Adams was educated at Impington Village College near Cambridge,[1] then started his career with British Rail at the age of 15,[2] working his way up to become a steam locomotive driver.
A local Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) trade union representative, Adams was voted in as General Secretary in 1994.
Towards the right of the trade union political spectrum, he vigorously opposed the Conservative governments' privatisation of British Rail via the Railways Act 1993, and was attacked and labelled by the right wing tabloids, most famously as "The Black Prince of Militancy" by the Daily Mail during the 1995 rail strike.
[3] However, in 2004 Adams declared: "I was vehement that we wanted to stay in the public sector, and of course there were all the usual concerns trade unionists have regarding privatisation, safety issues, job losses, protecting the conditions of service, and pensions.
Adams was later appointed to the Strategic Rail Authority set up by the new Labour government and is a board member of the British Transport Police.