Richard has managed Britain’s first rail partnership, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, based at the University of Plymouth, since 1998. He and the partnership have always been great enthusiasts for the Community Rail Network and particularly its role as a vehicle to encourage and help community rail partnership officers across the country to share ideas and experiences.

His ethos has always been to encourage everyone who wants to get involved with the railway and he strongly supports encouraging more station friends’ groups and CRPs and Community Rail Network working to help them achieve what they want to at their local station as far as is possible.

Richard was awarded the MBE for services to the rail industry in the South West in the 2010 New Year’s Honours.  He is a Brentford FC season ticket holder and has supported the Bees for more than 35 years.

Jeremy has over 25 years senior level strategic commercial experience in UK rail in train operating companies and franchise bidding and running his consultancy specialising in marketing and commercial projects, largely within the rail sector. Prior to establishing his consultancy, Jeremy was deputy bid director, head of commercial development and commercial bid lead for Abellio UK.

Jeremy has been active in community rail for over 20 years and became an Honorary Member of Community Rail Network in 2005. He has presented widely on community rail and provided marketing input to the highly successful Interreg Project and run community rail seminars for the Department for Transport on marketing.

Marion works as a rail support officer at Merseytravel and has been involved in community rail for over ten years. She has worked in transport for over 23 years.

Marion chairs two community rail partnerships, West Lancs and Borderlands line, and chair of the award-winning Women in Community Rail, a movement which is growing and gaining traction across the country. She is also a cabinet member at Sefton Council with responsibility for Regeneration & Skills including supporting and delivering on business growth across the borough

Ian is from a professional railway background who currently works within a local authority solving travel issues.

As Vice chairman of the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership, he brings to the board a wealth of experience from his knowledge of the national rail network and how today’s modern railway works. Ian has been involved in community railways since 1980 when he worked on the Tarka Line. His passions are branch lines and collecting historic railway documents.

Daisy is rail knowledge transfer manager at Knowledge Transfer Network, with a passion for transport transformation, accessibility, sustainability and inclusion. She provides innovation and funding stream support to companies within the rail sector and supply chain. Daisy is also the lead on Accessible & Inclusive Mobility (AIM), supporting & driving innovation in AIM across transport modes.

She is a volunteer and former employee of Community Rail Lancashire, where she was equality, diversity and inclusion lead, developing projects around inclusion of people with disabilities, young women, LGBT+ groups and more. Daisy is also a Northern Power Woman; Future List winner.

As the line officer for the Heart of England Community Rail Partnership, Julia joined the world of community rail in January 2020 having come from a background of Primary school teaching and personal training. She is also secretary for the Women in Community Rail South group.

Julia is passionate about the community rail movement and bringing the railway to the community, which has been demonstrated with a number of projects, including the ‘Coventry Acts of Kindness project’, engaging with rail users apprehensive about rail travel during the recent pandemic.

The current chair of the North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership, Garfield was previously executive dean of science and engineering at the University of Chester. He has over 30 years experience of chairing committees at all levels. Garfield is also chair of a central board of the British Computer Society, and sits on a number of their committees.

Locally, Garfield works with a number of societies and has recently become treasurer of the Ellesmere Port Family and Local History Society. He is a keen observer of all matters rail, and founded the North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership in 2016.

Karen is community rail education officer at Community Rail Lancashire, chair of the Community Rail Education Network and a proud member of the Women in Community Rail steering group.

Karen is enthusiastic about improving education in rail, has helped co-ordinate projects such as Backtrack, bringing various members of the community rail family together and is passionate that community rail is a movement which is inclusive, tolerant and diverse.

Mick has been an active member of community rail for over 24 years, involved with both Purbeck Community Rail Partnership since its inception, and also with the North Downs Line Community Rail Partnership since its formation in 2017, via its parent body Southeast Communities Rail Partnership.

Prior to retirement, Mick’s career was largely as a property adviser to local government. Since then he has been giving strategic property advice to Swanage (Heritage) Railway, and also to colleagues in community rail on a voluntary basis.

A member of Friends of Heaton Chapel Station in Greater Manchester, Roy’s railway career was built in railway operations and management, embracing light rail and consultancy, Roy has also worked with the Department for Transport, train and tram operators on franchise development, safety, strategic planning, project management, financial assessments, train service innovations, customer service improvements, stakeholder relations and community rail.

Roy is a ‘people person’, always seeking to proactively leading teams, motivating, developing and supporting individuals, and is looking forward to using this knowledge and experience to contribute to community rail and to serving the diverse community rail partnerships and station friends groups that make up community rail.