Mr Hughes has worked in industry as a railway safety specialist since 1992. He has worked for British Rail in the UK and in Australia for the state railways in Queensland as Safety Risk Manager, as well as for Ansaldo STS as the System Safety Manager. His specialist skills are in risk management, railway safety management systems, and accident investigation. Mr Hughes is also a specialist in level crossing safety; he led the team that developed the risk management processes used for level crossing safety assessment in Australia and New Zealand. He has also provided level crossing safety advice to the Parliament of New South Wales and the Supreme Court of Victoria.

In 2011, Mr Hughes established a specialist consulting business to provide specialist safety advice to the Australian railway industry. As a result of this work he also took up a directorship with an Australian technology company that develops innovative level crossing safety equipment.

In September 2014, Mr Hughes moved to the UK to take up a role as Principle Enterprise Fellow with the Institute of Railway Research.