Guests from around the world gathered to celebrate another year of outstanding achievement and innovation at the Global Light Rail Awardsat London’s Honourable Artillery Company last night, (Wednesday, October 2).
Well-known as the industry’s ‘Oscars’, the judging panel evaluated submissions in 17 categories, noting that, “this was one of the toughest years yet to choose the winners. It is fantastic to see so many joint entries, showing that industry partners are sharing best practice and expertise as we all look to bring down costs, improve safety and sustainability and deliver the best possible passenger experience.”
The 2019 event, organised by Mainspring and supported by industry publication Tramways & Urban Transit, was hosted by respected broadcaster and journalist Nicholas Owen. The headline supporter for another year was London Trams operator Tram Operations Limited.
UK Light Rail Minister Baroness Vere said:“Light rail is a fantastic, environmentally-friendly way of getting around and I congratulate this year’s winners.
“We want to lead by example, which is why we are investing heavily to explore how the industry can continue to grow, as set out in our Call for Evidence launched earlier this year.I look forward to working with the industry to ensure it continues to thrive.”
Mainspring Managing Director Matt Johnston said:“It’s been another spectacular for light rail development around the world. We’ve seen more cities adopt light rail as a solution to the issue of growing populations, reducing congestion and tackling the related air quality issues. Hundreds of expansion projects have also been completed and thousands of new vehicles delivered.
“This all further proves what we’ve been saying for years: light rail is good for cities, good for business, good for the environment and, most importantly of all, good for passengers. Wise investment in tramway and light rail solutions is an important investment in the future, and our creative and vibrant supply chain is more than ready to deliver.”
The full list of winners as follows:
Best Customer Initiative – Sponsored by North Star Consultancy
WINNER: KeolisAmey Docklands
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Keolis Dijon Mobilités
Significant Safety Initiative – Sponsored by Mott MacDonald
WINNER: Tram Operations Limited
HIGHLY COMMENDED: West Midlands Metro
Best Environmental & Sustainability Initiative
WINNER: MPT
HIGHLY COMMENDED: KeolisAmey Metrolink
Technical Innovation of the Year (Infrastructure) – Sponsored by UKTram
WINNER: Mott MacDonald & MPT
HIGHLY COMMENDED: British Steel
Technical Innovation of the Year (Rolling Stock) – Sponsored by UKTram
WINNER: Project BRAINSTORM
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Keolis Dijon Mobilités
Outstanding Engineering Achievement
WINNER: West Midlands Metro
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Aarhus Letbane
Project of the Year <€50m
WINNER: CAF Urbos
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Douglas Bay Horse Tramway Renovation Programme
Project of the Year >€50m – Sponsored by the Midland Metro Alliance
WINNER: Jabodebek LRT Project, Jakarta
HIGHLY COMMENDED: UK Tram-Train Pilot
Supplier of the Year – Sponsored by Keolis
WINNER: Mott MacDonald
HIGHLY COMMENDED: British Steel
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ian Rowe Associates
Manufacturer of the Year
WINNER:CAF
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Stadler Rail
Rising Star – Sponsored by ColTram& Mainspring
WINNER: Steve Mabey – KeolisAmey Metrolink
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Mariya Vacheva – Tram Operations Limited
Employee of the Year – Sponsored by MPact-Thales
WINNER: Tom Maplethorpe – Colas Rail / Midland Metro Alliance
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kenny Ewan – CAF
Team of the Year – Sponsored by MPact-Thales
WINNER: SYPTE / Network Rail / Stagecoach Supertram
HIGHLY COMMENDED: West Midlands Metro
Most Improved System
WINNER: Nottingham Express Transit
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Edinburgh Trams
Operator of the Year – Sponsored by Tramways & Urban Transit
WINNER: KeolisAmey Docklands
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Blackpool Transport Services
Vision of the Year – Sponsored by Colas Rail
WINNER: Australia’s light rail vision
HIHGLY COMMENDED: SYSTRA – Automated and Autonomous Public Transport framework
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Transport for Greater Manchester & KeolisAmey Metrolink – Being ‘the best’
Judges’ Special Award – Sponsored by TramFoward
Jan Svacina – KeolisAmey Metrolink
Photo: M. Graham/ Mainspring