Celebrating excellence at the 19th Rail Business Awards
2017-02-27 15:45:00
UK: Transport for London was announced as Rail Business of the Year and Great Western Railway Managing Director Mark Hopwood was named Industry Leader of the Year at the 19th Rail Business Awards.
Hosted by Railway Gazette at London’s Hilton hotel on Park Lane on February 23, the event bought together around 600 senior executives and industry experts from across the UK rail sector. The awards were presented by former Transport Minister turned railway broadcaster Michael Portillo.
‘Over the past two decades RBA has become firmly established as a highlight of the UK rail industry calendar’, said Railway Gazette Editor-in-Chief Chris Jackson. ‘Recognising business, customer service and technical excellence, as well as individual achievements, these awards provide a valuable opportunity to pay tribute to all the hard work that goes on across the UK rail sector, day in, day out. The 17 awards attracted a broad range of entries, demonstrating that innovation and commitment are alive and well, despite some difficult times and a lot of negative headlines. Our panel of independent judges was faced with some very difficult decisions, and all of our winners can be justly proud of their achievements in a very strong field.’
Transport for London scooped the top award for Rail Business of the Year, with the judges noting that 2016 had been a strong year for all its rail operations, including London Underground, London Overground, TfL Rail and the Docklands Light Railway. London Underground was named Train Operator of the Year for the launch of Night Tube services; it also picked up the Digital Technology Award for its Automated Track Monitoring System and the Young Professional award went to LU project manager Helen Wright.
Great Western Railway Managing Director Mark Hopwood was named Industry Leader of the Year. The judges said that with a strong team behind him, he had demonstrated an ability to innovate at short notice and keep the trains running amidst one of Britain’s biggest infrastructure upgrading projects, while negotiating a new direct award franchise with significant investment commitments.
| 19th Rail Business Award winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Sponsor | Winner | Highly commended |
| Young Professional of the Year | Institution of Railway Operators | Helen Wright, London Underground | Tom Perren, Amey; Sabrina Ihaddaden, Bombardier |
| Women in Rail Award | Angel Trains | Rachael Riley, Carillion Rail | Elizabeth da Silva, TE Connectivity |
| Training & Development Excellence | CILT UK | Network Rail Operational Planning Assistant Programme | Young Rail Professionals Ambassadors Training Team |
| Supplier & Contractor Excellence | Railway Industry Association | NG Bailey | CCSL and Translink |
| Marketing & Communications | Woodhouse Comunications | Translink, Get on Board | Iarnród Éireann, Rail for the Win campaign |
| Digital Technology Excellence | EY | London Underground, Automated Track Monitoring System | Tracsis, Software as a Service |
| Customer Service Excellence | North Star Consultancy | Virgin Trains, Amazing Apps Store | KeolisAmey Docklands, Community Ambassadors |
| Technical Innovation | Railway Gazette International | Network Rail, Under Sleeper Pads | AmeyVTOL, Flying Wing Drone |
| Station Excellence | Carillion Rail and Buckingham Group, Oxford Parkway | ||
| Railfreight Excellence | GB Railfreight | ||
| Rolling Stock Excellence | Wabtec Faiveley | Translink, Enterprise Refurbishment Project | VTG and Hope Cement, Lightweight cement wagons |
| Safety & Security Excellence | Ideagen | SmartWater Technology, Tackling trespass hotspots | Hull Trains, Zero tolerance policy |
| Engineering Business Excellence | Ricardo Rail | Freightliner, Recycling wagon components | |
| Infrastructure Project Excellence | S&C North Alliance, High speed handbacks | Network Rail, Banbury Area Remodelling Project; S&C South Alliance, Hinksey Flood Alleviation Scheme |
|
| Train Operator of the Year | Bombardier Transportation | London Underground | Metrolink RATP Dev |
| Industry Leader | Rail Business Intelligence | Mark Hopwood, Managing Director, Great Western Railway | |
| Rail Business of the Year | SNC-Lavalin | Transport for London | |