2011 winners

The Partnership Awards provide an occasion for Network Rail to reward and recognise excellence and best practice among organisations who have worked with us to help Britain run better.

The 2011 winners were announced at an awards dinner hosted by comedian, Fred MacAulay, at the Natural History Museum, London, on Wednesday 13 July.

The winners…

Safety

Winner: J. Murphy & Sons Ltd - Corporate behavioural safety programme

The company’s ongoing behavioural safety programme is designed to reach all employees – from director to operative. Seminars for the entire workforce are held on a regular basis to educate and identify good candidates from all sections of the business for the role of ‘focus leader’ – trained to apply the ‘zero harm’ philosophy at site level, by interacting with their colleagues on a daily basis.

Highly commended: Atkins - Safe by choice

Innovation

Winner: Variable Message Signs Ltd (VMS) - Lightweight signalling system – structures and signals

VMS has provided a comprehensive system of lightweight structures and signals that cover all network requirements. The complete process was achieved in only 21 months and Network Rail now has a significant alternative to complex and expensive support structures plus the additional benefit of installing new signals and structures without the need for heavy lifting machinery or specialised personnel.

Highly commended: Balfour Beatty, Jacobs, Tony Gee & Partners and First Capital Connect - Blackfriars station and bridge construction works

Community engagement

Winner: Hull Kung Fu - Reducing railway crime

Hull Kung Fu has promoted Network Rail’s No Messin’! campaign and the fight against railway crime for the last year – running railway crime awareness days, boot camps, and advertising the No Messin’! initiative on their own website.

They have helped many ex-drug users, victims of bullying, and kids who lack confidence, to change their lives for the better, and have transformed attitudes towards railway crime.

Highly commended: Sole Events - Sole cycling

Environmental sustainability

Winner: Lancashire County Council - Accrington eco station

This project set out to demonstrate the future of sustainably-designed railway stations. From the beginning, the project incorporated the concept of ‘from cradle to cradle’ – i.e. that, should the building be dismantled in the future, all the materials could be recycled.

Highly commended: VolkerRail - CO2 emission reduction for on-track machines

Good lineside neighbour

Winner: Friends of the West Highland lines - Recovery of iconic views on the West Highland lines

The Friends of the West Highland lines are committed to raising awareness of the scenery and heritage along the lines serving Oban, Fort William and Mallaig.

Information technology

Winner: Logica - Project synergy

Logica worked with Network Rail to implement an Oracle Supply Chain solution. The solution has saved several million pounds in operating costs and will allow stock levels to be driven down by around 30% - it is projected to save Network Rail around £20m over a three to five-year period.

Highly commended: Further Creative - Moving ahead: building a sustainable future – Network Rail Online Corporate Responsibility Report

Highly commended: Virtusa UK Ltd  - Information management – Web enhancements

Investing in people

Winner: Babcock (VT Flagship) - Network Rail Apprenticeship Scheme – VT Flagship (HMS Sultan and Collingwood)

Babcock (VT Flagship) has worked in partnership with Network Rail over a period of six years to create, implement and continuously improve a unique residential Apprenticeship scheme that has trained, mentored and coached 1,250 Network Rail apprentices to date.

Highly commended: University of Warwick - Stepping Stones Programme

Highly commended: Balfour Beatty Rail - Site management of the future

Team contribution

Winner: Skanska UK Civil Engineering - Thameslink Programme, Borough Viaduct

Throughout the Borough Viaduct project, Skanska demonstrated that collaborative planning is key to success. Through close working with contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers and stakeholders, a real team ethic was fostered which transcended all disciplines.

Highly commended: Invensys Rail - Durham Coast Resignalling Programme

Best project – small (projects valued under £3m)

Winner: Amalgamated Construction Ltd - Eglington Street Feeder Station Renewal

The project to renew the feeder station at Eglington Street was instigated to facilitate repositioning of the neutral section at Cook Street, thereby allowing the introduction of the Siemens Class 380 Desiro fleet of trains onto the Ayshire and Inverclyde routes, operated by First ScotRail.

An additional project, managed by Enhancements, ran concurrently to extend the platforms at various stations on these routes, to cater for the longer train sets.

Highly commended: Osborne - Canterbury West “Access for All” project

Best project – medium (projects valued between £3m and £20m)

Winner: Galliford Try Rail - Newport station regeneration

Although reliant on the rail network, Newport has been bisected by its tracks – resulting in each half of the city developing its own character. The station redesign embraces this divide, creating two major new concourses – the north, focusing on the needs of commuters on the civic side of the city; and the south, connecting travellers, day-trippers and tourists on the commercial side. The greenest and largest station in Wales, its unique design and size – at over 2,100 square meters – creates an iconic gateway for the country.

Highly commended: Morgan Sindall plc - Marylebone station roof renewal

Best project – large (projects valued over £20m)

Winner: Invensys Rail on behalf of: Balfour Beatty Rail, Invensys Rail, Carillion, BAM Nuttall and URS Scott Wilson - Airdrie-Bathgate rail link

The Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link is Scotland’s longest new passenger railway in over 100 years. Delivered on time despite challenging weather conditions during the final 18 months, the project continued through the wettest summer on record and two winters characterised by arctic temperatures and heavy snow. The team’s collaborative ethic and dedication delivered the project with a minimal degree of disruption to passengers and local residents.

Highly commended: Atkins, Carillion and DeltaRail - North London Railway Infrastructure Project

Highly commended: Skanska UK Civil Engineering - Thameslink Programme, Borough Viaduct

Special award

This year a special award was awarded to our partners working on the Reading Station Area Redevelopment.

Supplier of the year

The supplier of the year award was awarded to Invensys Rail.