Severn Valley Railway members back One Railway restructure
Members of the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited have voted to support the next stage of the SVR’s ambitious restructure plans, known as the One Railway project.
At the Company’s Annual General Meeting at Kidderminster Railway Museum on Saturday 9 August, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the amalgamation of the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited, which is the membership organisation, with Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) Plc, following the conversion of the latter company into a Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS). It was a legal requirement that at least 50 per cent of votes cast needed to be in support of the amalgamation in order for the resolution to be passed.
Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) Plc is the owning and operating company of the railway, and its shareholders voted overwhelmingly to support its conversion to a CCBS at their AGM in June this year. The process to enact the conversion is already underway.
Diane Malyon is the chairman of the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited and, together with the rest of the board of directors, had recommended to members to support the resolution. She said:
“I am extremely pleased at the strength of support shown by our members for this second, important stage of the One Railway project, and I would like to thank everyone for taking the time, either to attend the AGM or to vote online in advance.
“At each stage, members have examined the information that’s been presented to them, engaging with it and asking questions. Now they’ve given their mandate for the One Railway project to proceed, and this is a terrific validation of the hard work that has been put into this project by a dedicated team of volunteers. We will of course continue to work hard in the future to preserve our valuable relationships with members and volunteers.
“The benefits and opportunities that the One Railway project potentially brings to the SVR are hugely exciting; it will bring improved resilience, transparency and efficiency.”
Another director of the SVR Company Limited, Charlie Wright, has played a leading role in steering the project. He added:
“We knew from the start that what we were proposing was a dramatic restructure of arrangements which were put in place many years ago for what were, at the time, extremely good reasons. However, we’re now operating in a very different commercial and regulatory environment, and it’s crystal clear that we need a radical change.
“With the backing of our members, and the shareholders of the owning and operating company, we can bring about that change. Now the next stage of hard work begins. We must shape the detailed rules for the new organisation, complete the compliance processes and put the arrangements and documentation in place to allow the transition to take place at the earliest possible time.”
