Gordon Pettitt: manager who built Regional Railways and took care of his staff

Gordon Pettitt OBE, an inspirational career railwayman who created Regional Railways and always loyally defended his staff from criticism, died on March 31, a fortnight before his 91st birthday. He had been in frail health for some time.

Brought up in Hatfield after his birth in 1934 and the son of an LNER driver, Pettitt was instantly recognisable for his shock of unruly hair.

He began his railway career at the age of 16 as a junior clerk at Knebworth station, and he also worked at King’s Cross before being chosen for management training in 1960.

Pettitt quickly climbed the ladder, becoming Sheffield Area Divisional Commercial Manager in 1974 and Regional Freight Sales Manager three years later. He was on the move again within months, stepping up to become the Western Region’s Chief Passenger Manager as the High Speed Train fleet was just entering service.

Pettitt was back on the Eastern Region in 1979, as Liverpool Street Divisional Manager, where his strong negotiating skills were needed with BR’s relations with government at a low ebb and union leaders mobilising for a fight over pay and conditions.

When sectorisation was proposed, he was a natural choice to become Deputy Director of London & South East and Southern Region Deputy General Manager, quickly landing the top job, and developing the career of his close colleague, Chris Green, who was instrumental in creating Network SouthEast.

Pettitt’s stamina was stretched to the limit by the 1988 Clapham disaster that cost 35 lives and injured 500, but he resisted demands after the inquiry for the signalling staff responsible for faulty wiring to be dismissed.

In the build-up to privatisation, senior railway managers were charged with establishing business sectors, and Pettitt was selected to manage the provincial sector which from 1992 became Regional Railways.

It was a tough assignment because of its complex mixture of often heavily subsidised commuter and rural services, while a declining maintenance budget meant a case of ‘make do and mend’ for both infrastructure and rolling stock. He created five business centres and made ScotRail a separate entity.

Despite all the challenges, he always put safety and the morale of his 37,000 staff as his priorities. Governments may have dismissed his visionary push for investment such as trans-Pennine electrification, but he staved off line closures.

When his views on how privatisation should take place were overruled, Pettitt decided it was time to retire from the front line.

However, he was quickly snapped up to become an advisor for the rail regulator, Network Rail’s property team, HS1, Heathrow Terminal 5, and franchise bids.

Pettitt was honoured by having the now-preserved Class 423 4-VEP unit No. 3417 named after him at Waterloo station in June 2004. He was also president of the Bluebell Railway for ten years.

He is survived by his wife, Ursula, and three daughters.