+44 (0)1622 690978
enquiries@victa-railfreight.com
About Us
Supporting your heritage business
There are roughly 200 heritage and tourist railways across Great Britain and Northern Ireland whose 13 million visitors contribute around £600M to the UK economy each year. With over 500 miles of track, and more than 8,000 items of rolling stock including iconic locomotives such as Flying Scotsman there's a lot going on.
Our Story
Victa Heritage has supported organisations such as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, West Somerset Railway, North Norfolk Railway and the Bluebell Railway.
But it's not just railways, Victa Heritage has supported the running of large scale events such as Traction Engine Rallies and large accredited museums.
At Victa Heritage we specialise providing help and advice with:
-
Governance, leadership and management.
-
Business operations and planning
-
Safety Management including development of systems and processes, risk assessment and audit
-
Railway operations support, including training and competence
-
Level Crossings
-
Non-mainline safety certificate applications
-
Railways on film and television.
Meet The Team
Matt has been active in the heritage railway sector since he was 11 years old. His voluntary activities started on the Lavender Line in East Sussex, his school work experience on the Bluebell Railway in their Permanent Way Department and from about 2001 the Kent & East Sussex Railway where Matt continues to volunteer as a driver and sign writer.
Matt joined the Kent & East Sussex Railway in 2006 as the Deputy Operating Manager. The Kent & East Sussex Railway is a large heritage visitor attraction that at the time attracted more than 100,000 visitors per annum. With more than 300 volunteers to manage, Matt honed his operational management skills becoming an effective people manager, tactician and problem solver. Matt helped develop systems and improved competence management at the organisation where he gained many personal competencies to help develop himself and improve resilience within the organisation.
In 2014 Matt moved to Dorset to take up a Senior Leadership position on the Swanage Railway. Here Matt was responsible for commercial operations, operations management and mechanical engineering activities to ensure delivery of planned services. After hitting the ground running Matt was soon promoted to the position of General Manager where in his late twenties he was leading one of Dorset's largest paid for visitor attractions with around 225,000 visitors per annum. While at Swanage Matt developed his skills in stakeholder engagement regularly liaising with Government Departments, local authorities and regulators on matters relating to the operation of the heritage visitor attraction. During Matt's time at Swanage he helped achieve one of the organisations key charitable objectives by running trains to Wareham on the national network. Matt also focused on improving the organisations effectiveness by improving budget modelling, developing proportionate business plans and leading on defining the organisation's purpose, vision and values. Matt worked hard to ensure Swanage was more inclusive through cultural change.
Matt joined Victa Railfreight in early 2019 to help diversify his skill set. Matt was becoming increasingly aware of colleagues at other similar heritage visitor attractions struggling to implement effective cultural change while trying to keep up with regulatory changes and increasing expectations on compliance with safety Law. Before Matt had chance to get his feet under the table he embarked on his first project by conducting an extensive review of the Bluebell Railway. Since joining Victa, Matt has supported many organisations from the highlands of Scotland down to picturesque Cornwall and everything in between. This included a two and a half year stint where Matt was appointed as the Operating and Safety Director of arguably Britain's biggest heritage railway, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Here Matt supported the organisation with renewal of their safety certificate to allow trains to operate to Whitby.
During Matt's time working with heritage railways he has worked on some major filming productions such as Downton Abbey and the Warner Brothers Film "Dunkirk" ensuring that everything is safe and goes smoothly on the day. Matt has appeared on screen himself a couple of times including the BBC TV series Full Steam Ahead and Salvage Hunters Classic Cars.
Neil as the Managing Director of Victa since its inception, has 45 years’ experience in operations and commercial roles within the rail industry. His innovative and practical approach to rail logistics has benefited numerous customers and projects, solidifying his reputation as a leader in the field.
Starting at just 14 years old Neil joined the Thameside group at the former Kent & East Sussex Railway to support the goal of the preservation society to reopen the railway!
NEIL TO PROVIDE SOME NOTES!
Neil has played a pivotal role in preserving and enhancing the UK’s rail history. He has been instrumental in the development of the Heritage Rail Safety and Standards Board (HRSSB). This proactive initiative aims to establish the first-ever safety standards for heritage railways, addressing important areas such as the inspection and risk assessment of level crossings and platform-train interface risks, to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.
Neils 50 years’ experience of operations and safety roles within the heritage rail sector underpin this work, bringing a unique perspective that balances operational excellent with practical applicability. His efforts, in collaboration with the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) have laid the groundwork for safety and sustainability across the sector – from mile-long railways like Sussex’s Lavendar Line, to expansive networks such as the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway.
Neil’s work ensures that the UK’s rich rail history remains operationally sound and safe for generations to come.
Our Clients
