The Railway Pensions Trustee appoints Christine Kernoghan as new Chair of Trustee board

The Railway Pensions Trustee Company Limited (RPTCL) has announced the appointment of Christine Kernoghan as the new Chair of its Trustee board, following a vote at its Board meeting on 29 June 2022. As Chair, Christine will oversee the stewardship of the industry-wide c £37 billion railways pension schemes (RPS) as well as its subsidiary company Railpen.

Christine's appointment was effective from 06 July 2022 and followed Chris Hannon's retirement.

Christine brings significant experience of the Rail industry, and understands the pressures on businesses in the rail industry and what is important to scheme members, having worked in railways for nearly 40 years. She is the former Head of Financial Services at South Western Railway (SWR) Limited and, during her varied career, has held roles in Pensions, Project Management and HR. She has 20 years of involvement in the railways pension schemes, as SWR Pensions Manager and Pensions Committee member, and joined the Trustee as an Employer Director in 2016. Since 2019 Christine has chaired the Trustee’s Integrated Funding Committee.

Commenting on Christine's appointment, Trustee Director Richard Jones, said:

"We have a robust succession plan to ensure continuity of governance for the RPS. Christine's knowledge, experience and passion for the RPS is undoubted. She has the full support of her fellow Trustees."

Commenting on her appointment, Christine added:

"I'd like to thank Chris Hannon for his years of dedicated service to the Scheme. I'm honoured to be taking up the role of Chair and I thank my fellow Trustees for their support and confidence. The role of the Trustee is vital to championing the best interests of the members we serve. I look forward to continuing to apply my dedication and focus on behalf of all the Scheme's stakeholders."