The Global Light Rail Awards took place again at the Honourable Artillery Company in London this year with various winners from across the world being announced \u2013 although with a heavy bias towards systems in the UK. Amongst the winners on the night were KeolisAmey Metrolink who were named Operator of the Year whilst there were also some rather interesting choices of award winners.<\/p>\n
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As always seems to be the case immediately following the awards the amount of information of who won is rather limited online, although at least this year several of the winners were named on Twitter \u201cas it happened\u201d.<\/p>\n
Its probably fair to say that the \u201cmain\u201d award of the night is the \u201cOperator of the Year\u201d category. In 2021 KeolisAmey dominated this category with their Docklands Light Railway subsidiary winning and Manchester Metrolink being highly commended. 12 months later and KeolisAmey Metrolink have been named as \u201cOperator of the Year\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the \u201cManufacturer of the Year\u201d category Stadler were named as winners for the second year in a row but its who was Highly Commended that will probably make you think \u201care you sure?\u201d! For CAF were given this accolade as the judges apparently highlighted their \u201cmany happy clients\u201d. That\u2019s the same CAF who constructed the trams on the West Midlands Metro which had to be withdrawn from service because of bodyside cracks \u2013 not once but twice and repairs are still ongoing. We\u2019re not sure that West Midlands Metro would quite fall into the \u201chappy clients\u201d category there. We did say we try and be positive with our articles but there are occasions when you see something and honestly can\u2019t believe what you\u2019ve seen!<\/p>\n
In other awards \u2013 and from organisations who have announced their success \u2013 UKTram won the \u201cVision of the Year\u201d thanks to the Light Rail Strategy that they launched earlier this year. James Hammett, UKTram Managing Director, said: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted that the judges recognised this landmark piece of work, and winning the Vision of the Year Award will surely help to raise its profile within the light rail sector and amongst key stakeholders. The strategy\u2019s publication followed many months of work by professionals from across light rail and this award is testament to all their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edinburgh Trams won the \u201cSignificant Safety Initiative\u201d category. This came after a series of exercises, carried out in partnership with the emergency services and other key stakeholders, to test the operator\u2019s responses to potential emergencies and its safety management processes.<\/p>\n
Colin Kerr, Edinburgh Trams\u2019 Head of Safety and Projects, said: \u201cThe safety of our customers and colleagues has always been our highest priority and the judges recognised the thorough approach we had taken to planning the exercises, as well as the improvements we have since made to our emergency procedures. We are delighted that this commitment to continuously improving our safety protocols has been acknowledged at such a prestigious industry event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edinburgh Trams\u2019 Marilena Papadopulou was also Highly Commended in the Rising Star category following her rise through the ranks at the company to be Renewals Manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnical Innovation of the Year \u2013 Rolling Stock\u201d went to Revolution Very Light Rail.<\/p>\n
As well as being Highly Commended in the Manufacturer of the Year, CAF were Highly Commended in the \u201cProject of the Year over 50 million euros\u201d for the contract to supply 22 bi-directional vehicles to Bonn in Germany.<\/p>\n
And to end the article with another \u201care you sure\u201d moment, the West Midlands Metro were Highly Commended in the \u201cMost Improved System\u201d category.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Global Light Rail Awards took place again at the Honourable Artillery Company in London this year with various winners from across the world being announced \u2013 although with a heavy bias towards systems in the UK. Amongst the winners … Continue reading