National Rail Awards
RAIL’s National Rail Awards salutes the heroes of the rail industry, including those who attended two terror attacks.
MEMBERS of British Transport Police and railway staff who helped save lives during this year’s terrorist attacks in Manchester and London received National Rail Awards Judges Special Team Awards at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on September 21.
More than 1,100 industry leaders and guests watched on as the heroes from those attacks (and one brave canine) were rewarded for their bravery at the ‘Railway Oscars’.
BTP Manchester police and Arriva Rail North Manchester Victoria staff were among the first on the scene in the aftermath of the terrorist attack at the Manchester Evening News Arena on May 22, during an Ariana Grande concert. Twentytwo people were killed, plus the terrorist.
Those rushing to the scene included a 20-year-old BTP officer with less than a year’s experience, while one of the Police Community Support Officers on patrol had less than a month’s experience. Also attending was a dog handler and his companion, an explosives detection dog called Mojo.
The BTP at London Bridge and BTP Constable Wayne Marques were also recognised for their courage after the London Bridge attack on June 3.
Marques ran towards the trouble and tackled three terrorists singlehanded. He was stabbed and slashed several times, but carried on until he succumbed to extremely serious injuries. When he was being treated at hospital, his only words to BTP Chief Constable Paul Crowther were: “There were too many of them Guv - I’m sorry.”
In the Outstanding Personal Contribution categories, Carillion Rail’s James Steele, Head of Innovation, Infrastructure, won the OPC (Management) award, while Great Western Railway Revenue Protection Inspector Dwain White claimed the OPC (Workforce) award.
Bechtel Global Rail Sector Lead Ailie MacAdam and GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood both collected Senior OPC awards, after being nominated by the NRA’s panel of esteemed judges.
Also nominated for OPCs were five individuals who performed truly exceptional deeds in either saving a life or preventing a serious incident on the railway. Judges wanted to properly recognise these efforts.
GB Railfreight Train Managers Steve Read and Sam Lawrence, based at Willesden, were supervising a trainee driver in March 2017 when they spotted a distressed individual sitting on a wall near Milton Keynes, ready to jump onto the tracks.
Read contacted Rugby signal box requesting an all-lines block. When it was safe, Lawrence then went to the individual and kept them calm while Read spoke to the BTP. The GBRf staff then coaxed the individual to the platform and safety. Read and Lawrence were awarded OPC Life-Changer awards by the NRA judges.
Merseyrail Assistant Station Manager Stuart Barrett was also awarded an OPC Life-Changer award, for saving a man’s life on August 13 2016. A call came over the radio asking for a first aider, after a man collapsed on a train. Barrett ran to assist and found the man was not breathing. After administering CPR and using a defibrillator more than once, eventually the man responded. Rather than go back to work, Barrett stayed and comforted the man’s wife until he was taken to hospital.
Also winning an OPC Life-Changer award was Norwichbased Greater Anglia Driver Stuart Connell, who was driving a Class 170 at 84mph when it hit a tractor on a crossing at Hockham Road, near Thetford. He pulled the emergency brake, and then left his cab to warn passengers. He sustained a serious hand injury, but walked through the train to reassure and look after the 135 passengers.
The final OPC Life-Changer award went to Arriva Rail North Retail Sales Assistant Anne Mason. Based at Bredbury station, she ensured the safety of a teenager.
The 14-year-old boy was carrying a bag and asking for a one-way ticket, which aroused suspicion. Mason discovered he was running away from home to meet someone with whom he’d been communicating on an internet chatroom. She persuaded him that his choices were either that she could call the police or his parents. He chose the latter and was reunited with them.
Elsewhere, London Underground collected the coveted Passenger Operator of the Year award (see pages 84-89), the second time it has won this after its success in 2013.
The S&C North Alliance collected the Infrastructure Achievement of the Year award for Sandy South - where it handed back a complex S&C renewal capable of 125mph running straightaway.
The Major Project of the Year category was won by the Taylor Woodrow/Bam Nuttall Joint Venture with London Underground for the Tottenham Court Road station upgrade.