The Friday Blog | From Apprentice to Running London's Busiest Station: The Rise of TfL's Youngest Leaders

At just 27, Leah Rawlins oversees one of the busiest transport hubs in the capital, managing more than 120 employees and millions of passenger journeys every year. Her rapid rise through Transport for London's apprenticeship programme highlights how the organisation is developing a new generation of operational leaders.

When Leah Rawlins joined Transport for London as part of its first general management apprenticeship programme in 2017, she never imagined she would soon be responsible for keeping one of London's busiest stations moving.

Less than a decade later, the 27-year-old is Area Manager at Tottenham Court Road, the busiest station operated directly by TfL, welcoming around 63.4 million passengers annually following the arrival of the Elizabeth line.

Learning to lead at 23

Rawlins' management journey began remarkably early. At just 23 years old, only months after completing her apprenticeship, she was appointed Area Manager with responsibility for six Northern line stations between Golders Green and Edgware.

The promotion meant leading teams containing colleagues with decades more experience than her.

Rather than viewing that as an obstacle, she chose to embrace it.

"I was very worried about going into a team where people are a lot older than me and where some have been in the job since before I was born," she said.

Instead of trying to prove herself by having all the answers, Rawlins adopted a collaborative leadership style.

"I wasn't familiar with everything, so I had to rely on my team quite a lot. Rather than telling them what to do, I was asking, 'What's happened here?' or 'What do you think we should do for the best?'"

She believes drawing on the experience of long-serving colleagues helped build trust while producing better operational decisions.

"Although I have the final say in what happens, we've ended up using ways that are a lot more effective because I've had lots of different people's input into things."

Keeping London's busiest station moving

Since taking charge of Tottenham Court Road in 2025, Rawlins has overseen a station that has become one of the capital's most important transport interchanges.

Managing more than 120 employees, her role involves balancing customer service, operational performance and safety while responding to the challenges that accompany millions of passenger journeys each year.

"It’s the same role, but it's multiplied a lot," she explained.

"If one line goes down all of a sudden, we could be dealing with a huge crowd of people, but it's exciting to be working in a station that's considered to be the TfL flagship."

Tackling fare evasion and anti-social behaviour

Alongside keeping services running smoothly, Rawlins' teams regularly work with the British Transport Police to tackle fare evasion and wider anti-social behaviour.

Transport for London has set a target of reducing fare evasion across its network from 3.5% to 1.5% by 2031, with enforcement operations forming a key part of that strategy.

Rawlins said the collaborative approach is designed to benefit both staff and passengers.

"We regularly have enforcement operations in Tottenham Court Road and also work with the British Transport Police. We try to tackle these issues to make sure it's better for our team and for those customers who are paying for their travel."

Creating the next generation of transport leaders

Looking back, Rawlins admits she was initially unsure whether an operational career would suit her.

However, practical placements during her apprenticeship completely changed her perspective.

"The operational role nearly put me off applying for the scheme. I thought, 'I won't like that', but after doing a placement as a gateline member of staff and then a supervisor I absolutely loved it."

She now actively encourages other young people to consider apprenticeships within Transport for London, believing they offer opportunities to explore careers that many people do not realise exist.

"TfL gives a huge amount of opportunities and really supports the apprentices we have here. You get to work across the organisation, which is huge. There are a lot of jobs across the organisation you don't even know exist."

Leading by listening

Rawlins' career demonstrates how leadership within modern public transport is increasingly being shaped by collaboration, adaptability and operational understanding rather than simply years of experience.

As London's transport network continues to evolve, stories like hers illustrate the growing role apprenticeships are playing in developing future leaders capable of managing some of the UK's busiest and most complex transport infrastructure.

For Transport for London, the journey from apprentice to leading its busiest station in less than ten years serves as a powerful example of the opportunities available to the next generation of transport professionals.