Last night the annual National Rail Awards was held in central London, celebrating achievements from across the rail industry. FirstGroup’s South Western Railway (SWR), Great Western Railway (GWR) and Avanti West Coast train companies won awards, as well as being highly commended in a number of categories.
SWR’s Staines station, which sits at a busy junction for trains between London Waterloo, Reading and Windsor, was named ‘Medium Station of the Year’. This winning station was previously managed by Teresa Pearson, who in June was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for her services to the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last September.
Nominated by SWR, the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Society’ Award was won by Hampshire Community Rail Partnership (CRP) which incorporations four CRPs covering 50 stations, of which 28 are on the SWR network. Since its founding, it has grown from two part-time rail officers to three part-time directors and around 100 volunteers, with successes including the transformation of 10 formerly redundant station buildings into spaces for the local community.
Claire Mann, South Western Railway’s Managing Director, said; “The award for Staines is a testament to the hard work that our station colleagues put in every day to give our customers the best journeys possible. We are delighted too for Hampshire Community Rail Partnership, who thoroughly deserve their award following the years of dedication to the many local communities they work with, and the fantastic work they have done to give old station buildings a new lease of life and inspire more people to travel on our network.”
GWR’s Okehampton Station was named ‘Small Station of the Year’, following the hugely successful reopening of the Dartmoor Line in November 2021. GWR colleagues who were instrumental in the reopening of the line between Exeter and Okehampton picked up the award, having beaten off competition from hundreds of other stations. The train operator was also commended in the ‘Outstanding Teamwork’ category for their work with West Midlands Grand Railway Collaboration - Commonwealth Games Rail Travel.
Mel Harvey, GWR station manager, said: “Winning this award is testament to our amazing team who look after Okehampton, ensuring it looks just as good today as it did the day it reopened two years ago. In that time, it has become a focal point for our community, a transport hub with buses connecting to our services, and of course a thriving railway station linking Okehampton and West Devon with Exeter and beyond."
Avanti West Coast’s Pendolino refurbishment programme won the ‘Fleet Achievement of the Year’ Award. The £117m refurbishment programme that is the largest in the UK, is set to finish next summer, with the refurbishment of its last 11 carriage Pendolino completed this month. Avanti’s Birmingham International Station was also highly commended in the ‘Large Station of the Year’ category.
Philippa Cresswell, Executive Director On Board at Avanti West Coast said: “The refurbished Pendolinos are proving a big hit with our customers. We will continue to work with our partners Alstom and Angel Trains to complete the transformation of one the UK’s most iconic trains as we look forward to welcoming more people back to rail.”
