We pulled away with three highly commended awards at the prestigious National Rail Awards.
The awards, which were held on Thursday 18 September, took place at the Grosvenor House hotel in London.
Honour and praise went to the Waterloo Train Presentation team in the London Team of the Year category when they were awarded a highly commended certificate. This is a team which carries out jobs which are demanding, dirty and pressured.
The judges said: “We were heartened by managers who ensured that their teams got on with the job, making sure every coach is refreshed between 0700 and 2300 hours with clean, shining, smudge-free windows, gleaming floors and empty bins.”
A bit further down the line the Southampton Stations Partnership, which is made up of South West Trains, Southampton City Council, British Transport Police and Network Rail, was highly commended in the Putting Passengers First category. The judges recognised the huge amount of effort and teamwork which has gone into improving the passengers’ journey experience when travelling from Southampton Central, Swaythling and Redbridge.
But South West Trains’ journey of recognition did not end there as Bournemouth station was highly commended in the Station of the Year category.
The judges said: “Good use is made of this old station which is supported by South West Trains’ smart, efficient and helpful staff. There are good links with the taxi and bus services, handling the sometimes very heavy flow of holidaymakers and their luggage smoothly.”
It was not only those areas where the company did well. Paul Little, platform assistant at Richmond, was a finalist in the category of Outstanding Personal Contribution whilst Andrew Fairbank, South West Trains’ Head of Stations, was a finalist in the managers’ category for Outstanding Personal Contribution.
Stewart Palmer, South West Trains’ Managing Director, said: “The professionalism and dedication that all these finalists and highly commended teams show on a daily basis is what makes me proud to be part of the South West Trains’ team. The recognition we have received are about real people at the sharp end who have made a difference to our passengers.”