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Access team and Merseyrail manager share the spoils

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Bridgeway’s Access Services team took home the Rail Infrastructure/ Possessions Team of the Year award and were followed swiftly by the 2016 Rail Manager of the Year winner, Merseyrail’s Ian Taylor.

The Bridgeway Access Services team has been providing possessions, line blockages, AC and DC isolations for clients across the UK since 1995. Recent projects include Thameslink and Crossrail East/West.

Mike Harris, access services director, Bridgeway Consulting, said the few people there on the night represented a team of between 300 and 400 people within the company. The team includes delivery managers, planners, engineering supervisors, PICOPs, COSSs and safe work leaders.

‘We were against some stiff opposition out there. There’s a lot of people that we really respect and there’s lots of people out there that really we’re in awe of, but we work really hard to deliver for our clients. What we look at is exceeding expectations in what we deliver. We’re both pleased and humbled by the award really.’

Deploy UK Rail, part of the DE Group, sponsored this year’s Rail Infrastructure/ Possessions Team of the Year award. Deploy UK Rail was established in 2013; at the time with just three employees. Since then, the company has grown substantially and now employs over 300 sponsored staff. Initially focussed around London and the South East, Deploy Rail has gone on to open regional offices in Plymouth and Manchester, and has plans to open more in the future.

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Ian Taylor (left) with Michael Grace.

Ian Taylor was named as the 2016 Rail Manager of the Year. Nominators described Ian as an ‘inspirational’ leader and someone who is ‘always actively seeking out better ways to do things’.

‘Absolutely over the moon. I really can’t believe it,’ said Ian, who joined Merseyrail 14 years ago as a mobile technician and is currently based out of the Birkenhead North TMD. ‘I love working for the rail industry. It’s the togetherness,’ said Ian.

On 1 January 2016, Derby- based engineering consultancy Interfleet became SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit after adopting the name of the company that acquired it in 2011. SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit has an experienced team of 1,500 rail experts working on a variety of rolling stock, infrastructure and control system projects around the world.

Says Michael Grace, who presented the award for SNC-Lavalin, ‘We’re really focussed on having a sustainable business and the only way we can do that is having good talent coming through the business, so having good managers and good leaders is absolutely critical.

‘Our number one priority within SNC-Lavalin is staff engagement that’s the one thing that we focus on more than anything. If we get that right and deliver quality then everything else falls into place.’

RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE/POSSESSIONS TEAM OF THE YEAR HIGHLY COMMENDED

  • PPS Rail, PPS Rail Ltd
  • Dover Sea Wall, Costain

RAIL MANAGER OF THE YEAR HIGHLY COMMENDED

  • Kissore Kher,Heathrow Express
  • Andrew Fawkes, VolkerRail

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