Fraser Pithie writes on a range of subjects, but mainly about  UK railway issues, general customer service standards and the lamentable lack of common sense so often apparent in todays world.

Retired after 33 years in the utility industry, Fraser started his career as a District Inspector in South Warwickshire eventually rising to become Severn Trent’s Senior Operations Manager. At the time of the 2007 floods that affected Gloucestershire, leading to some 350,000 people to lose their piped water supply for over 7 days, he represented the company on National Media throughout the incident and managed the visit to the affected water treatment works by the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

In 2009, at a Reception in the House of Commons, he was recognised by the National Joint Utilities Group and presented with their “Most significant Personal Contribution to the Utility Industry” award. This was largely in recognition of his work at Severn Trent, subsequent to 2007, to better understand the impact of essential and/or emergency utility works on customers and implementing how to effectively manage the need for uninterrupted service with planned and unplanned disruption affecting critical assets.

A  County Councillor in Warwickshire between 1990 and 1997 Fraser also was Chairman of Warwickshire Police Authority between 1995 and 1997.

He became involved in his local  community at an early age becoming Chairman of the Parish Council in his home village of Welford on Avon at the age of 26. He oversaw the building of 10 shared equity houses for local young people in 1988/90 which was one of the very first shared equity housing schemes in England.

Confronting head-on the constraints raising from the 1980’s right-to buy legislation he also spearheaded the construction of 20 bungalows for more senior members of the community. This enabled the release of rented housing stock for local young families which in turn secured local amenities such as the local primary school.

In 1984 Fraser became Hon Secretary of Stratford upon Avon Transport Action Committee and worked hard alongside the Railway Development Society and North Warwickshire Line Defence Committee to stop British Rail from closing the the Stratford to Birmingham railway line via Henley in Arden.

Fraser collected over 1200 personal objections to closure by taking annual leave from his work and travelling up and down the line to engage with passengers. The closure was stopped. Subsequently and to date, he has supports the campaign to obtain an Economic Impact Study on re-opening the railway line between Stratford upon Avon to Honeybourne that would re-link the tourist town to the recently redoubled Cotswold line geeing access to Oxford, Heathrow Airport and London Paddington putting Stratford upon Avon on a through railway route instead of being a terminus while enabling 50 minute direct connectivity between a proposed new Garden Village at Long Marston and Birmingham.

He is an ardent supporter of the railway and also HS2 as he sees the project as a much needed boost to capacity for the existing rail network to meet annual rising rail passenger demand and to enable and support sustainable economic growth that is critical to the Midlands and North.

His past knowledge as a County Councillor and Chair of Warwickshire Police Authority combined with a wide experience gained from managing in a FTSE 100 regulated utility leads him to question, challenge activity he feels is devoid of common sense and works against the customer.

A keen amateur photographer, Fraser spends quite a lot of his time taking images of the modern transport scene, particularly trains. He writes features for The Railway Magazine and his images are regularly published in national periodicals such as RAIL, Modern Railways and The Railway Magazine.