Breadth of experience as five rail figures appointed to NRM advisory board
BROADCASTER and railway historian Tim Dunn, Heritage Railway Association CEO Steve Oates, Network Rail’s chief environmental and sustainability officer Jo Lewington, Anit Chandarana, lead director of the Great British Railways Transition Team and Toufic Machnouk, Network Rail’s director, industry partnership and digital railway, will join the now 12-strong board which provides advice and support to the museum’s senior management team on their plans for its future.
The appointments come at a key time for the museum as its Vision 2025 plans start to take shape, with a new interactive space, Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery, due to open in May 2023.
NRM director Judith McNicol said: “We’re thrilled to welcome five new members to our Advisory Board. Tim, Steve, Jo, Anit and Toufic bring a wealth of experience from different parts of the rail industry and will play a vital role in providing advice for the museum through a busy and exciting time. They will join the board immediately.”
Great opportunities
Tim Dunn, best known as presenter of the TV programmes The Architecture the Railways
Built and Secrets of the London Underground which he presents, said: “As we enter the next phase of delivering the NRM’s Vision 2025 plans and work towards 2025 – the bicentenary of the world’s first steam passenger train service and the start of railways as we know them – the opportunities to bring railway history forward to new audiences and to inform contemporary discourse have never been greater.”
Steve said: “Preserving, operating, interpreting, and engaging with such heritage requires a good deal of collaboration and it’s a privilege to be able to further strengthen the links between our nationally renowned railway museum and our nations’ heritage railways.
Jo said: “I’ve joined the board because I believe that the work of the NRM is essential to public engagement and education about the rail industry."
Anit described his appointment as “an opportunity to help to preserve, celebrate and educate”, while Toufic said: “The National Railway Museum sits in a uniquely special place between the past and the future.”
The advisory board is chaired by Sir Peter Hendy who is also chairman of Network Rail.