Capacity is a challenge for the RailStaff Awards just as it is for the rest of the rail industry. New ideas, increased nominations, more guests and a bigger and better night for everyone means we have long needed a bigger venue.
This year the RailStaff Awards 2014 will be held at Coventry’s spacious Ricoh Arena. The RailStaff Awards has grown exponentially over the last seven years and is now far more than a presentation evening. It’s a party with good food, dancing, drama and music; a chance to meet old friends and celebrate the good fortunes of the wider rail industry.
Says Lianne O’Connor, events director, Rail Media, ‘To expand and develop the ideas we’re generating we need more space. With over 1,000 people last year and demand still growing the RailStaff Awards has confounded the recession just as the railway industry has. We want to do our best for everyone involved and stage a memorable and dramatic event. The Ricoh Arena with its huge space is ideal and is centrally located for everyone in the rail industry.’
Built right by the Coventry- Nuneaton railway line the Ricoh Arena will have its own railway station next year. Approval for the long awaited scheme is expected to be granted by the DfT next month. Work is anticipated to start this summer and should be completed in 2015. ‘Having our own railway station for the RailStaff Awards will be a real bonus,’ says Lianne.
The Ricoh Arena has thousands of car parking spaces and is a 12 minute drive from Coventry station. The 24 hour casino on site and a special RailStaff Awards lounge as well as bars, cabaret, cafés, and a hotel, mean the party can go on as long as people wish. ‘This is something we have not been able to offer before and means a better value, high quality, party for more people from every part of the railway industry,’ says Lianne.
