20.11.08
Tyne and Wear Metro wins four national prizes at Light Rail Awards
yne and Wear Metro has won four prizes at the 2008 UK Light Rail Awards.
Metro beat off competition from the likes of Sheffield Supertram and Docklands Light Railway at the prestigious event at London’s Café Royal attended by transport minister Paul Clark.
Metro director Mick Carbro said: “Metro is the best performing rail operator in the country with more than 95% of trains on time and these awards are a fitting recognition of that.
“This is recognition of the hard work all our staff put in making sure we give our passengers excellent service, day in and day out.
“I am particularly pleased for the individuals and teams who were singled out by the judges for praise.”
Metro was named winner of Best Safety Initiative for a project to fit new high-visibility signals at its Gosforth depot.
The project, led by Metro business manager Lisa Savory, has succeeded in reducing the number of times trains over-run signals, improving reliability right across the system.
Metro’s Permanent Way section was highly commended in the Team of the Year category, recognising its work behind the scenes to maintain track and keep Metro running smoothly.
Engineer David Walker was recognised for introducing bio-degradable wheel flange oil to Metro, making the system quieter and friendlier to wildlife living beside its 76km of track.
And Alex Carr, a ticket machine maintenance supervisor, was also highly commended as Employee of the Year. The honour recognised his part helping passengers during a security incident last year.
The awards bring together light rail and tram operators from cities across the UK, recognising the best public service, innovation and performance.
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