UK: Great Western Railway’s repurposed Castle Class trains, a virtual reality safety education project and Greater Anglia’s bi-mode trains with a retractable step for level boarding are among the 15 category winners in this year’s Rail Business Awards, organised and hosted by the Railway Gazette Group.
Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, organisations across the UK rail sector have continued to deliver excellence in performance, quality and innovation. No fewer than 40 different entrants were shortlisted by the panel of independent judges.
Owing to the pandemic, the 23rd Rail Business Awards are being presented virtually via the Rail Business UK website. The People awards were announced on February 22, Products & Engineering on February 23 and Operations on February 24. The ultimate accolade of Rail Business of the Year will be revealed at 12.00 GMT on February 25.
‘The past year has demonstrated once again that people are the backbone of the rail sector’, commented Railway Gazette Group Editor-in-Chief Chris Jackson. ‘From the back office to the front line, countless thousands of individuals have been working day-in-day out under extraordinary conditions to deliver an efficient railway and the best possible service to its customers. I was really disappointed that we could not meet in person for our regular gala dinner, yet it is important to continue recognising excellence in all fields. We had some really excellent submissions.’
Rail Business of the Year
Premieres at 12.00 GMT
People awards
Diversity in Rail
Winner: Angie Doll, Managing Director of Southern and Gatwick Express
Highly Commended: Atkins Neurodiversity Network
Education & Training Excellence
Winner: Motion - Motion Reality
Highly commended: Big Button - RSSB RED
PM Training and Assessing Ltd - Technical Training Bus
Richard Hope Award
(outstanding personal contribution)
Winner: Gemma Platt - GB Railfreight
Highly Commended: Najla Almutairi - Southern Railway
Joe Healy - Thameslink
Young Professional of the Year
Winner: Jason Kairouz - Balfour Beatty
Highly Commended: David Westcough - Atkins
Matthew Taylor - Balfour Beatty
Industry Leader
Winner: John Cox - VolkerFitzpatrick
Products & Engineering awards
Infrastructure Project Excellence
Winner: Atkins & Network Rail - Norwich, Yarmouth and Lowestoft Re-Signalling Project
Rolling Stock Excellence
Winner: GWR - Repurposing HSTs into Castles
Supplier & Contractor Excellence
Winner: 3Squared – rail operator
Highly Commended: Angel Trains & DB ESG - applying 3D printing through a cross-industry partnership
Sustainability & Environmental Excellence
Winner: South Western Railway, Porterbrook and Eminox - Cleaning up diesel trains
Technical Innovation of the Year
Winner: LNER and Revenue Analytics - Revenue Optimisation Solution Engine
Highly Commended: Network Rail Southern Region - IRIS investigations and assurance system
Tram Operations Ltd - Physical Prevention of Over Speeding
Operations awards
Accessibility & Integrated Transport Excellence
Winner: Greater Anglia - New low-floor bi-mode train with retractable step
Customer Service Excellence
Winner: South Western Railway & Network Rail Wessex - Trespass and Welfare Officers
Marketing & Communications Excellence
Winner: GWR - That’s EnterTrainment
Highly Commended: LNER - Transforming Travel, for the launch of the Azuma trains
Rail Freight & Logistics Excellence
Winner: DB Cargo UK & Maritime Transport - Intermodal Partnership
Highly Commended: iPort Rail
Train Operator of the Year
Winner: Greater Anglia
