FirstGroup enjoyed a successful evening at last week’s (14 June) Scottish Transport Awards. The UK’s leading bus and rail operator picked up three awards at a prestigious ceremony in Glasgow.
ScotRail, one of FirstGroup’s four passenger franchises, picked up two awards including the much coveted, ‘Public Transport Operator of the Year’. In addition Perth based train driver, Ricky McLeod, who has never been sick, late or involved in an operational incident in a career spanning three decades, collected Frontline Employee of the Year.
Completing the FirstGroup hat-trick was bus operator, First Aberdeen, who collected the ‘Transport Team / Partnership of the Year’ for its state of the art learning centre, where staff can learn and develop all manner of skills, including literacy and numeracy.
“It was a tremendous night for FirstGroup,” said Tim O’Toole, Chief Executive of the Aberdeen based company. “These awards reflect the quality, commitment and hard work of our staff across all our Scottish operations.”
He added: “I am particularly pleased that ScotRail won Public Transport Operator of the Year. Its performance goes from strength to strength and is carrying more passengers and running more services than ever before.”
There was reason for double celebration at ScotRail on June 14. Not only did it enjoy success at the Scottish Transport Awards, it also scooped two prizes at the Network Rail Partnership Awards. It won the Sustainable Excellence title for environmental performance during 2011/12 and the Investing in People Award for its staff training and development schemes.
Commenting, Managing Director, Steve Montgomery, said: “I am delighted that ScotRail has done so well across the board in such a wide range of categories. Our achievements in these areas are testament to the fantastic work that goes on across the business.”