who passed away in December aged 74
“Today’s railway is far better because Adrian was one of its leaders for so long” “H
e was an absolute entrepreneur and at the same time, he was a remarkably gifted engineer in his own right. He had an overarching passion for the railways. It was his job and his career but also the driving force in his life. When you bring these all together, that creates a truly unique individual.” Those are some of the words Steve Murphy, chief executive officer at MTR UK, chooses to describe the
late railway pioneer Adrian Shooter CBE, who passed away in December. The first time they met, Steve was a fresh-faced 21-year-old, who had recently graduated from university and was doing a master’s degree. He’d applied to British Rail for its graduate training programme and was in London Euston for all the tests and assessments. “There were around six of us shortlisted and I thought I was in trouble because not only was the
economy in recession at the time and good graduate roles were hard to come by – but in the shortlisted group, I was up against academics with first-class degrees,” said Steve. “Adrian came into the room and said he’d take the six of us to lunch. He was a physically awe-inspiring figure, an enormous person with a significant presence – you could sense that electricity around you.
February 2023
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