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Time Date	System Updates
Update 1499 16 August 2026	HOPS Succession Planning Update HOPS ADMINS - Please ensure this is forwarded to the relevant senior managers / directors. I have received contact from several railways' directors who are unaware this is taking place, and distributing communications like this is an important part of the duties of a HOPS Admin. Hello everyone, Here is an update on the HOPS succession planning activities. I'm sorry this isn't progressing as quickly as we would all like, but I am taking great care to make sure it is planned and implemented properly before making changes. Unfortunately I also feel I should warn everyone that there are some participants in our industry who would benefit from railways not having the use of a tool such as HOPS and are callously stirring rumours that HOPS is going to be switched off. Obviously this isn't true, and I'm taking great care to ensure that it remains on a good footing for the future and communicating openly with everyone about what is happening. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know. Thank you to everyone who has given feedback and comments on the proposals and their aspirations for the future. This has been very useful in determining what are the priorities for railways that need to be protected, and what are the nice-to-haves (and what's not required at all). Many discussions have taken place with railways and others and it has become clear that it is going to be extremely difficult to find a shareholding model where the ownership, voting power, director appointment arrangements, etc, satisfy the range of clients that use HOPS. Even accepting that it is impossible to please all the people all the time, the nature and range of magnitudes of railway business among our users has meant that pleasing even a majority will be almost impossible. I committed to you that nothing would take place unless it was fully thought-through as the best outcome and, as no obvious single best way forward has emerged, nothing has yet been changed. To avoid this taking up endless time for HOPS and clients, and to reduce uncertainty, I have decided to split this task of HOPS Succession into two and handle each separately: "Ownership" and "Management". Placing Ownership to one side for the time being, I will concentrate first on how HOPS is managed going forward: I still intend to step back from the management of HOPS. To replace me, I am pleased to say that Alexander Seal, already known to most of you as he has been involved with HOPS almost since day one, will be the new Program Manager - responsible for the day-to-day operation of the HOPS system and business. Alexander already has a detailed understanding of HOPS both from the operational and the technical sides, as well as experience from main line and management positions on heritage railways, so is ideally-placed to serve HOPS well in this role. He also has been instrumental in many of the significant developments in HOPS over the years (often fighting hard for your development requests for you!) There will be a smooth changeover from me to Alex over the next couple of months - recognising that continuity is an area in which you desired reassurance. Furthermore, to provide balance and a range of backgrounds and inputs and guidance, I intend to appoint a board of directors, drawn from experienced members of the heritage railway community. These will give long-term and strategic direction, and reduce dependence on a single person, as has been the case up to now and I recognise has been a concern. Discussion is ongoing with the potential holders of these roles, and I will update everyone when that is concluded. It is my intention to remain as a director initially, again to provide continuity, before stepping down. I'll continue to be available to give advice, or explanation about how/why things were originally formed, to Alex and the new directors if desired, to ensure corporate memory is not lost. We will arrange a 'get to know you' Teams meeting for the railways, Alexander and the directors to introduce themselves as soon as they are all in post. There are no other planned staff changes as a result of this, so the technical expertise and developers building and maintaining HOPS remains the same, as does the customer service staff. Alex has a number of exciting plans for the future, which he will communicate to you separately, both for developments of functionality in HOPS as well as how the business develops and adapts for the future. It is easy to get bogged down in one's own ways, so I am very pleased that HOPS will reap the benefits of this new enthusiasm at the helm. The matter of ownership will be returned to in the future. For now I am going to concentrate my efforts on embedding the management aspect which, as you can imagine, is no small task. Therefore the question of railways finding funds to buy shares is no longer the case for the moment. In fact, no action is required from railways at all, apart from letting us know if you have any questions or comments on the proceedings. I hope this will not be a disappointment to railways that were keen on obtaining an ownership stake in HOPS at this stage, but the feedback I have received from most railways leads me to believe the majority will be pleased that they don't have to find extra funds to purchase a stake, and more so not worry about which other railways are doing so. I'm looking forward to the future of HOPS - and to seeing it continue to develop at the railways I work at. I hope that concentrating on the management aspects of succession planning first will give you all some confidence and reassurance, rather than changing both management and ownership at the same time. I feel confident with that HOPS is in good hands for the future, and these changes will allow me to step back from the day-to-day running of the business and give HOPS new leadership and stability it needs to continue growing and supporting the heritage sector for many years to come. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the succession planning activities going on. Danny Scroggins

Time Date

System Updates

Update 1499
16 August 2026

HOPS Succession Planning Update

** HOPS ADMINS - Please ensure this is forwarded to the relevant senior managers / directors. I have received contact from several railways' directors who are unaware this is taking place, and distributing communications like this is an important part of the duties of a HOPS Admin. **

Hello everyone,

Here is an update on the HOPS succession planning activities. I'm sorry this isn't progressing as quickly as we would all like, but I am taking great care to make sure it is planned and implemented properly before making changes.

Unfortunately I also feel I should warn everyone that there are some participants in our industry who would benefit from railways not having the use of a tool such as HOPS and are callously stirring rumours that HOPS is going to be switched off. Obviously this isn't true, and I'm taking great care to ensure that it remains on a good footing for the future and communicating openly with everyone about what is happening. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

Thank you to everyone who has given feedback and comments on the proposals and their aspirations for the future. This has been very useful in determining what are the priorities for railways that need to be protected, and what are the nice-to-haves (and what's not required at all). Many discussions have taken place with railways and others and it has become clear that it is going to be extremely difficult to find a shareholding model where the ownership, voting power, director appointment arrangements, etc, satisfy the range of clients that use HOPS. Even accepting that it is impossible to please all the people all the time, the nature and range of magnitudes of railway business among our users has meant that pleasing even a majority will be almost impossible.

I committed to you that nothing would take place unless it was fully thought-through as the best outcome and, as no obvious single best way forward has emerged, nothing has yet been changed. To avoid this taking up endless time for HOPS and clients, and to reduce uncertainty, I have decided to split this task of HOPS Succession into two and handle each separately: "Ownership" and "Management".

Placing Ownership to one side for the time being, I will concentrate first on how HOPS is managed going forward:

I still intend to step back from the management of HOPS. To replace me, I am pleased to say that Alexander Seal, already known to most of you as he has been involved with HOPS almost since day one, will be the new Program Manager - responsible for the day-to-day operation of the HOPS system and business. Alexander already has a detailed understanding of HOPS both from the operational and the technical sides, as well as experience from main line and management positions on heritage railways, so is ideally-placed to serve HOPS well in this role. He also has been instrumental in many of the significant developments in HOPS over the years (often fighting hard for your development requests for you!) There will be a smooth changeover from me to Alex over the next couple of months - recognising that continuity is an area in which you desired reassurance.

Furthermore, to provide balance and a range of backgrounds and inputs and guidance, I intend to appoint a board of directors, drawn from experienced members of the heritage railway community. These will give long-term and strategic direction, and reduce dependence on a single person, as has been the case up to now and I recognise has been a concern. Discussion is ongoing with the potential holders of these roles, and I will update everyone when that is concluded. It is my intention to remain as a director initially, again to provide continuity, before stepping down. I'll continue to be available to give advice, or explanation about how/why things were originally formed, to Alex and the new directors if desired, to ensure corporate memory is not lost.

We will arrange a 'get to know you' Teams meeting for the railways, Alexander and the directors to introduce themselves as soon as they are all in post. There are no other planned staff changes as a result of this, so the technical expertise and developers building and maintaining HOPS remains the same, as does the customer service staff.

Alex has a number of exciting plans for the future, which he will communicate to you separately, both for developments of functionality in HOPS as well as how the business develops and adapts for the future. It is easy to get bogged down in one's own ways, so I am very pleased that HOPS will reap the benefits of this new enthusiasm at the helm.

The matter of ownership will be returned to in the future. For now I am going to concentrate my efforts on embedding the management aspect which, as you can imagine, is no small task. Therefore the question of railways finding funds to buy shares is no longer the case for the moment. In fact, no action is required from railways at all, apart from letting us know if you have any questions or comments on the proceedings. I hope this will not be a disappointment to railways that were keen on obtaining an ownership stake in HOPS at this stage, but the feedback I have received from most railways leads me to believe the majority will be pleased that they don't have to find extra funds to purchase a stake, and more so not worry about which other railways are doing so.

I'm looking forward to the future of HOPS - and to seeing it continue to develop at the railways I work at. I hope that concentrating on the management aspects of succession planning first will give you all some confidence and reassurance, rather than changing both management and ownership at the same time. I feel confident with that HOPS is in good hands for the future, and these changes will allow me to step back from the day-to-day running of the business and give HOPS new leadership and stability it needs to continue growing and supporting the heritage sector for many years to come.

Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the succession planning activities going on.

Danny Scroggins

Generated at 12:16:37 03/09/2026