A father and son's rail legacy as they work together on the Northumberland Line

Father and son, Michael and Matthew Propserino, are from the North East and work for SLC, who specialise in supporting local authorities with delivering third party rail projects.

Michael and Matthew have played key roles in overseeing the construction of the Northumberland Line on behalf of SLC’s client - Northumberland County Council.

Both being rail specialists in construction management, they had worked also together previously on about six projects across the country. However, the Northumberland Line has brought them both back home.

Matthew said: “The project is very special in many ways, this isn’t just any project far away from home, it’s building something for our local community.

"It’s also been a rare opportunity to come home to our families each evening, which is especially important when you have two young children.”

Michael, who has been working on rail projects for nearly 50 years, has never worked on home turf before. He added: “It’s incredible to work on something so close to home, and we’re proud to be part of it.

"It’s not too strange working with Matthew as we each have our own areas of responsibility, but we do cross paths in meetings and have a shared passion for delivering it.

He added: "This is a big project, and there’s been plenty of hurdles to overcome but the whole team have worked together brilliantly to make it happen.”

Michael sees the Northumberland Line as a sign of exciting times ahead: “There’s very little work of this magnitude that happens in the North East but I think this is changing, and hopefully this will be the start of more infrastructure projects in the area and better connectivity for the future generation.”

Their work on the project isn’t the only achievement they’ve shared, as in 2023, Michael and Matthew made history as the first father and son in nearly a century to receive Chartered Membership of The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) together.