As part of the reopening of the railway and to stabilise the business the Mid-Norfolk Railway has announced details of its ongoing management restructuring strategy that seeks to improve the business.
The new structure recognises that as the railway has grown, it must develop its management structure to meet the needs of a multi-million pound business and thereby work more effectively to achieve the charitable objectives of the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (MNRPT).
Charlie Robinson, Chairman of the MNRPT, explained the development, when he said: “The challenges of recent years have highlighted to the current Trust Council that the railway as a whole has outgrown its previous management structure. The new model is designed to ensure that the railway is better able to overcome the challenges the railway faces in meeting the charitable objects it sets itself. The Trust Council is focused on getting the railway open as soon as possible but also recognises this work must also be done to make the railway more resilient in the future”
Once implemented the new structure (see above) will improve communication and accountability and means that all Trust Council members have now been allocated to one or more of the railway’s departments as Linked Trustees. The role of the Linked Trustee is to be the focus for communication from the department to the full Trust Council and also from the Trust Council to the department.
All Trustees will now sign a new ‘Personal Roles and Responsibility Agreement’ that sets out their role and responsibility within the new structure. In turn department leads, whether they are paid or volunteer, will also work with their nominated Trustees to agree new ‘Personal Roles and Responsibility Agreements’ for themselves and the department they manage.
A second measure designed to improve the railway that has also been announced is a new quarterly Trust Council Forum. This initiative follows a successful meeting recently at Dereham Station where the Trust Council explained the issues the railway currently faced and also answered questions and sought suggestions.
This new quarterly cycle will be introduced immediately with meetings being held on Saturday afternoons after the last train of the day. The Railway's AGM will take the place of the third quarter forum meeting.