Speakers

Mark Smith runs the train travel website The Man in Seat 61, www.seat61.com. A career railwayman who joined British Rail in 1987, he was the Station Manager for Charing Cross and London Bridge in the 1990s and later Customer Relations Manager for two privatised train companies. In the 2000s he worked for the Department for Transport managing the fares and ticketing team. In 2001, Mark set up a website called The Man in Seat 61 to help travellers book train travel around Europe and worldwide. With up to one million visits per month, he has run this full time since 2007.