Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Home Heritage New additions to Bluebell Railway board announced

New additions to Bluebell Railway board announced

A number of changes have been made to the board at heritage steam railway, the Bluebell Railway, including the appointment of the first director of people services. 

Chris Barber takes on the brand-new role as the railway places a greater emphasis on its paid staff and volunteers. 

Barber comes from a proud railway family – his grandfather was a signalman on the East Coast Main Line and his father worked on the engineering side of signalling. He has a background in human resources and is currently head of business change for Thales UK. He has a passion for heritage railways and steam in particular – for many years he was involved in the preservation and running of the Burrell Scenic Steam Road Loco ‘Dragon’. 

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Bluebell Railway chairman Geoff Mee said: “Chris Barber’s appointment reflects the importance we place as a business on our people. The Bluebell Railway relies on the dedication of its paid staff and volunteers to provide our passengers with a first-rate experience.

“This new addition to the board indicates our recognition of the work of all our people. I am sure Chris’s experience will help us all in our efforts to continue to be the premier heritage railway in the UK.” 

Barber said: “Just like any organisation, the people at the Bluebell Railway are vital to its future success. We have a dedicated team of paid staff and volunteers who make the Railway such a great place for people to work at and visit.  

“I want to build on this by looking at the life cycle for paid staff and volunteers to ensure this is fully aligned to the strategic business and preservation aims of the Railway. I look forward to liaising with – and listening to – people in all parts of the organisation to consider improvements to make the railway an even better place to work and visit”    

Steve Trigg has been appointed as the railway’s new finance director. Trigg has been a finance director across a variety of sectors including housebuilding, recruitment, oil and gas, and most recently mergers and acquisitions. He is now semi-retired. He replaces David Burch who has stood down from the board because of work commitments. 

He grew up around railways as his father was a rail enthusiast and he spent many hours at GWR’s Didcot centre. 

Trigg said: “The Bluebell Railway, like all other businesses, is in a difficult financial position because of the general economic situation.

“I look forward to meeting the staff and volunteers to see how we can best work together to tackle the economic headwinds and put the railway on a firmer financial footing.” 

Geoff Mee said: “We thank David for steering us through the difficult phase of the pandemic and ensuring our survival. He provided us with a path towards better times.

“We know Steve will build on his work and see us through to a more prosperous railway even though we face more economic challenges in the short-term.” 

In addition, long-serving directors Bob Pamment and Mike Ellis have stood down from their roles as rolling stock director and operations director respectively. 

Bluebell Railway Preservation Society chairman Paul Churchman will be interim rolling stock director and vice-chairman Neil Glaskin returns for the time being to the role he previously held as operations director. 

The Bluebell Railway runs on eleven miles of track from Sheffield Park in East Sussex to East Grinstead in West Sussex. It was the first preserved standard gauge railway in the UK and opened as a heritage line in 1960. 

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