Tony Jones promoted to Managing Director at SEP Rail Services
After seven years of helping shape the business from the inside, long-standing senior leader Tony Jones today steps into the role of Managing Director at SEP Rail Services.
Tony joined us on day one, back in 2018. Since then, he’s been at the centre of our operations – supporting teams across surveying, monitoring, planning, drainage, commercial delivery and more.
His promotion marks a natural next step both for Tony and for the business.
We caught up with Tony to talk about what comes next.
The natural step forward
“We’re not a small company anymore. We’ve got more than 75 people in our team now, and the way we operate should reflect that” Tony commented.
“My immediate focus is clearer reporting, tighter KPIs, and better visibility across every department so we can make smarter decisions day to day. We’re not reinventing anything – we’re maturing what we already do.”
Tony has always played a hands-on role within the business. This next chapter gives him the structure to take that even further.
Protecting our team
Tony steps into the role at a time when the wider rail industry is feeling the pressure. CP7 is progressing slower than expected, major programmes have been paused or pushed back, and uncertainty continues across the sector.
As Tony puts it:
“Everyone can see what’s happening across the industry with work being deferred, programmes slowing down and uncertainty everywhere. This isn’t the time to be focusing on massive growth.
Instead, it’s the time to consolidate, protect jobs and keep people gainfully employed.”
Expanding our capability
A major focus for the year ahead is continuing our expansion into non-rail sectors. Over the last 12 months, we’ve already delivered increasing volumes of work across highways, construction, industrial environments and utilities.
“The drainage business has been a major contributing factor for this,” Tony explained. “They feed work into us, we support them, and clients get everything in one package. It’s exactly what we’ve always done in rail – just applied elsewhere.
And our teams have transferable skillsets which can be adapted across multiple industries to continue to deliver high quality works for our clients”
This joined-up approach gives clients a single source of truth for their assets and the confidence that comes from rail-level precision.
Steady and people-focused year ahead
Looking ahead, Tony is clear on what success looks like.
“A successful year for me is simple: keep the staff we’ve got, increase our client base, stay ahead on workflow, and keep raising the bar. If big opportunities come, we’ll be ready. But this is a year for stability.
Business as usual, just a bit smarter, clearer and better connected.”
Tony’s appointment reflects exactly what SEP Rail Services has always been built on: strong people, steady leadership, and a commitment to doing things properly.
Commenting on the appointment, Rikki Morrow, former Managing Director and now Group Director, said: “Tony has been at the heart of SEP Rail Services since day one, and nobody deserves this step more.
He’s led from the front and played a huge part in building the business into what it is today. I’m proud to hand the reins over to him, and confident he’ll continue to strengthen our reputation across rail and into new sectors.
Congratulations, Tony!”