Northern Rail, the franchise created three years ago from two former train companies, scooped two of the top awards at a glittering ceremony in London.
A delighted Heidi Mottram, managing director of the company which is Britain’s biggest, running 2,500 services a day to and from major northern cities, stepped up on to the stage during the 10th HSBC Rail Business Awards to receive the accolades.
She accepted the highly contested SSP Train Operator of the Year and the Interfleet Technology Rail Business of the Year awards watched by more than 900 guests at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane.
Northern Rail won the franchise at a time when little passenger growth was envisaged but has, in fact, seen more than 23 per cent growth.
Dealing with the huge increase in numbers has meant the introduction of innovative deals with Passenger Transport Executives and regional development agencies, and close contact with Network Rail has helped bring up performance to the current 88 per cent of all trains running on time.
Heidi Mottram said: “I am proud to accept these awards, but they are team awards. Although it’s a great night for me, these awards are for the four and a half thousand staff who do an amazing job.
“We are a big, complicated train company and you can only run it by grinding out the detail, day in and day out.”
She added: “You cannot work in this business without working in partnership with other people.”
The company was also highly commended in the Rolling Stock Excellence of the Year award.
In another much sought after category, First ScotRail managing director Mary Dickson added to her cabinet of Scottish business awards by winning the Rail Business Manager of the Year, beating Andrew Chivers and Darren Ward of the former Silverlink company.
She said: “I have a vision for the company and that vision goes through the business. But I would not be here without the staff – it is a team effort.”
The Railnews-sponsored Excellence in Internal Communications award went to First Capital Connect, which took over Thameslink and Great Northern routes in 2006, for a ‘Hearts and Minds’ campaign to engage and motivate staff to deliver excellent customer service. Psychologists and internal communications specialists worked with staff groups.
On the first anniversary of the campaign all staff received a ‘thank you’ card and a small gift, and the campaign led to a cut in sickness-related absence and in delay minutes on train services.
First Great Western, amidst the company’s current performance problems, picked up the two top awards for engineering.
Graham Boot-Handford, engineering projects director at FGW, and members of his team picked up the ImechE Engineering Excellence of the Year award with Brush Traction and, with Bombardier, the Rolling Stock Excellence of the Year awards.
The first was for the £80 million re-engineering programme for 117 HST power cars, including replacing the older Valenta engines with environmentally friendly, quieter MTU engines. The work was completed on time and on budget and the programme has led to greater reliability – the new engines are operating at five times the previous levels of miles per casualty (technical failure).
The second award involved ‘refreshing’ the interiors of the fleet’s 53 HSTs in a £63 million contract.
Graham Boot-Handford, who has retired after 30 years in the railway industry, said:
“We are thrilled to have won. These are two of the biggest projects ever undertaken by any train operator.
“This is testimony to the enthusiastic and professional way our team has worked together, and with colleagues from Bombardier Transportation and Brush Traction.
“As a result of this work we have seen a measurable increase in the performance and reliability of our fleet and a step change in the levels of comfort and cleanliness inside our high-speed trains.”
The awards night was hosted by BBC Television news reader Nicholas Owen – who entered to a Strictly Come Dancing fanfare – with interviews by regional BBC man Paul Clifton. There was a collection for The Railway Benefit Fund, the HSBC Rail Business Awards’ chosen charity.
Winner: Mary Dickson, First ScotRail
Highly commended: Andrew Chivers, National Express East Anglia and Darren Ward, Silverlink
SSP Train Operator of the Year
Winner: Northern Rail
Highly commended: First ScotRail; First TransPennine Express; Nexus Tyne and Wear Metro
The Interfleet Technology Rail Business of the Year
Winner: Northern Rail
Rail Supplier of the Year
Winner: Train4Change
Highly commended: Carlisle Cleaning Company
Railnews Excellence in Internal Communications
Winner: First Capital Connect
Highly commended: Eurostar; South West Trains; Network Rail
Rail PR Campaign of the Year
Winner: Eurostar
Highly commended: Chiltern Railways – Mobile Ticketing; FirstGroup – Monster Run
Rail Marketing Campaign of the Year
Winner: First ScotRail
Highly commended: Journey Solutions; Translink
Information Technology Excellence of the Year
Winner: Atoc – Rail Settlement Plan
Highly commended: Chiltern Railways; Halcrow
NCP Station Excellence of the Year
Winner: First TransPennine Express – Hull Paragon Transport Interchange
Highly commended: First Great Western – Bath Spa; South Yorkshire PTE – Doncaster
Rolling Stock Excellence of the Year
Winners: First Great Western and Bombardier
Highly commended: Northern Rail; South West Trains
Rail Safety and Security Excellence of the Year
Winner: Tubelines
Highly commended: Association of Train Operating Companies; London Underground
Environmental Innovation of the Year
Winner: One
Highly commended: First Capital Connect; First TransPennine Express; Siemens Voith Turbo Ltd
ImechE Engineering Excellence of the Year
Winners: First Great Western and Brush Traction
Highly commended: First Capital Connect; Tubelines