Later this month, a public transport summit at Wrexham University in Clwyd will have noted author, trainspotter, and social media star Francis Bourgeois as one of the guests.

The event, on Thursday, 15th and Friday, 16th May, will be the first Public Transport Summit held in Wales, and will bring together transport leaders who will collaborate to generate the momentum needed to shape transport in the principality that is fit for the future.

Francis Bourgeois has a cult status as one of the UK’s most recognisable digital creators with a global reach.

His passion for trains shines through his tales of warm, uplifting and engaging trainspotting adventures, and he is known internationally as one of the UK’s most recognisable digital creators, with television appearances, widespread media coverage, and 2 million TikTok followers.

His reputation led to Francis Bourgeois being invited to unveil a new look for one of South Western Railway’s Class 455 London commuter trains.

“It’s great to be hosting Francis Bourgeois at our Public Transport Summit as it provides us with an opportunity to promote our new trains and buses, encouraging more people to use them.  At TfW we’ve been working hard to really improve the customer experience on public transport and that includes investing £800 million into brand-new trains across the whole Wales and Borders network, adding modern electrified buses to our TrawsCymru network and a billion-pound investment in the South Wales Metro. We’ve seen an increase in the number of people using our public transport network and we now want to further promote our investment and attract more people to use it.”  

Lewis Brencher, Communications and Customer Director at Transport for Wales