{"id":9853,"date":"2024-02-08T23:36:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T13:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=9853"},"modified":"2024-02-08T23:36:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T13:36:37","slug":"svr-confirms-jonathan-gus-dunster-as-permanent-managing-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=9853","title":{"rendered":"SVR confirms Jonathan \u2018Gus\u2019 Dunster as permanent managing director"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">Severn Valley Railway<\/a> has announced that it has approved the permanent appointment of Jonathan \u2018Gus\u2019 Dunster as managing director of <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">(Holdings) Plc<\/a> with immediate effect.<\/p>\n<p>Gus has been fulfilling the role in an interim capacity since 1 March last year, following his retirement from his previous role as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk\/\">Avanti West Coast\u2019s<\/a> executive director of operations and safety. He was already an extremely well-known face at the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR<\/a>, having volunteered there for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is great news for the railway,\u201d said Chris Walton, the chairman of <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR (Holdings) Plc.<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s yet another step in stabilising our organization, as we continue to meet the many challenges we face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the past year, Gus has worked closely not only with me, but also the rest of the board, the senior leadership team and our paid staff and volunteers. He has made a huge contribution to the railway\u2019s operation, galvanizing the entire team, and putting many new measures in place to secure the future of the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has brought in new board members, who have significantly strengthened our leadership, and he has also been instrumental in forging the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR\u2019s<\/a> landmark partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.networkrail.co.uk\/\">Network Rail,<\/a> the first of its kind in the UK. His experience and connections with main line rail companies continue to yield invaluable benefits for us, and enable us to secure diverse income streams, and benefits in kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on his permanent role at the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR<\/a>, Gus said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a pleasure to be the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR\u2019s<\/a> interim MD for the past 11 months, as the railway works hard to counteract the long-term impacts of pandemic lockdowns, rocketing costs, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis that threatens visitor numbers. It\u2019s still early days, but there\u2019s a very real sense that we are now firmly heading in the right direction. I want to pay tribute to everyone across the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR<\/a> who has \u2018done their bit\u2019 in recent times. Despite the challenges we have much to look back on with pride from the 2023 season. I am very proud to be part of the team at this important time in our railway\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI must reiterate the message that tough times still lie ahead. We cannot be under any illusion that things are \u2018back to normal\u2019. Like all heritage railways, we face continuing challenges, but I am confident we can meet these, if we all work together for the good of the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we approach our 60th anniversary in 2025, I hope everyone associated with the railway will share my optimism, and my determination to safeguard the <a href=\"https:\/\/svr.co.uk\/\">SVR\u2019s<\/a> future.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"box\">\n<p><strong>More Like This<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalrailwayreview.com\/news\/160506\/ace-eic\/\">New Chief Executive expected for ACE and EIC<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalrailwayreview.com\/news\/160494\/rohlig-suus-logistics\/\">Rohlig SUUS Logistics: Edvard Martini issues statement<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalrailwayreview.com\/news\/160083\/tricia-hayes-travelwatch\/\">Tricia Hayes CB appointed new Chair of London TravelWatch<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Severn Valley Railway has announced that it has approved the permanent appointment of Jonathan \u2018Gus\u2019 Dunster as managing director of SVR (Holdings) Plc with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":9854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,47,488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-opinion","category-rail-news","category-railway-stations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}