Having already gone up on stage to collect the Station Staff of the Year award with his London Bridge colleagues, Arron Raimbault was surprised to hear his name called out again for one of the most prestigious awards of the night.

Colleagues praised the ‘fantastic’ operational support he provided to staff on the ground at London Bridge on the night of the terrorist attack this summer.

‘I’ve always sort of been at the back cheering people on, but to win something like this is just amazing,’ said Arron. He said the entire team had been surprised and touched by the number of customers who came up to them in the days after the attack to thank them.

Immense bravery

Rail Person of the Year was sponsored by infrastructure group Balfour Beatty.

Satnam Thiara, business development manager for Balfour Beatty Rail, said, ‘Arron showed an immense level of bravery at a time where the threat to life was at its highest level at London Bridge station. He showed great initiative to help deal with that situation in the best way possible and helped to safeguard the travelling public. This deserved the accolade on the night.

‘The RailStaff Awards is a great opportunity to thank everybody who works in the industry, especially people like Arron. It was a fantastic evening and allowed us to meet and talk to fellow industry professionals in a more relaxed way.’

Personal thank-you

Arron and the London Bridge team were personally thanked on the night by Network Rail’s managing director, Phil Hufton, who opened the awards evening.

In his welcoming address, Hufton reminded everyone about the various terrorism related incidents that railway staff have had to contend with over the past few months. ‘I think what I’d like to do is firstly pay tribute to everybody in the room but especially to those members of staff that were involved in the atrocities that happened in Manchester, in London Bridge and, of course, Parsons Green.

‘I was extremely fortunate to meet a number of the people that were involved on those dreadful evenings and I know there’s a number of people here tonight. The work that they did, they put their own lives in front of some of the most difficult and challenging times that some people will ever experience in their lives and for them to do that is just remarkable.’

Highly commended: Pete Donnelly, CrossCountry and Octavia Neeves, Network Rail.

Northern train driver Colin Newton was a little bemused when he came off stage after winning the Train Driver of the Year award.

‘It’s a bit weird getting nominated just for doing your job,’ said Colin.

In February this year, Colin, who has been driving for Northern for three years, performed CPR on a passenger who was having a heart attack on his train.

After stopping the train, Colin informed the signaller of the situation and called for an ambulance before attending to the passenger.

Colin, who is based in Leeds, stayed with the passenger until paramedics arrived, but despite his best efforts, the passenger passed away.

True professionalism

Colin said he believes he only did what anyone would have done in the situation. His colleagues, however, disagree.

His nomination read, ‘During the short time that Colin has been with us he has demonstrated true professionalism and dedication to his role of train driver again and again by consistently delivering excellent customer service and going what is well and truly above his role.’

Adding, ‘Thoughout this highly pressurised situation Colin remained calm and professional at all times.

He showed true compassion and heroism in a selfless act to save another.’

‘We get paid to do a job and I did my job, and that’s it,’ he added. ‘This is just an added bonus.”

Highly valued

Mark Goodall, general manager, West Midlands, for category sponsor London Midland, said, ‘He’s so unassuming. As you heard him say, in his opinion, he’s just doing his job. He’s obviously doing it to an incredibly high degree and it is good to actually say to these people well done, thank you, you’re highly valued.’

Highly commended: David O’Connor, Southeastern, and Chris Compton, Greater Anglia.

High retention rates and the delivery of a busy schedule of coaching development sessions were just two of the reasons that Greater Anglia’s learning and development team took home a trophy at this year’s RailStaff Awards.

Greater Anglia’s nine-person team has helped make learning and development one of the top three most improved areas of the business.

Grow

The team has delivered more than 60 one-to-one feedback sessions over the past year and implemented the ‘Grow’ development programme within the business. The team recorded 21 promotions among its Grow participants within 12 months of the programme coming to an end.

One of the nominators wrote, ‘The Grow programme recognised and celebrated the fact that each person in our organisation is unique, with different styles, needs and expectations. Within these differences are great strengths for the organisation. Being taught how to recognise and make the best of them is invaluable in my position as a customer service supervisor and enables me to adapt accordingly depending on the individual.’

Greater Anglia’s trainers also designed and delivered the first internal Non-Technical Skills (NTS) programme for the operator’s customer service teams.

Team effort

Learning and development manager David Haskell said the award was down to ‘a team effort.’ He added, ‘I’m ecstatic, this award is well deserved. We’ve put a lot of hard work in over the last 12 months.

‘It’s down to the whole team’s commitment, enthusiasm and proactive approach. We have changed the way we do things, being more creative, introducing a more coaching style of leadership and encouraging staff to make decisions.’

Greater Anglia’s Jay Thompson was also highly commended in the Rail Safety Person category as was Chris Compton in the Train Driver of the Year category.

Seaton Rail was the sponsor of this year’s Trainer or Training Team of the Year award. Founded in 1995, Seaton Rail offers a variety of services to the rail industry market, including track safety management services, labour supply and rail industry training.

Director Laura Walker said, ‘Greater Anglia invest a lot of time in their colleagues and peers and I think it is always important to push yourself forward.’

Highly commended: Station Staff – Training Team Larbert Training Centre, Network Rail and Virgin Trains West Coast Talent Academy, West Coast Trains.

Delays and closures are part of life on the railway – passengers, given time, can understand and accept that. It is how the industry communicates with its customers that is often the difference between a successful project and a chaotic one.

Earlier this year, Merseyrail undertook one of the biggest infrastructure projects in its history.

The successful communications campaign that surrounded it has been recognised by the industry, winning the Marketing and Communications Person or Team of the Year category – the first year the award has been included in the RailStaff Awards roster.

Six-month project

In January, Merseyrail began a six-month project to renew the slab track within the Wirral loop line tunnels that run beneath the River Mersey, connecting the Wirral to Liverpool. Altogether, the project required around 1,600 tonnes of old concrete to be removed. Around 170m3 of new concrete was then pumped into the tunnels and 2.4km of new rail laid on top.

But the engineering challenge was just part of it. For the first six months of the year, Wirral line services were unable to travel beyond Birkenhead Central and Birkenhead North. The result for passengers was 30 minutes added to their journeys and replacement buses and Mersey Ferry services.

Merseyrail’s customer relations, social media and marketing teams worked together to ensure passengers knew how services would be affected and where to find alternative transport information. The campaign included customer giveaways, which saw the operator handing out bacon sandwiches and sweets to passengers.

‘It’s the biggest project that Merseyrail’s ever undertaken,’ said Tracey Upton, Merseyrail’s area station manager at Liverpool South Parkway station.

Fall in complaints

Tracey said the campaign required Merseyrail to work closely with local authorities and community groups. To illustrate the success of the campaign, Merseyrail said the number of complaints actually fell during the works. Passenger studies conducted before and halfway through the works also reflected positively on the level of engagement delivered by the Merseyrail team.

She added, ‘This affected a number of my stations. It was a number of my staff that were there delivering on the ground… I’m made up to receive this on behalf of the team. From behind the scenes and out there on the ground because it was a big joint effort.’

Keltbray sponsored the inaugural Marketing and Communications Person or Team of the Year award. Keltbray Rail is an industry leader in the delivery of OLE systems and the company has one of the largest fleets of rail electrification MEWPs in the country.

Paul Murphy, Keltbray Rail’s operations director, Wales & Western, said, ‘We were pleased to support this very well-attended event with rail professionals from across our industry. It’s an evening that provides recognition and appreciation for the people who deliver great work on our railways, and was very well organised and an enjoyable evening overall.’

Highly commended: John Kennils, Freyssinet, and Joanna Hemmings, Network Certification Body

Staff at London Bridge station could never have been fully prepared for the events that unfolded on the evening of 3 June this year.

Three attackers took the lives of eight people and injured many others outside of London Bridge and Borough Market just a couple of weeks after the tragic events in Manchester.

Members of Network Rail’s London Bridge team, who normally fill their days helping passengers with heavy luggage, checking tickets and dispensing the latest service information, found themselves at the centre of a truly horrific scene.

The team’s bravery and well-measured response has won them the Station Staff of the Year category at this year’s RailStaff Awards on what was a visibly emotional night for everyone involved.

Amazing people17

As panic took hold outside the station, staff members inside remained calm. Their decision to lock the station down rather than evacuate may well have saved lives. The team also conducted a full sweep of the station for any suspect devices and cared for the distressed people outside of the station, providing blankets, drinks and opening up the station’s toilet facilities.

Arron Raimbault was working in the control room on the night of the incident. He said, ‘No one’s ever prepared for anything like this, but the really good thing is that we are provided with really good training, we are provided with some amazing people and amazing staff, so we’re able to deal with anything that does arise.’

Later on during the awards ceremony, Arron was called to the stage for a second time as the winner of the Rail Person of the Year category. He went on to describe the camaraderie that exists within the London Bridge station team, ‘I mean especially in London Bridge. They come together as a family; not just in big, major incidents but in the smallest of ways. Everyone here has everyone’s back and it just shows in the work that we do.’

The nomination gave a special mention to the shift station manager, Adrian Suter, who was there on the night to collect the award.

Reflecting on the award win, Adrian wanted to thank colleagues at Southeastern and GTR. ‘On the concourse, supported by our TOC colleagues, we delivered flagship customer service and welfare to our stranded passengers and members of the public who had ran to the station as a safe haven during the attack.’

He added, ‘In the wake of the incident, I believe it’s something that will change those involved in it forever but displayed a true show of unity across the station in delivering for our customers.’

Inspiring

Station Staff of the Year was sponsored by the Transport Benevolent Fund (TBF) – a registered charity which offers support to transport industry members and their dependants in times of need, hardship or distress.

Ian Barlex, TBF development director, said, ‘The attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market were deeply upsetting and you can only admire the composure of the London Bridge team.

‘Those on the front line of our industry have so much to contend with. It makes the professionalism and compassion shown by the team that night all the more inspiring. All those involved deserve our full support.’

Highly commended: Caroline Horne, South West Trains, and Marie-Claire Duffy, Virgin Trains.

The fallout from the Grenfell Tower fire was felt by communities across West London. For an operator like Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which reaches across the capital, its impact was felt by staff and passengers alike.

Determined to support staff across the network and raise money for the Grenfell fire victims, GTR employee engagement manager Paula Hilliard helped organise collections at some of the network’s busiest stations, including King’s Cross, London Bridge, St Pancras, Croydon and Brighton.

Paula and her army of collectors had hoped to raise a couple of thousands of pounds to support those who were caught up in the tragic blaze. In less than a week, they had collected more than £12,500.

Paula, who has worked in the industry for 21 years, won this year’s RBF ‘Heart of Gold’ award for charity.

Prince’s Trust

Although her fundraising for Grenfell featured highly in her nomination, it wasn’t the only thing to gain the admiration of her colleagues. Paula also coordinates the operator’s programme with the Prince’s Trust, which offers employment opportunities to young people from the local community, and she also oversees the company’s other charity fundraising activities.

Referring to the Grenfell collections, Paula said, ‘It was just something that everybody wanted to get involved in, but we had to turn it round really quickly because we wanted to make sure the money got there as quickly as possible.’

She added, ‘I am really humbled to have won this award. I see my job as a team effort, supported by station managers, frontline teams and head office.

‘I’m proud to work for GTR – it really is a great company which does a lot to help people less fortunate; the work I do genuinely wouldn’t be possible without the support that I get from across the business. Because of this, this award has been accepted on behalf of everyone in the company that’s helped to raise money, or supported with the Prince’s Trust programme.’

Charles Horton, GTR’s chief executive officer, said, ‘Many congratulations to all our colleagues who received richly deserved nominations for the RailStaff Awards.

‘Paula has worked tirelessly with young people as part of GTR’s ‘Get into Railways’ programme with the Prince’s Trust, and more recently has organised fundraising support for a number of young football teams.

‘I would also like to recognise and warmly congratulate our other shortlisted colleagues and teams who have all worked so hard. It’s great to see them commended by the wider industry.’

Wonderful industry

The award was sponsored by the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) – a charity which provides support to its rail industry members in times of need.

Faye Jaques, fundraising manager at RBF, said, ‘The quality of nominations was just fantastic this year. Each entry truly showed what a wonderful industry we work in and highlighted the exact personalities we wanted to celebrate, those with a real heart of gold.’

Highly commended: Lesley Soane, Network Rail, and Kev Adlam, Branch Line Society.

One of the few uplifting things to follow major tragedies is the volume of praise reserved for members of our emergency services. Those who run towards danger when everyone around them is trying to escape it and those who put their own safety in jeopardy to care for the injured.

While this recognition is unarguably deserved there are some crews whose contribution often goes overlooked.

This year’s RailStaff Awards gave the industry the opportunity to thank a division of the British Transport Police (BTP) that members of the public seldom see but who have one of the most difficult jobs imaginable – a job made that bit harder over the past 12 months.

DVI team

‘It’s been a very tough year,’ said Byron Chamberlain, a Scenes of Crime Supervisor for BTP, collecting the Rail Team of the Year award on behalf of the BTP’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

DVI officers have the unenviable task of identifying human remains from incidents where there has been a significant loss of life. The team is made up of policing staff and officers from around the country who work alongside investigating officers to respectfully recover the remains while preserving any forensic evidence.

In the past 12 months alone, the BTP team has been on the scene of the Croydon tram crash, Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge terror attack.

The DVI team are regularly called to incidents that extend beyond the railway environment. BTP still has two DVI teams deployed at Grenfell Tower and, prior to that, they had been dispatched to Ukraine to work on the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) and to Sousse in Tunisia where 38 tourists were killed by terrorists in 2015 – 30 of which were British.

Although upbeat about their award win, Byron explained how the past 12 months had taken its toll and described the various support mechanisms in place within BTP that help to identify when staff members may be struggling to cope.

Collecting the award alongside other members of the DVI team, Byron said, ‘You don’t know how much this means, seriously. And it means so much not just for BTP but for the London region; for our colleagues from the Met, our colleagues from the city.’

Outstanding professionalism

Following the event, BTP’s Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, praised the work of his officers, ‘This is a fantastic achievement for BTP as once again the outstanding professionalism of our people has been rightly recognised by the industry.

‘The DVI team has shown exceptional professionalism in the work they have been involved with at the Croydon tram crash, the Manchester Arena terrorist incident, the London Bridge attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire. They have worked long hours in extremely unpleasant and difficult situations – their dedication has been exceptional.

‘I would like to congratulate the DVI team and the other teams from BTP who were finalists.’

The Rail Team of the Year category was sponsored by Total Rail Solutions (TRS). Total Rail Solutions is one of the UK’s leading providers of fully managed safety critical rail plant services.

TRS chief operating officer Paul Bateman said, ‘Firstly, we’d like to congratulate all of this year’s nominees and winners. We’ve relished the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our colleagues in the industry, especially those who seldom receive the recognition they deserve.

‘It would be an understatement to describe this year’s Rail Team of the Year as worthy winners. It’s difficult to imagine the scenes they’ve witnessed and the challenges they’ve faced over the past 12 months. Hopefully, this award shows how much we all appreciate the work they do.’

Highly commended: Old Oak Common Open Day Team, Great Western Railway, and MTR Crossrail Travel Safe Team.

Virgin Trains’ Nick Chadwick, who is credited with creating and managing the first driver apprenticeship programme in the UK, has been named Rail Manager of the Year.

In his nomination, Nick was described as a ‘visionary leader’ and praised for fostering a positive culture change throughout the company.

As well as his work around apprenticeships, Nick has been the driving force behind new communications strategies designed to better integrate train drivers into the workforce.

One way he achieved this was establishing a reward scheme which gave drivers the opportunity to gain credits for excellent performance that could be exchanged for gifts. Since the reward scheme was introduced, the company has seen a 300 per cent increase in the number of drivers achieving a perfect simulated assessment performance.

Driver academies

Shortly after coming off stage, Nick said, ‘The nomination came from a guy who worked with us for a year. He’s gone back to Northern Ireland but he recognised all the things I’ve been trying to do with driver management in terms of change, driver engagement and bringing in new ideas.

‘We started the driver apprentice scheme and we also do a lot of work on driver support post incident using a company called OPC.’

Nick also responded to recent reports about proposals to create new train driver academies. He felt their introduction could have a positive impact. ‘When I go back to the days when I did driver training with British Rail, we had regional train centres, which is the same sort of blueprint of what is trying to being achieved in the industry now.’

He added, ‘It’s about encouraging young people into the industry, making the train drivers of the future and being as diverse as possible.’

Delighted

The Rail Manager of the Year award was sponsored by recruitment company Advanced Resource Managers (ARM). The company’s head of rail, Adam Razzell, said, ‘We’re delighted to have presented Nick Chadwick with the award for Rail Manager of the Year.

‘We work with managers across many different organisations and Nick’s nomination stood out – especially his work on the driver apprenticeship programme and reward strategies.’

Highly commended: Karen Sherwin, Great Northern, and Clare Williams, Southern.

SPX FLOW’s Scott Harrison said he was ‘speechless’ after winning this year’s Lifetime Achievement award – here’s betting many of his colleagues and peers will feel, if anything, it is overdue.

Scott began his career in rail with Amey Seco in the 1990s and has spent stints with Torrent Trackside and Network Rail. He joined SPX FLOW in 2015 and is now the company’s commercial director for hydraulic technologies and global rail systems.

Throughout his career, Scott has played a significant role in shaping the future of the industry. One example was his input into the development of the COSS role.

‘Not bad for a Donny lad,’ as his wife Polly pointed out in his nomination.

Complete shock

When he started all those years ago, Scott had only planned to work within the industry for six months. More than 20 years later, he says it was those around him that made his mind up to stay.

‘I’m so overwhelmed to be honoured in this way; it was a complete shock but I am hugely grateful,’ said Scott.

‘During my career in the rail industry, I have been really lucky to have worked with some outstanding individuals and wonderful teams, without whom I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I have had. This award should honour those people’s contribution as much as mine, without them I would still be fresh off the starting blocks.

‘Thanks to everyone who has been involved, and the wonderful team at Rail Media for another great night’s awards. The 1980’s theme really took me back to the start of my career – but don’t tell anyone!’

Shaping the world

The Lifetime Achievement category was sponsored by Costain. In a supporting statement, the company said, ‘Costain is delighted to be supporting the Lifetime Achievement Award.

‘We have been shaping the world in which we live for the past 150 years by providing innovative engineering solutions to improve people’s lives.

‘As a key delivery partner in the rail sector, we offer a broad range of integrated consultancy, asset optimisation, technology and complex delivery services. Everything we do focuses on driving increases to our clients’ operational capacity, efficiency, and customer service.’

Highly commended: Stephen Freeman, Stanway Consulting, and Karl Watts, Rail Operations Group.