The Railway Strategic Plan 2009 - 2020

Version 1

27th January 2010 Foreword

This document has been prepared by the Directors and Managers of the following wide consultation and input from Shareholders and Members of the SVR.

Mick York, Chairman of the Joint Board

Version: 1

Date: 27th January 2010

Ref: SVR-GM-STRAT-001

3 Why do we need a strategy?

The Severn Valley Railway in 2010 is an established feature of the valley from which it takes its name, operating regular timetabled train services between in and in , it carries over 240,000 passengers annually . The Railway has become a tourist attraction of national standing and, as the unfortunate storm damage of 2007 illustrated, a majo r part of the local and regional economy. A recent survey undertake n by consultants SQW on behalf of Advantage confirm s that the net economic impact of the SVR to the West Midlands economy is £10.9 million and that each year the SVR generates £5.4 million in gross value added for the regional economy.

Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC is a well established operatio n with an annual turnover in excess of £4.5 million. The Railway is a major tourist attraction and in addition to selling travel tickets, is home to a number of retail operations, a major visitor centre and a highly respected centre of engineering excellence .

The needs and requirements of our passengers and visitors will always be of utmost importance. A strategy helps us define target s and areas for improvement, such as our welcome to visitors and passengers.

It helps us define what is important to us; the preservation of the spirit and atmosphere of a traditional secondary route is considere d in everything we do.

The preparation of the Strategy is a proven business process designed to take the SVR on a journey to future success. It is based upon a ‘mission statement’ that defines the primary purpose of the business. It is supported by a ‘vision statement‘ which provides the general aims of the company. We have sub-divided the vision into 6 main themes. The implementatio n of the Themes and Measures will focus the efforts of all stakeholders to achieve the SVR Vision and will provide detaile d plans for every area of the Railway. In this way the results can be measured, achievements recognised and everyone can be involved in future success.

5 Background to the Severn Valley Railway

In 1965 a dedicated group of local enthusiasts came together a t As a transport system and tourist attraction, the Kidderminster and formed the Severn Valley Railway Society; they achievements of the last few years continue to be recognised. For succeeded in raising, from their headquarters at Bridgnorth, ten example, we were very proud to have been awarded: per-cent of the £25,000 purchase price for the (then) recently The National Railway Heritage Awards, Ian Allan Publishing closed 5 mile section of the Severn Valley line from Bridgnorth to Heritage Railway of the Year Award 2008 . This was soon followed by the arrival of the first rolling stock at Bridgnorth and three years later the Light Railway Order The Heritage Railway Association Peter Manisty Award for was granted to allow the then recently formed Guarantee Outstanding Achievement 2008 Company to operate trains once again along the first 5 miles. The The Heart of England Best Tourism Experience Tourism Award Bridgnorth to Hampton Load e section was re-opened in 1970. 2008 With the cessation of B.R. passenger services to , the The Heart of England Outstanding Contribution to Tourism stretch of line down to Foley Park, near Kidderminster, becam e Award 2008 available. A new company, Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC , was formed in order to raise the necessary capital for these The Transport Trust Award 2007 ambitious expansion plans and following an extremely successfu l The Severn Valley Railway is grateful for recent support from, and share issue train operations were extended to Bewdley in 1974 . It proud to be associated with: was during this period that the SVR was grateful for the assistance of a loan to the SVR (Holdings) Company of £150,000 from local company Rubery Owen, which was later converted in to shares. This loan was put towards replacement bridge work at and stations. In 1982 the final section between Foley Park and Kidderminster becam e available following the closure of the sugar beet factory and another successful share issue saw the SVR purchase this sectio n and implement its plans to build Kidderminster Town station. The Kidderminster site was finally fully secured in 1984 when a further successful share issue enabled the freehold to be purchased.

The expansion plans of the SVR did not stop there, although this more recent activity has focussed on visitors and the protection of rolling stock. In 2000 the carriage shed was built in Kidderminster yard to provide accommodation for the SVR’ s historic carriage fleet. This was followed by construction of th e roof canopy at Kidderminster station in 2006 and at Highley in 2008, which provides accommodation for locomotives ‘out of ticket’ on the Severn Valley Railway and is also a marvellous visitor and education centre for our passengers . 6 The Mission Statement of the Severn Valley Railway

A mission statement defines the essential purpose of the Company. The statement is considered when taking any decision affecting the future of the SVR. The Mission Statement of the Severn Valley Railway is:

To preserve, maintain and operate the Severn Valley Railwa y as a working museum of railway history for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations. n o s r a e P l u a P

9 The Vision of the Severn Valley Railway

The Vision Statement is constructed to provide an aim for the Considered development of existing supporting revenue Company; it says where we want to be, providing a focus for streams to reduce our dependency on ticket income. decision making. The vision of the Severn Valley Railway is: • To be open to new ideas, embrace change when needed and to demonstrate teamwork through a willingness to build on For the Severn Valley Railway to be acknowledged as the suggestions rather than find reasons why they will not work. leading heritage railway and recognised as a key visitor attraction in the UK with a reputation for quality in all • To utilise our skills and knowledge to develop contract aspects of customer service. engineering services.

• To be recognised as providing outstanding value for money to Key Principles Underlying the Vision: visitors and achieving excellence in both service and facilities.

The following key principles expand on the Vision Statement; • To build the reputation of the Railway through training and they give more detail to the direction that the Severn Valley development. Railway will be going. Continually seek to improve the authentic presentation of the Recognised as the leading authority in heritage railway Railway preservation skills • To be a conscientious guardian of our historic assets and to enhanc e • To enhance the preservation skills and knowledge of our staff to the built environment, infrastructure and rolling stock in order to a high level of excellence, whilst ensuring that this knowledge is preserve the history of the SVR. passed on to future generations. To be in a strong financial position To recognise the skills of staff and develop resources to secure • To generate sufficient funds from all our activities to finance futur e future operations developments, improvements and maintenance requirements. • To develop the management structure (paid and volunteer) to • To take prompt action to ensure appropriate contribution from maximise the benefits which can flow from a blend of volunteer all departments seeking productivity and performance and paid staff. improvements. • To encourage relationships to be built and nurtured at all levels. To be able to prove our performance as an effective • To develop processes so that staff performance through training organisation. and development, can achieve continuous improvement. • To have a stronger up to date knowledge of our organisation, through performance management of all our activities.

10 11 Themes and Measures for the Severn Valley Railway

The themes support the delivery of the vision. What areas of the THEME 2: Strengthening our Financial Base business need improvement to achieve our vision? A number of • We need to generate sufficient profits to fund future projects. Ou r workshop sessions were held with Directors and staff to determin e profit each year must be secure and allow for future investment the following six themes on which we will to concentrate over the and development. next ten years. Some high priority measures are included under each theme to highlight what we will be doing to achieve success. • Better forecasting of future profit and loss will alleviate risk. Our financial organisation will delegate fully all routine processes to the responsible departments and will have developed a series of THEME 1: Protecting and Improving our Infrastructure performance charts which provide regular information to the • The lessons of the infrastructure damage following the storms of Board of Directors with recommended actions needed to develop 2007 have illustrated the importance of continued proactive future policy and direction. maintenance to both protect and improve our infrastructure; this Measures: includes the built environment and IT systems. • To clearly establish the roles and responsibilities within the structur e Measures: that make the organisation “fit for purpose” and planning in • To review the whole Bridgnorth site and develop a plan for its advance to take advantage of seasonally based opportunities. redevelopment. • Timely collation of information. Investment already made in • To provide adequate centralised diesel repair facilities at server and software will be used to generate consolidated and Kidderminster. timely management information.

• To develop guidance notes for protecting all the Railway’s built THEME 3: Investing in Staff environment. • SVR staff will still be mainly volunteers. The Railway will have • To achieve high standards of restoration, as we are rightly proud developed innovative ways of recruitment and a process for bette r of our locomotives and rolling stock. rewarding and recognising the contribution of both volunteer and paid staff.

Measures:

• To reduce the age profile of volunteers; make the SVR an attractive social event, a place for young people to work and relax after hours .

• To create an environment where families/groups of people can come and volunteer to work, staying where appropriate in suitable accommodation.

• To improve staff loyalty and good relations.

12 13 THEME 4: Ensure and improve the profitability of non ticket THEME 6: Looking after our visitors – focus on high quality revenue streams Customer Service

• The Railway must be innovative and develop our non passenger • Our business comes from the general public, particularly families traffic business, be willing to try new ideas and change non and senior citizens. The number of purely railway enthusiasts may performing areas into profitable revenue streams. decline over the years so co-operation and participation with othe r visitor attractions through local and national tourist organisations Measures: is vital to keep visitor numbers high. • To improve what the SVR already does; understand the profitabilit y • Our visitors must have an enjoyable experience at every visit to of current commercial operations and develop new opportunities encourage them to return and recommend us to friends and family . and ventures that will contribute to the profitability of the Railway . To utilise the expertise that is within our members and stakeholder s • In the same way we must, in the widest sense, look after all our to support any existing and future activities. visitors, including internet users, SVR members and shareholders.

• To make sure the ethics of any development are, as far as reasonabl y Measures: practicable, consistent with the heritage objectives of the Railway . • To improve the presentation of the SVR, a recommendation document will be produced for the Joint Board on an annual THEME 5: Strong Governance – responsible to all our stakeholder s basis to inform the budget process, focussing on necessary enhancement projects; for example, a policy on appearance, • The Director and management responsibilities will be clearly manner and dress for all staff will be produced. understood internally. Improve communication with stak e holders. • To enhance all front line staff in order to present a consistently positive welcome to the SVR. • Providing a secure governance framework to allow the business t o succeed in a way that is clear to all. • To establish a regular forum with key staff as a means of monitoring our presentation to the public. Measures: • To continue to develop our online presence to enhance • To ensure the safe operation of the Railway and that its activities communication of relevant information and to grow our conform to all current and predicted legislation. business. • To ensure that there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities for boards, committees and management.

• To define a communications policy for internal and external consumption of all railway activities. To continue to develop our relationship with supporting external bodies and organisations.

• To improve the assessment of risk to the business and introduce mitigating actions where necessary.

14 15 The Values of the Severn Valley Railway The way forward

The values of the Severn Valley Railway should be considered as The Strategy of the SVR is a ‘live’ document and will be kept the principles which underlie all our decision making; they define under review, being updated and altered as necessary. the ethics of the Severn Valley Railway. Our seven values are: Underpinning the strategy will be the business plans of the SVR. 1. Operating maintaining a safe railway to the highest possible Each department will produce a plan on an annual basis which standards of practice and discipline. will strive to achieve the measures of each theme of the strategy. These business plans may be under the ownership of a 2. Sympathetic to heritage principles in all our decisions. department manager or a committee chairman. The General 3. Maintaining the highest levels of professionalism within the Manager will monitor these plans and report progress to the heritage railway movement. Joint Board.

4. Valuing our loyal support base of members and shareholders. Business planning will begin in 2010.

5. Development – to be forward looking and innovative. For the document to be relevant, it is important that changes, progress and updates are posted regularly to members and 6. Teamwork – blending skills of volunteers and paid staff. shareholders. Communication will be through the Annual General 7. To retain the loyalty of all to the spirit of the Severn Valley Railway . Meetings, the Shareholders Newsletter, the Severn Valley Railway News, Working Members Newsletter and the official Severn Valley Railway website.

16 17 Glossary of terms

Term Definition during World War II, allowing the use of larger locomotives than would normally be associated with SVR Severn Valley Railway a branch line.

Severn Valley Railway This Company was established as owner of all the Rolling Stock The term used to define all non powered carriages (Holdings) PLC assets and infrastructure of the Railway. It has and wagons operating on a railway. shareholders but does not pay a dividend; any profit is reinvested in the SVR. It also employs all the paid The Engine House The Visitor and Education Centre was opened in staff who administers Railway activity. The turnover Marc h 2008 with exhibits interpreting the history of of the Holdings Company is more than £4.5 million. the SVR as well as locomotives awaiting their next In addition to train services, the Company operates a overhaul. number of retail and leisure outlets, a major visitor centre, and a highly respected centre of engineering ‘Out of ticket’ A locomotive steam boiler as a pressurised vessel is excellence in locomotives, carriages and wagons insured for use for a period of seven years which can be extended. Once this period is up, the boiler must Severn Valley Railway This Company provides the volunteer workforce to be examined and undergo an overhaul before it can Co Ltd operate the Railway from within its 13,000 plus be insured for use again. (Guarantee Company) members. It communicates with all its members through a magazine published four times a year. MPD – Motive Power The workshop responsible for the running Department maintenance and overhaul of locomotives at Severn Valley Railway A forum and fundraising association made up of Bridgnorth. Association working members of the Severn Valley Railway. Joint Board The directors of both the Guarantee and the Severn Valley Railway A registered charity, set up by the SVR family in 2002 Holdings Board meet on a monthly basis. Rolling Stock Trust to help ensure the long term future of rolling stock based on the Severn Valley Railway. Paid staff Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC employs 85 full time staff and up to 60 seasonal staff in the summer Light Railway Order This 1896 Act of Parliament permits operation of months. heritage railways. It restricts the maximum speed to 25 mph. Volunteers Volunteers, or working members, are the life blood of the SVR. Over 1,300 working members operate B.R. – British Railways; The nationalised rail network operator from 1948 the railway, including drivers, firemen, signalmen, until privatisation. guards, ticket inspectors, booking clerks, some retail staff, the Venturer dining car, station and MPD staff. Secondary Route The original Severn Valley Railway was a through route between from Kidderminster to . SVR Members The 13,000 members of SVR Company Limited. Although of lesser importance than any of the main railway lines, it was an important diversionary route SVR Shareholders SVR (Holdings) PLC has over 13,500 shareholders.

18 19 If you have any comments relating to this document please write to the General Manager.

Severn Valley Railway The Railway Station, Bewdley, Worcestershire DY12 1BG Telephone: 01299 403816 www.svr.co.uk