Just received by email ...
Dear Graham
I?d like you to be one of the first to know that, after a year as interim managing director at South Western Railway, Mark Hopwood will be returning to Great Western Railway as Managing Director from 4 January next year.
It has been an absolute privilege to have led GWR▸ through this very challenging year, and I?m grateful for the support you have given me and the GWR family. I also know that Mark is very much looking forward to getting back to the Western and working with you all again.
I?m proud and pleased of what we?ve been able to achieve in the past year, from improving train service performance and securing investment in key projects across our network, to keeping our key workers moving through a global pandemic and supporting the local economic recovery in the communities we serve.
At the same time, I?ve been asked to take up a secondment to the First Rail leadership team to focus on the development of FirstGroup?s future rail businesses and contractual arrangements.
This is an exciting opportunity to use the skills and experience from this year, as well as my time working on previous franchise bids, to help our sister train companies in FirstGroup and I look forward to helping secure and shape the future of First?s rail businesses at this critical time.
During this time I will remain a statutory director at First Greater Western Ltd and will continue to take a keen interest in the business. In the meantime I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year.
Best wishes
Matthew
Matthew is very well suited to the ongoing negotiation for the future of First, and with a significant "Customer First" bias, in our changed world and I wish him all the very best in the role he describes. I'm sure he'll remember us and be in touch occasionally as appropriate building towards a sustainable public transport system for the future - sustainable in terms of building positive passenger use, developing for the future where both climate and covid lead us down lines not imagined a decade ago and with the social changes they bring. Sustainable also in financial terms - looking after First group for sure, but also staff and passengers and the treasury.
It will be good to welcome Mark back too. We have missed him (though I will not say "sadly" as he has had an enormous job at
SWR» ) and look forward to seeing him around and taking steps through next year(s) as public transport in general and GWR in particular rebuild. 2020 has seen public transport and the economy kicked back dramatically ... there is much work for both Mark and Mattew to do in 2021
