Great Western Railway’s Jack Farley celebrated at Birmingham’s NEC on Thursday 27 November when he was named winner of the 2025 RailStaff Awards’ Rail Depot Team or Person Award.
The award recognises exceptional dedication, leadership, and commitment to excellence within depot operations.
Jack, depot engineering manager at Reading Train Care Depot, was nominated by his colleagues for consistently going above and beyond to maintain and manage rolling stock, ensuring safe, reliable, and timely train services. He has led complex projects across multiple depots, including on the Class 387, 769, and 230 fleets. His problem-solving, and collaborative approach have helped to streamline operations and set a benchmark for excellence across GWR’s rail operations.
Accepting the award, Jack highlighted the teamwork behind every success, praising his colleagues for their support and shared commitment to keeping Britain’s railway moving.
“This is a huge surprise and I’m so grateful to my colleagues at Reading Depot – Gareth Storton and Graeme Smith – for their mentoring and leadership so far in my career,” said Jack.
“The depot is one big team, making sure we play our part in delivering a safe and reliable railway for our customers and it’s amazing to get recognised like this.”
Rail Engineer Editor David Shirres presented the award. He said: “It’s always great to see the work done by those who keep the railway running celebrated at the Railstaff Awards.
“This year I had the honour of presented the ‘Railway Depot Team or Person’ award for which there were 15 finalists. Picking a winner from this impressive group would have been a difficult task for the judges.
“Jack was nominated both for his excellent maintenance work and leading complex rolling stock projects across multiple depots. Well done, Jack!”
Highly commended:
Hannah Butler, GTR
Jodie Lund, Katherine Braybrook & Rebecca Jacobs, GTR
Back next year
We have exciting sponsorship opportunities available for the 2026 awards.
If you’re interested in discussing this further or would like to put forward nominations from your team for future awards, please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or call us on 01530 816 440.
You can also find out more and view the upcoming pictures and videos from the evening by visiting our website www.RailStaffAwards.com.
