His overriding preoccupation is the trains under London, but Andy Byford’s passion could have led him on a quite different journey. “I thought long and hard about going in the navy when I was younger,” says London’s transport commissioner. “I like being at sea.”
Instead, the young Byford pulled on the uniform of London Underground, eventually coming full circle, via Australia, Canada and the US, to the top job at Transport for London – where a huge Royal Navy and Plymouth flag now adorns the wall of his Southwark office.
Few of his staff have seen it in real life, as Byford was installed last June with the pandemic in full cry. “It’s been surreal. I only met one of my execs in person, and my board members for the first time the other day.
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