Sam Batey

Said the following about Julie Garn:

“Julie Garn is the Head of Intermodal at GB Railfreight. For over 20 years, she has dedicated herself to growing the intermodal offer, from next to nothing in 2002, to running a high performing team which operate 52 daily intermodal services. Across the industry, many look up to Julie, due to her relentless work ethic, passion for delivering for her customers and ongoing desire to grow GBRf as a business and as a leading female in a male dominated sector.

Julie joined GBRf soon after it was formed in 2002 when it was a British rail freight company starting up – at that point its founder John Smith, had just one locomotive. GBRf now employs over 1,300 and is a £300 million business, as one of the largest and most profitable rail freight companies in the UK.

Under her watch, the intermodal sector has grown year on year. Since 2017, GBRf has doubled the amount of intermodal trains it runs every year to 10,000 and increased the number of containers moved by 74% to more the 300,000. And at the centre of this, is Julie.

In 2002, Julie ran GBRf’s first ever intermodal service on behalf of MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) in May 2002 from Felixstowe to Doncaster & Selby Distribution Hubs. Today, GBRf’s intermodal team has 180 customers with an annual turnover of more than £100 million.

Julie works around the clock for her customers, building strong lasting relationships – that are demonstrated by the length of our partnerships with many of our customers. She is always prepared to address any issues, ensure trains run on time and advocate for her customer's needs internally within GBRf. But whatever the situation, Julie always has time for each of her team.

Julie has led GBRf’s charity work around Suffolk as she has always wanted to give back to the local area as someone who is proud to be from Ipswich. In 2022, she was part of the team that launched GBRf’s ‘Back on Track’ programme. The aim is to radically improve young people’s life chances and transform the industry by inspiring and supporting the next generation of diverse, ambitious and dedicated employees – the pilot is taking place in Felixstowe.

Across GBRf, Julie’s name is synonymous with commitment and intermodal services. In recognition of her dedication to the business in summer 2022, a locomotive was named after Julie.

At the ceremony, GBRf Chief Executive said of Julie, “You never, ever get a complaint about Julie’s attitude. She had grown the business from £1m of revenue to £100m. She’s passionate, she holds everyone in the business accountable for delivering what she wants and the customers love her. You cannot buy what Julie had bought to the business.”“