News

NORTHERN RAIL RECEIVES TOP BUSINESS AWARD FROM PRINCE CHARLES

4th July 2007

Northern Rail has won a prestigious Business in the Community (BITC) national award for its great ideas in delivering a better train service for the North of England.

The train operator won the Example of Excellence in the Rural Action category at the BITC Awards for Excellence. HRH The Prince of Wales and former US Vice President Al Gore presented the award at a gala dinner at the Royal Albert Hall.

Northern Rail came top in the Northern Foods Rural Action award category (supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - DEFRA) for its work in supporting rural regeneration through Community Rail Partnerships.

Northern Rail was one of 15 out of 430 companies to win an Example of Excellence award and the only train operator in a field of entries from the likes of Barclays, Marks and Spencer and BT.

John Mills, Director Rural Policy, DEFRA and chair of the judging panel said: “We were so impressed with Northern Rail who were bursting with great ideas about how to bring additional benefit to the rural communities connected by their trains – music trains offering real ale, volunteer couriers on some lines describing the route and its scenery, bringing disused station buildings back into use as community facilities. For rural communities it means a better train service, improved stations and more visitors to rural areas.”

Heidi Mottram, Managing Director Northern Rail said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised for our innovative ideas in working with community partners to develop rural train services.
“These initiatives are part of our community engagement programme that builds on the partnership approach our parent organisations Serco-NedRailways have brought to the franchise.”

Northern Rail has a growing network of Community Rail Partnerships on most of its rural routes across the North. These partnerships bring together Northern Rail with local partners in the business community, voluntary sector and local authorities with
the shared aim of providing better rail services, promoting sustainable access into rural areas and assisting in rural regeneration.

Now in their tenth year, Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence are the UK’s leading awards for responsible business practice and recognise companies that are integrating responsible business practice into their main operations.