THE BI-ANNUAL FOR MEMBERS OF THE CHARTERED INSTITUTION OF RAILWAY OPERATORS November 2022

This edition of the CIRO Bulletin newsletter is somewhat of a milestone for the publication as we reach issue number 50 . Initially launched as a simple means of communicating the Institution ’ s upcoming events and membership updates , the publication has evolved over more than 17 years .

It has covered not only important developments in the Institution ’ s growth over time but the major challenges and achievements of the rail industry and wider society . In this article , we take a whistle stop tour of some of these moments , as covered by the Bulletin over the years . Membership The early Bulletin newsletters were generally no more than four pages and were created simply as a means of communicating events and updates with IRO ’ s membership , at a time when digital communications were in their infancy . In addition to information on events such as the IRO annual lunch , competitions such as the Calendar photography competition were introduced , encouraging members to post in their best shots of the Railway to IRO head office . The best twelve entries would then appear in the annual IRO desk calendar .

Alongside general membership information , announcements would also be made in early editions of Bulletin with each new company that joined . ( Something which CIRO are still proud to announce in each Bulletin edition ). Some of the earliest to be mentioned included Chiltern Railways and Mott McDonald . By Issue 27 in 2011 , the front page of the publication proudly announced that IRO had “ Signed up all TOCs ” with over forty companies joining as corporate members . A number which also included FOCs , consultancies and private companies relating to the railways .

As IRO grew and evolved , the Bulletin would also be used to chart the increase in membership numbers over the years . The first milestone announcement made was at the two thousand mark back in April 2010 with each subsequent thousand announced as membership ticked over the milestone number .

Number five thousand was announced with a front-page splash in May 2016 and it would then take until November 2021 – Issue 48 until the next major milestone of ten thousand members was achieved as Andrew Love , Head of Train Control & Signalling at SNC- Lavalin Atkins joined . This proved to be a fitting coincidence as this edition would be one of the most historic in the Institution ’ s history as the award of the Royal Charter was announced .

A constant feature within Bulletin , from the very earliest editions , has highlighted the work of the voluntary Area Councils . Each edition contains useful information on relevant area events and activities throughout the United Kingdom and beyond . Now numbering in the hundreds , these events have included numerous visits to depots , simulator days , TOC visits , signalling centres ,

family fun days and much more . Some of the more unique events have included a 2011 visit to the then Tata steel works in Scunthorpe arranged by the North East Council , a trip to NATS ( National

Air Traffic Services ) as featured back in February 2012 , and a once in a lifetime opportunity for South East area members to visit the huge Farringdon Crossrail Construction site in 2015 . Also covered throughout the publication to date has been the constant expansion of the Area Councils coverage . The launch of the first Irish Area Council was a feature in the September 2008 issue . Academic CIRO today is now synonymous with learning and CPD within the rail industry with an established academic programme and apprenticeships provision as well as a range of short courses . This hasn ’ t always been the case and the Bulletin has charted the journey of CIRO ’ s learning and development journey perfectly . It was way back in 2005 , with the simple headline “ Education Programme ” that the Academic programme , in

partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University ( GCU ) was first announced with the then IRO Chairman Chris Leah saying “ The launch of our degree and diploma courses is a milestone in the development of the institution and a significant boost for railway operators everywhere .” This was followed in the December 2007 issue by an announcement about the development of an entry level certificate qualification to support the diploma and degree courses .

The first graduates of these newly created courses inevitably followed shortly after and Jill Barratt MBE was featured in the March 2008 issue as the first person to graduate from GCU with an IRO Diploma in Railway Operational Management , earning a “ first ” for her efforts . The new IRO Academic programme would rapidly gain recognition and standing within the industry and by March 2009 , issue 18 of the Bulletin contained the headline “ IRO courses attract record numbers ” as an article explained “ The 82-strong cohort comprises 31 students starting the Degree course , 30 the Diploma and 21 the newly introduced Certificate .”.

The Academic programme would be highlighted in many of the subsequent issues of the Bulletin , focusing predominantly on the many individual success stories it helped to nurture . In April 2011 , John Hillman was featured in an article titled “ IRO helps John head ( middle ) east ” which outlined how John ’ s Degree in Railway Operational Management had directly contributed to his appointment as Rail Operations Chief Engineer for the Dubai Metro . John explained at the time : “ When the degree became available , I signed up and thanks primarily to that , I was able to broaden my horizons ...”.

In June 2012 , the front page of the Bulletin featured Matthew Lee , who is now Commercial & Customer Experience Director at Lumo , as he accepted the award for Young Professional of the Year at the 2011 Rail Business Awards . At the time , Matthew was an IRO Degree student and went on to graduate shortly after receiving the award .

Most recently , in November 2022 former Degree students Samantha Fenwick and Saleem Ali were both featured on the front page with the title “ From Student to Graduate to Tutor ” as they had recently been approved as course tutors by GCU . As Saleem reflected at the time : “ I thoroughly recommend CIRO to anyone looking to pursue qualifications alongside their employment . I learnt a great deal and I ’ m looking forward to applying the expertise throughout my career .” Much more recent than the Academic programme , but no less important in terms of learning and development , is the CIRO Apprenticeship provision , launched in 2018 as seen in the May edition of that year . Two new management apprenticeship programmes were launched following consultation with the industry as CIRO CEO Fiona Tordoff explained within the article :

“ We were listening to our corporate members carefully and there was still the requirement for broad rail operations knowledge as rail companies need people to be broadly understanding of their part in the whole rail system .” Apprenticeships Much like the Academic courses that came before , students of the apprenticeship programme have gone on to be featured as success stories in subsequent issues and in November 2022 George Browning , Train Services Manger – Southern Railway ; Erica Davies , Performance Improvement Manager – Network Rail ; and Benjamin Cowdell , Joint Project Manager - Network Rail and GRT were all highlighted following the completion of their apprenticeships .

Technology As technology advanced , the Institution moved with the times and the Bulletin became the place to announce the latest launch of new IRO tech . Back in November 2005 , the seventh edition was used to announce the launch of the first ever IRO website - www . railwayoperators . org , where members could catch up on events and announcements . This site would go on to evolve far beyond its initial purpose , eventually including a dedicated membership space , Area Councils pages , learning and CPD tools and many other resources . It was the online hub for members up until 2021 when as part of transition from “ IRO ” to “ CIRO ”, it was replaced and updated by the current www . ciro . org site . Another online evolution that closely tracked the Bulletin has been the IRO online learning offering . Launched back in 2014 as a result of feedback from corporate members and known at the time as “ IRO Learn ”, the platform featured in the October 2014 edition . It showcased newly designed Ops 90 learning material and the first iteration of the Professional Operators Development framework ( POD ). IRO Learn would serve as the Institution ’ s online learning platform from 2014 until 2021 when it was replaced by www . railacademy . com which now offers a much more tailored and interactive learning experience for users . Copies of CIRO ’ s commemorative book “ The Journey to Chartership ” are available from the membership department for £ 4.00 to cover postage . Please contact membership @ railwayoperators . co . uk