Network Rail is business of the year

Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd (United Kingdom) has been crowned the winner of The Rail Freight Group’s (RFG) coveted Business of the Year Award 2013.
 
The award recognises the company’s ongoing and effective process of internal transformation and its renewed focus on developing and working to better meet the needs of the rail freight sector. 
 
The judges congratulated Network Rail and said it had helped boost the sector through a renewed focus on working with businesses and freight operating companies to assist in the growth of the rail freight market. 
 
Judges said: “Congratulations to Network Rail, a business which in the judges' view has really transformed itself in recent times to display a real and strategically important focus on freight. Choosing a winner was incredibly difficult but as a category winner in its own right and a partner in the Project of the Year Winner, there was only one winner of this year's Business of the Year Award.”
 
The winner of the overall Business of the Year award is selected from all the entries and based on successful all-round performance.
 
Held in the evening of September 10, 2013 at Shendish Manor Hotel, Herts, NR also scooped the Customer Care award and was part of a team that won the Project of the Year award, as part of an effective partnership with Atkins and Balfour Beatty.  
 
Tony Berkeley, RFG Chairman, said: “These awards recognise and celebrate all those who have strived to deliver even greater successes in an increasingly demanding rail freight market. I would like to say a huge congratulations to everyone in Network Rail’s team involved with promoting rail freight. 
 
“The RFG awards continue to go from strength-to-strength and we encourage all our members to consider entering the awards. They are well known for being different to other award events, apart from being the only awards dinner dedicated to rail freight, they are informal, which isalways really appreciated by all of our guests.

“I would also like to dearly thank Simon Coppen of Burges Salmon LLP and John Smith MD of GB Railfreight for kindly supporting the 2013 awards.”

Other winners and runners-up on the night included;
 
Customer Care
Winner – Network Rail
Runner-up – Victa Railfreight
 
Environmental Innovation
Winner – VTG Rail UK 
Runner up – Cooper SH
 
Technical Development
Winner – Hutchison Ports (UK) – Port of Felixstowe
Runner up - DB Schenker Rail (UK)
 
Project of the year
Winner – Atkins, Network Rail and Balfour Beatty
Runner-up – Hutchison Ports (UK) – Port of Felixstowe
 
Support Service Provider of the year
Joint winner – Cooper SH
Joint winner - Carillion
 
Outstanding Individual Contribution
Winner – Sabrina Brannan (DRS)
Commended – Walter Cartwright (DB Schenker)
Commended – Paul Lugg (VTG)
Commended – Ray Cripps (L.Lynch)
 
On the night, some £1,595 was also raised for the Railway Benefit Fund, the chosen charity of the RFG Awards.
 
The  panel of judges was comprised of Richard Hope, railway journalist; Jeremy Candfield, Railway Industry Associaton; Stephen Joseph, Campaign for Better Transport; Simon Coppen of Burges Salmon and John Smith of GBRf.