On Wednesday 19th February, members and guests gathered in Bristol to meet the CIRO South West & Wales Area Council and learn about the exciting plans in store for the region over the coming year.

Attendees heard from council members Nick Edwards FCIRO, CIRO South West & Wales Area Council Chair, Nick Millington, Network Rail Route Director, Wales and Borders, and Paul Stanford FCIRO, experienced senior leader, author, historian. The council members were joined by Phil Sherratt, CIRO CEO, who was able to share details of the CIRO’s mission and future plans.

Phil remarked that “it was great to be in Bristol for the relaunch of our South West and Wales Area Council. Our Area Councils are a hugely important interface with our members, providing valuable opportunities for learning and networking, and their success is the result of hard work from our volunteer Council members“.

Nick Millington shared with the group why the Wales and Boarders Route is more than a railway, providing an engaging overview of the route highlighting areas such as the introduction of new trains, freight operations and performance improvements.

Paul Stanford FCIRO, retired railway director, author and co-founder of the railway mental health charity Head Shunt followed, sharing his learning experience on the CIRO degree programme, his CIRO life and its benefits. Paul rounded up his presentation by giving an overview of the writing, volunteering and mental health charity activities he’s involved with.

Nick Edwards closed the session and shared how honoured he felt to host the relaunch of the South West & Wales area and being the Council Chair. After the event Nick commented that “around 30 people attended from a diverse railway background, levels of experience and differing ages but all with a passion for railway operations“,

A big shout out also goes to other Area Council members and especially to Andrew Derrig for facilitating and ensuring the smooth running of the launch event. Other council members present were Gerald Taylor MCIRO and Martin Bonington MCIRO.

To give you a little taster of the exciting events programme planned for 2025…

– 23/04/25 Bristol Temple Meads behind the scenes tour
– May 2025 Cardiff ROC visit
– June 2025 A Freight Perspective in the Region
– 01/12/25 Annual Quiz Queens Tap Swindon

Many thanks to Nick Edwards and all the South West & Wales Council members for their hard work preparing an exciting programme in the coming months – keep an eye on our website and member e-mails for further details.