{"id":235252,"date":"2023-09-08T14:57:12","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=235252"},"modified":"2023-09-08T14:57:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:57:12","slug":"im-a-former-premier-league-star-now-i-drive-busy-trains-through-london-its-surreal-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/lifestyle\/im-a-former-premier-league-star-now-i-drive-busy-trains-through-london-its-surreal-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I&#x27;m a former Premier League star &#8211; now I drive busy trains through London&#8230; it&#x27;s surreal | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>FORMER Birmingham City and Coventry hard man Martin Grainger swapped football for becoming a train driver after hanging up his boots.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Grainger, 49, worked his way up from the non-league to the Premier League after starting out at Colchester United in 1989.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/hugh-routledge-26-9-01-2360884.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>He helped The U&#x27;s gain promotion to the Football League in the 1991-92 season.<\/p>\n<p>In 1993, he joined then-League One side Brentford for \u00a360,000 where he established himself as a first team regular.<\/p>\n<p>A move to Championship Birmingham followed in 1996 where he would go on to become an inspirational figure and cult hero &#8211; known for his prowess from set pieces.<\/p>\n<p>He helped the side reach the League Cup final in 2001 and gain promotion to the Premier League in 2002.<\/p>\n<h2><span>READ MORE IN FOOTBALL<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/TOB-COMP-Top-leagues-summer-transfer-spend-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h3>Prem clubs spent QUARTER of global transfer fees as shock figures revealed<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/KS-BETTING-PADDY-POWER-070923-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h3>Back our Ukraine vs England Bet Builder which has been BOOSTED to 22\/1!<\/h3>\n<p>After promotion to the Premier League however, his game time became more limited due to injury and he found himself out on loan at Midlands rivals Coventry City.<\/p>\n<p>The left-back would make just seven appearances for Coventry City before returning to Birmingham.<\/p>\n<p>He played four more times for the St.Andrews, scoring a goal against Manchester United in his final game in a Blues shirt.<\/p>\n<p>After retiring in 2004, Grainger spent some time in charge of non-league Hertfordshire side Cheshunt.<\/p>\n<h2>Most read in Football<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/newspress-collage-23860765-1694120483147.jpg\"><\/picture><span>ANTONY ACCUSED <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Two more women accuse Man U star Antony of assault after ex &#8216;abuse&#8217; claims<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tp-composite-gerard-pique.jpg\"><\/picture><span>YACHT A LAUGH <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Pique enjoys romantic getaway with new love as pair dive off luxury yacht<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/crop-23860939.jpg\"><\/picture><span>&#8216;VITRIOLIC&#8217; <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Prem legend reveals he was attacked and nearly run over in wake of Keane case<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AH-sport-preview-ben-cull-2.jpg\"><\/picture><span>Cull Of love <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Ben Cull proposes to girlfriend in hospital as he&#8217;s treated for rare cancer<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>FREE BETS &#8211; BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He also worked as a VIP chauffeur.<\/p>\n<p>But since then, he has found a second calling as a train driver on the London train network.<\/p>\n<p>While still in training to be a train driver, Grainger told Birmingham Live about his decision to become a driver after finding out about it through a friend on his snooker team.<\/p>\n<p>He said: &quot;At the moment I am a trainee train driver which means you are in a class room for a year and I can only describe it as an absolute nightmare.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It is very hard! I must admit, I am not a classroom person and it is quite tough. I am enjoying it and the rewards at the end of it are really good.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I\u2019ve tried various different things, I\u2019ve been a driver for example, and to work different days of the year for the pay they offer is just great. Other than football, I haven\u2019t found anything that offers what this job offers.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>The former defender worked has obviously found his calling, talking to Blues Talk Podcast in 2020 he revealed that he worked throughout the pandemic to keep the network running &#8211; describing the experience as &quot;surreal.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/sport\/23873605\/martin-grainger-birmingham-train-driver\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FORMER Birmingham City and Coventry hard man Martin Grainger swapped football for becoming a train driver after hanging up his boots. Grainger, 49, worked his way up from the non-league&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>I&#x27;m a former Premier League star - now I drive busy trains through London... it&#x27;s surreal | The Sun - lovemainstream.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/lifestyle\/im-a-former-premier-league-star-now-i-drive-busy-trains-through-london-its-surreal-the-sun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I&#x27;m a former Premier League star - now I drive busy trains through London... it&#x27;s surreal | The Sun - lovemainstream.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FORMER Birmingham City and Coventry hard man Martin Grainger swapped football for becoming a train driver after hanging up his boots. 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