Station veteran retires after 45 years on railway

A long‑serving member of staff at Cambridge railway station is set to retire after a 45‑year career on the railway.

Jeff Tan started working at the station's Travellers Fare catering service in 1974 after moving from Malaysia to the UK for studying aged 19.

Greater Anglia said he would complete his last shift on Thursday and would spend retirement travelling, flying kites and riding motorbikes.

Jeff said the transformation of Cambridge station and the introduction of computers were among the most notable changes during his career.

"But my colleagues and the customers have made me stay and, equally, made my day," he said.

Jeff completed a degree in economics before coming back to join the railway in 1980, getting a job in the ticket office which featured a European ticket counter.

He also worked in the telephone inquiry bureau and in the customer relations team.

In more recent years, he has been back in the ticket office.

"Over the years, you deal with all sorts of queries, but two that stand out are that I once had a woman who worked for British Airways offering me a discount for being helpful and another person asking me if I could locate a man they fancied on the train for them," Jeff said.

He planned to continue geocaching in his retirement, in which participants search for treasure boxes around the world.

Jeff says he has found 8,500 geocaches since starting in January 2019, including in New Zealand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Latvia, Denmark, France and Belgium.

"In a way, I'm looking forward to retirement, but of course I've never done it before, so I'm still a bit unsure," he added.

Rebecca Cubitt, assistant group station manager for the Cambridge area, said Jeff had been "nothing but a positive presence" on the railway.

"It will be a sad day when his final shift comes to an end, and he will be sorely missed."

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