Gympie North’s assistant station master Mervyn Suares is celebrating a milestone that most will never see – 60 years of continuous employment at Queensland Rail.
Mr Suares says railway work is in his blood, with his dad and three brothers also working for Queensland Rail, achieving a combined 200 years of service between them.
“Each day, I drive 45 minutes each way from Cooroy to Gympie North station. I still love my job after all these years. It’s the people I work with that make my work so enjoyable,” Mr Suares said.
“I started at Queensland Rail on 10 August 1964 at the Roma St goods yard when I was just 16 years old. Since then, I have worked all around the state including Charters Towers, Winton, Longreach, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Nambour and various city stations like Caboolture, Darra and Toowong. I’ve spent the past 20 years here at Gympie North station, which I still call home.
“The biggest change I have seen in my time is the move from steam to electric trains. I still remember the incredible steam trains coming through regularly.
“The job has changed a lot, too – back then we used to have a lot of freight passing the stations and today my work involves more customer service in the form of ticket sales.”
The 76-year-old railway veteran has no plans to retire just yet but does enjoy following horse racing and rugby league in his spare time.
“I think I will continue to work as long as I can perform my tasks successfully”, he said.
Queensland Rail chief executive officer Kat Stapleton congratulated Mr Suares on his remarkable achievement.
“On behalf of Queensland Rail, thank you for all your years of service and for being an important part of the Gympie North community,” Ms Stapleton said.
“This is a special milestone for Queensland Rail, too – with Mr Suares the first employee to reach the milestone of 60 years at Queensland Rail.
“It shows that Queensland Rail is the place where connection counts – we also have 49 current employees that have worked here for more than 50 years.
“We are all about connecting communities at Queensland Rail and Merv has done just that having worked all across the Regional and SEQ networks – what a legend!”
However, Mr Suares still has a way to go to beat the Guiness World Record for the longest career at the same company – set by a 100-year-old Brazilian man who worked at the same company for 84 years.
