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Celebrating rail success at UKRIA 2015

More than 800 rail professionals attended the 2015 UK Rail Industry Awards (UKRIA) last night at Battersea Evolution to celebrate the great successes of the sector in the last 12 months.

During the evening, hosted by comedian Miles Jupp, delegates were treated to an inspirational video-link message from the minister of state for transport, Baroness Kramer, and an entertaining and informative keynote speech from the DfT’s managing director for passenger services at the Rail Executive, Peter Wilkinson.

The 2015 UKRIA award winners are:

Apprenticeship Development Scheme – Virgin Trains

Collaborative Working – Unipart

Cost Base Reduction – Gatecare Ltd

Corporate Social Responsibility – Alstom Transport Ltd

Electrification – Furrer+Frey

Environmental & Sustainability – Interfleet 

Graduate Development Scheme – Colas Rail Ltd

Lifetime Achievement Award – Malcolm Dobell – London Underground

Light Rail – Transport for Greater Manchester

Marketing & Communications – First ScotRail

Mobile Technology – First Great Western

Operator of the Year – GB Railfreight

Outstanding Projects – Small (under £3m) – Story Contracting Limited

Outstanding Projects – Medium (£3m to £20m) – Bourne Steel

Outstanding Projects – Large (over £20m) – Cubic Transportation Systems

Passenger Safety – British Transport Police

Product Innovation – Balfour Beatty Rail

Rail Asset Management & Security – SmartWater  

Recruitment Excellence – McGinley Support Services

Research & Development – Gatecare Ltd

Signalling & Telecommunications – Thales and London Underground

Traction & Rolling Stock – London Underground

Training & Development – Linbrooke Services Ltd

Workforce Safety – Northern Rail

Young Rail Professional – Samantha Dunn – Northern Rail 

At the event’s champagne reception, Mike Pollard, head of collaborative working at Network Rail, said: “Events like this are very important, it’s an opportunity for people to get together and network.

“It brings the industry much closer together. It’s a fantastic time to be a part of the rail industry, with lots of opportunities in lots of sectors.”

The awards themselves celebrated all that’s good in the rail industry from Outstanding Projects to Operator of the Year, and all the winners – selected by RTM’s independent judging panel – were worthy champions.

Discussing the awards, Graeme Bunker, rail operations development director at Serco, said: “It’s a great opportunity to recognise those individuals and companies who go the extra mile, who go beyond the ‘9 to 5’. Fantastic evening.”

Amanda White of Transport for Greater Manchester, one of the independent pan-industry panel of judges for the evening, said it was an important time for rail because of the “political momentum” behind the industry and she congratulated everyone who was shortlisted.

And Mike Stubbs, director of London Overground at Transport for London, said UK Rail Industry Awards “motivate us as an industry to reach and do well”.

Andy Ridout of recruitment specialists advance-TRS also spoke from the stage, explaining why he is doing a clutch of tough challenges this year in aid of the Railway Children. Urging everyone at the event to "dig deep", he encouraged everyone to donate. Both he and the UKRIA organisers here at RTM were thrilled that we managed to raise £4,780 in aid of this excellent charity.

The awards also garnered a lot of attention on social media with hundreds of tweets pouring in about the event. To see what people had to say look up #UKRIA2015 on Twitter.

For more about the winning projects and teams, and the full shortlist of finalists at the event, visit www.ukria.com

There will be full coverage and an abundance of photos from the evening – courtesy of Peter Alvey at Alvey & Towers – in the next edition of RTM.