Geelong’s Stacey Edwards has worked across some of Australia’s best restaurants. But, now she’s focusing on the state’s train network.
Ms Edwards spent her days procuring wine for top restaurants, but the Covid pandemic left her looking for a new career. She ended up finding one in an unexpected place, as a train signaller.
Ms Edwards is one of many signallers preparing for the planned 2025 opening of the Metro Tunnel.
“The first lockdown happened, and loads of people lost jobs at that time across hospitality and multiple other industries,” Ms Edwards said.
“We didn’t know, in the those early days, what the next couple of years were going to look like.
“I think like a lot of people started looking outward to other industries that weren’t showing signs of impact from Covid and rail was one of them.”
Born in Geelong, Ms Edwards had enjoyed a successful career in hospitality, working at the River Cafe in London and the Lake House in Daylesford – before bringing her talents back home in 2016.
Stacey-Lee Edwards when she was a sommelier at The Lake House. Picture: The Lake House
While working as the sommelier at Daylesford in 2014, Ms Edwards took home the Judy Hirst Award as Australia’s Best Sommelier and the restaurant was recognised for having the country’s best wine list.
“I was really fortunate. I had a wonderful experience working (in London) and got to sort of go to the top of what they could offer which was phenomenal,” she said.
“Lake House was a wonderful experience, I had a lot of freedom there and managed to write the best wine list in Australia in 2014.”
While selecting the perfect wine list and guiding trains on their journey may seem different, Ms Edwards says there are “a lot of transferable skills”.
“There’s probably more that crosses over than would originally be obvious on paper,” Ms Edwards said.
“Working in a high pressure environment your ability to multitask; clear, concise communication … they’re things that you take for granted in hospitality, and they are really important skills in signalling.”
Adjusting to her new job was “tricky”, but Ms Edwards said she now enjoyed her new role.
“For anyone moving from one thing to another, it does take a little bit of time,” she said.
“Signalling is genuine shift work … but you’re not afraid of long hours in hospitality.”
Ms Edwards has found the experience rewarding.
“Working in a beautiful dining room and serving beautiful things, giving people an experience is such a joy and a privilege,” she said.
“To move into something where you are sitting often behind a computer and you’re moving a lot of trains around, you do get the satisfaction of saying, ‘I can make decisions that are going to make it easier for people to get home today’.”
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