From working as a guard at the Blackburn depot in the 1970s with the Settle-Carlisle route one of his regular jobs, Paul Salveson had a 44-year career on the railways, finishing as a senior manager at Arriva UK Trains. He established the Association of Community Rail Partnerships in the late 1990s and was a member of the Transport Focus board. In 2009 he received an MBE for services to the railway industry. He is currently a Visiting Professor in Transport and Logistics at the University of Huddersfield.