Fishbone
Junior Fleet Timetable Consultant
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An Opportunity to Start Your Consulting Career at the Centre of the UK Rail Industry
Reporting to [Senior / Principal Consultants], you will support projects that help our clients — train operators, rolling stock companies, funders and public bodies — get the most from their fleets and their timetables. Your work will span fleet utilisation and deployment analysis, rolling stock strategy, and timetable planning and appraisal.
This is an analytical and advisory role rather than an operation lead: rather than running a depot or a fleet day to day, you will provide the evidence, models and recommendations that help clients make those decisions. You will join a supportive team, working under the guidance of experienced delivery specialists on live client projects.
The role suits an early-career analyst or planner — for example a recent graduate in transport, engineering, economics or another analytical discipline, or someone with an initial rail placement or graduate role — looking to build a consulting career. You will be supported with mentoring, training and a clear development path towards a Senior consultant position.
Key Responsibilities
The exact balance of the role can be shaped to the successful candidate, but it is expected to include:
- Analyse fleet utilisation and deployment — diagrams, mileage, capacity, availability and reliability data — to identify inefficiencies and options for improvement.
- Support the development of fleet strategies and business cases, including fleet size, composition, cascading and deployment options.
- Benchmark fleet performance and costs, drawing on industry and client data sources.
- Contribute analytical input to studies on fleet renewal, modification and life-extension decisions.
- Support the preparation and appraisal of timetable options, service patterns and the fleet they require.
- Test the feasibility of proposed timetables against journey times, turnarounds, dwell times, fleet availability and engineering access.
- Understand how timetable interacts with stabling, depot capacity and maintenance regimes, and reflect this in the analysis.
- Support analysis and evidence for timetable consultations and stakeholder submissions.
- Support the development of Train Service Delivery (depot) plans to enable maintenance and KPIs.
- Support client workshops, meetings and site visits (including depots and control rooms), and help capture requirements.
- Prepare clear, well-structured deliverables — technical reports, briefing notes, presentations and models.
- Manage discrete pieces of analysis or small workstreams, delivering to quality, time and budget.
- Build trusted working relationships with clients and colleagues across the industry.
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Data, Modelling and Insight
- Build and maintain datasets, models and tools (Excel as a baseline; growing use of Python / SQL where relevant).
- Produce KPI dashboards and performance analysis — for example punctuality, mileage and reliability trends.
- Turn analysis into clear, actionable recommendations for non-specialist audiences.
- Contribute to the team's methods, tools and thought leadership.
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Personal Specification
- Strong analytical and numeracy skills; advanced Excel and confidence working with datasets.
- Excellent written and spoken communication, with the ability to explain technical analysis to non-specialists.
- A demonstrable interest in rail, transport or the wider mobility sector.
- Well organised, with the ability to manage several project deadlines, work independently and collaborate in small teams.
- The right to work in the UK.
- A full UK driving licence — the role involves travel to client sites.
Desirables
- A degree (or equivalent qualification) in transport, engineering, economics, geography, mathematics or another analytical discipline — or equivalent experience in transport planning, rail advisory or operations analysis.
- Knowledge of the UK rail industry and its planning processes — timetable production, fleet diagramming, possessions and engineering access.
- Awareness of current rail policy and the industry reform programme.
- Experience of a placement, apprenticeship or graduate role in a consultancy, train operator, rolling stock company or infrastructure manager.
- Skills in Python, SQL or business-intelligence tools.
- Experience producing client-facing reports or presentations.
- Engagement with a relevant professional institution (for example IRO or CIHT).
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