A former train driver who used to run the ticket office at Trowbridge railway station claims she has been ‘forced out’ by Great Western Railway's management.
The staff member who wished to be known only as Toni decided to retire from her rail industry role after nearly 50 years.
Toni, 66, who lives in Frome, opted to leave four years earlier than planned after signing off sick with anxiety and depression.
Her retirement has caused issues for passengers using Trowbridge station, with the ticket office closed and the self-service machine out of order.
Toni worked as a train driver for 32 years until 2005 after being forced to stop on medical grounds, claiming she was being bullied and intimidated by managers.
In 2006, she was assigned to the GWR ticket office in Trowbridge, working alongside three other staff members who have all left over the past four years.
“When I started working at Trowbridge, the station was in a mess, but we built it up to become one of the best stations in the area,” Toni said.
In November 2022, just before Toni signed off sick to go into the Royal United Hospital in Bath for an operation, she recorded a log-book entry about an incident involving two teenage passengers.
The transgender employee, who was born a male, explained: “We had two youngsters coming to the station in the mornings and constantly causing problems.
“One of them had called me a weirdo because of my gender and I told them off.
“I put the incident in the logbook and then went off sick. I returned to work in January 2023 but in February I was informed that I was under investigation.”
Toni had included a sentence in the log-book entry criticising a colleague and was told she faced three gross misconduct charges.
The company said she had breached GWR’s Respect and Dignity Policy by making “inappropriate comments” relating to both customers and a colleague.
After being told she was under investigation, Toni signed off sick again in February 2023 and briefly came back to work for two weeks in August.
“Customers were overjoyed that I had come back, but then I was put on a disciplinary," she said. "That is the reason why I have been off work with anxiety and depression.
“Everybody at the station knew that I planned to retire when I was 70 but I have been forced out. I didn’t want to go through the disciplinary process.”
Toni finally decided she’d had enough and handed in her retirement letter on February 9 following a welfare meeting at Westbury station.
Since her departure on February 29, the Trowbridge ticket office has remained closed because GWR is suffering from acute staff shortages.
Toni says she wants customers to know the "truth” behind the reason why she no longer works there.
She added: “We have some fantastic customers in Trowbridge and I just want to say thank you to them.
“I want them to know that I did not want to go, but I was given no choice in the end.”
A GWR spokesperson said: “I can't offer comment on individual's private health, and/or release personal information.
“There is scheduled to be a full-time, and a part-time, staff member at Trowbridge. One retired [the full-time member] at the end of February and we are seeking to recruit a replacement. The other is currently ill.
“We know this is inconvenient for customers and we are looking to have the ticket office open again as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, customers can buy all of their tickets from our website, mobile app, contact centre, or from any other staffed station.”
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