RailStaff Award winners: Part IV

Listen to this article

Josie Borg wins Rail Manager of the Year

London Underground’s Josie Borg has won this year’s Rail Manager of the Year Award at the rail industry’s national RailStaff Awards 2013.

Josie looks after a team of more than 140 staff round the clock, running 13 stations on two branch lines on the London Underground.

When a contractor died on site, Josie, who lives in Ickenham, bravely dealt with the incident in a calm and efficient manner even though she knew the deceased well.

Josie was also praised by senior police officers for the way she dealt with a gas leak that closed the railway.”Getting this award feels wonderful,” said Josie.Rail Manager 2013 - Josie Borg – London Underground with Jo Kaye of award sponsor Institution of Railway Operators [new]“I’ve been with the London Underground for 36 years and this is for me like the cherry on my career because I hope to retire next year if possible. It’s really nice it’s come at this time.”I’d like to thank Mike Smith, my performance manager, and all my team at work.”

Her colleague at London Underground, Mike Smith, said: “Josie leads her team with enthusiasm and dedication. All of her team know that she is always available; it is rare to find her phone switched off even on annual leave and as far as she is concerned, her team is like a second family.”

Josie received the award during a ceremony at Birmingham’s ICC on October 5.
Tom O’Connor, managing director of awards organiser Rail Media, said: “Managing staff in what is a very busy environment with the unexpected an almost daily occurrence is a difficult and challenging skill.”Being able to reassure staff and help them through the changes the rail industry goes through is a double bonus. This award is hugely deserved and we wish Josie and her team every success in the future.”

Jo Kaye from the Institution of Railway Operators (IRO), this year’s sponsor of the Rail Manager of the Year Award, said: “The IRO is all about the development of individuals, so that is why we always want to support this event because it has such a wide variety of categories.

“People are naturally reluctant to blow their own trumpet so we should provide an opportunity to do it for them.”

Hatfield landslip team wins national award

Network Rail’s Hatfield Recovery Team, which reinstated a land-slipped railway in Yorkshire, has won this year’s Rail Infrastructure Team of the Year Award.Between February 9 – 12, 1.4 million tonnes of colliery spoil slipped causing the railway next to Hatfield Colliery to move sideways closing a four-track railway, one of the busiest in the north, between Goole, Scunthorpe and Doncaster.Initial reports said it would take until November to rebuild the railways.

The Hatfield Recovery Team – working round the clock – completed the job by dawn on the July 8.

Infrastructure Team 2013 - Hatfield Recovery Team – Network Rail [new]Team members Steve Poole, Rob Clark, Tony Heap, Charlie Chell, Alistair Boyle and Paul Siemiamwicz collected the award during a ceremony at Birmingham’s ICC on October 5.

“We’re absolutely thrilled. It was a hard effort but I think it showed the railway in its true spirit,” said Steve.

“When things go wrong, we actually bring out the best in people.”

Caroline McGuigan of Network Rail said: “The project team effectively took a £20m project through all essential development and delivery stages in just five months.

“The team worked extended hours sacrificing nights, weekends and holidays to focus on Network Rail’s customers by reopening the railway as soon as feasibly possible.

RailStaff editor Andy Milne said: “The initial incident with its pictures of buckled track and mud caught the national headlines. Less widely reported was the tremendous achievement wrought by the Hatfield Recovery Team – proof again that this industry takes every challenge bowled at it and turns it around.

“The Hatfield Recovery Team award tonight goes some distance to recognising the sheer determination and hard work that went into putting this right. Hatfield Colliery has a place in the hearts of all coal industry supporters. It was saved from closure by a management buy out in 1994.

“The rail industry has historically partnered coal mining and it is good to see a group of people who went to enormous efforts to help Hatfield Colliery win this team award.”

Janet Hector, from award sponsor McGinley Support Services, said: “The teams that entered this category this year were all worthy winners and to be honest it was quite close.

“We felt that the Hatfield Recovery Team from Network Rail proved above and beyond just how important team work is. It’s important to recognise this achievement and to encourage and celebrate the unsung heroes within our industry. McGinley were delighted to be the sponsor of this category.”

Merseyrail team wins national Trainer of the Year award

Merseyrail’s Learning and Development (L&D) Team has won this year’s Trainer/Training Team of the Year award at the rail industry’s national RailStaff Awards 2013.The team were recognised on October 5 during an event at Birmingham’s ICC.

In the group’s nomination, a colleague described the team as ‘consistently seeking ways to engage the workforce in learning new skills through union learning’.

As well as organising training schemes, the team have raised £10,000 for charity through the ‘Stand up for Anita’ comedy fundraiser.

Team members Dave Morgan [pictured], Pam Wearing and Jayne Boyd have also given up their own time to help tutor groups of unemployed people looking to enter the workforce.”Training Team 2013 - Learning and Development Team - Merseyrail [new]

I feel absolutely gobsmacked. It’s a big surprise,” said Dave Morgan, 50, learning and development manager at Merseyrail.Dave, who lives in Wavertree, said: “I’d like to thank my other team member, Siobhan Kilbane, head of  learning and development. It’s a recognition for everyone who helped. If people didn’t engage with the stuff I do then it wouldn’t work.”

RailStaff editor Andy Milne said: “This team has had an impact beyond the rail industry. To see a rail industry learning and development team helping those less fortunate than ourselves get on the job market is welcome indeed and proves the rail industry contributes to the communities it serves.

“The team are thoroughly professional and are making a huge difference in the lives of railway and local people alike.”

Craig King, managing director of award sponsor Setec, said: “I think we should be positive within the industry and we should celebrate success.

“It’s good to allow training companies nationally to say ‘actually we’ve done a good job here’.

“We don’t do it anywhere else. The RailStaff Awards is the only one that’s doing it.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Rail News

ORR review leads to 50% reduction in maximum fees for ticket refunds

New rules will mean that from 2 April the maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can charge...

More like this...