On Thursday 29 April, at the Regents College London, Network Rail held its second annual staff recognition ‘First Awards’, to celebrate outstanding achievements in customer service at its 17 managed stations.
Birmingham New Street took the overall honours with the prestigious ‘First Station’ award, recognising the highest overall application of customer service principles, ranging from cleanliness to customer service culture. A further six awards acknowledged the achievements of Network Rail employees and business partners, all having demonstrated exceptional levels of customer service.
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First Champion was awarded to Phil Harrison, Duty Station Manager at Liverpool Lime Street, for his hard work in raising the quality of customer service delivery and creating a real customer focus from day one.
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Mohammed Jellall, Initial Cleaning Services at London Victoria, won the First Service Partner award for his willingness to help others and improve customer care, no matter what his workload.
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First Manager went to Alison Clarke, Station Manager at London Victoria, for the way her team have delivered service beyond expectations and dealt quickly, professionally and efficiently with any difficulties that have arisen.
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First Teamwork award was given to Peter Downs, Network Rail, Jeff Court, Infotec, Bob Crosby, TEW Engineering, John Hazel, Fone Alarms and John Noakes, Atos Origin, for their work on the new Customer Information System at London Euston.
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Ravi Gor at London Euston won First Achievement for his exemplary handling of a group of delayed customers.
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The First Service Hero was named as Jim Morrison, team leader at Glasgow Central, for his dependability, loyalty and willingness to help others.
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Awards were presented by a variety of industry leaders including Ian Johnston, Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, Stewart Francis, Chairman of the Rail Passengers Council and Iain Coucher, Deputy Chief Executive, Network Rail.
The First Awards form part of a larger initiative to ensure customers consistently receive high quality service when using our stations. In addition to the annual awards, the customer service programme, ‘Customer First’, includes training, workshops and the opportunity for employees to work towards formal qualifications.
Deborah Richards, Director Railway Estates, said: “These awards recognise the enthusiasm, dedication and hard work of our people who continually strive to deliver first-class customer service across our stations. Excellence in customer service is a key objective for Network Rail and congratulations deservedly go out to all winners and nominees.”
Notes to editors:
Although Network Rail owns all 2,500 stations on Britain’s rail network, it operates and manages only 17 of the larger stations. The remaining stations are leased to train operating companies, who manage them on a day-to-day basis.
Network Rail managed stations are: London Waterloo, London Bridge, London Euston, London Paddington, London Victoria, London Charing Cross, London Kings Cross, London Liverpool Street, London Fenchurch Street, London Cannon Street, Gatwick Airport, Birmingham New Street, Leeds, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
Approximately 2 million people use Network Rail managed stations every day.
Network Rail is the 'not for dividend' operator of Britain's rail network. Our objective is to provide safe, reliable and efficient rail infrastructure.
We own and maintain the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, and level crossings. We also own the network’s 2,500 stations, and manage the largest and busiest of them. We provide access to the tracks for every passenger and freight train, timetable their journeys, and operate the signalling, which controls their movements.
Network Rail is a company limited by guarantee with members instead of shareholders. It is run as a commercial organisation, but any operating surplus is re-invested in the rail network.
Our core focus is the operation, maintenance and renewal of existing rail infrastructure, with the Strategic Rail Authority taking the lead on enhancement projects.
We have set clear targets to improve performance and reduce costs, but safety is always at the forefront of our activities as we rebuild Britain's railway.
Details about the company can be found on the Network Rail web site: www.networkrail.co.uk
For media enquiries please contact the Network Rail press office on 020 7557 8292/3
