Northern Rail celebrates UK rail award success

Northern Rail is celebrating success following two wins at last week’s UK Rail Industry Awards (UKRIA). Northern, a Serco and Abellio joint venture, took home the honours in the Corporate Social Responsibility and Customer Safety categories.

Winning in the Customer Safety category was Northern’s joint approach to station safety alongside Network Rail. In one year, the Northern and the LNE level crossings team at Network Rail closed or significantly reduced the risk at five high risk crossings; Thorne South, Poppleton, South Milford and Cattal station. The risk of a train striking a person has been reduced to zero at some locations and as low as reasonably practicable at others.

Emrys Warriner, Head of Route Health and Safety and Environment at Network Rail, said: “We are committed to reducing the risk at level crossings and this award is a testament to the hard work of teams who are out there making improvements for the benefit of passengers and communities alike. If we can’t close a level crossing we will do everything we can to make it safer and our work in partnership with Northern Rail has shown what can be achieved and what we are striving to achieve together in the future.”

The Corporate Social Responsibility win was for how Northern has been integrating its rail services into local communities and in doing so, gaining essential feedback from customers. It’s this feedback that is allowing the company to make investments and improvements that really benefit and matter to its customers.

Alex Hynes, Managing Director for Northern Rail, said: “These are both fantastic accolades and we are delighted to be recognised for our commitment to the safety of our customers and long term improvements. Our partnership approach to make our railway a great place to be for customers and colleagues has shone through and this has been well deservedly recognised by the UKRIA judges.”

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