THE acting director of York’s National Railway Museum has been appointed to the role on a permanent basis.

Paul Kirkman joined the museum last November on a year-long secondment as part of his position of Head of Arts and Creative Industries at the Department for Culture Media and Sport.

Now, after a selection process that whittled down the initial 51 applicants, including senior figures from the cultural sector, he has been chosen to lead the museum into the future.

Professor Sir Howard Newby, chair of the NRM’s advisory board, said the ideal candidate needed an awareness of the history and importance of the world’s railways, tempered by a broader understanding of how to reach new audiences to ensure the museum grew in scale, ambition and reach. “Paul was without doubt the best-placed candidate to deliver that,” he said.

Mr Kirkman said it was a ‘great honour’ to have been entrusted with the care of the museum at a very exciting time in its development.

News of his apppointment comes as the museum revealed it had attracted an ‘incredible’ 85,000 visitors since the start of its Mallard 75 celebrations, which mark the the 75th anniversary of the iconic loco breaking the world speed record, with an everage of almost 10,000 visitors a day.