George Muir appointed Chair of the CTR Advisory Board

12th December 2008:  George Muir, recently retired Director General of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and alumni of Aberdeen University, has been appointed Chair of the CTR Advisory Board.

Born in Edinburgh in 1943, George Muir trained as an engineer in the Merchant Navy and later left to take a degree in Maths and Physics at Aberdeen University. In 1969 he joined the finance company, 3i, providing venture capital to new companies and later worked for Morgan Grenfell where he advised on company takeovers and finance in the City and New York. In 1991, he joined the large French utilities group, Vivendi.

He became Chief Executive of a group company supplying managed services to local authorities and then Managing Director of South Eastern rail company. In April 1999 he became Director General of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) overseeing an organisation comprising 140 staff and an annual budget of £75 million. George takes up his position as chair of the Advisory Board with immediate effect.

New Project Award - Assessing impacts of Government Sustainable Travel scheme

8th December 2008: A three year study has been launched to determine the impact of a £15 million investment by the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), and seven local authorities to create innovative transport measures in Scotland’s towns and cities. Click here for more details.

New Project Award - Flexible Transport Services and ICT platform for Eco-Mobility in urban and rural European areas (FLIPPER)

1st December 2008: This 2.6m Euro EU initiative is looking at environmentally friendly and cost effective transport options which succeed in bridging the gap between public transport and private car usage. In particular it will examine the environmental benefits of more flexibly organised fleets using smaller vehicles as well as the business case necessary to deliver such services. Click here for more details.