TransPennine Express (TPE) is celebrating after picking up two trophies alongside Siemens and CAF at the prestigious Golden Spanner awards.
The rail operator was handed both gold and bronze awards for two of its train fleets, with the Class 185 trains manufactured by Siemens winning gold in the 1st Generation diesel multiple unit category, whilst the Nova 2/Class 397s manufactured by CAF picked up bronze in the 2nd Generation new inter-city category.
The ceremony, which was held at The Grand Connaught Rooms in London, celebrates improvements in train reliability and the best in rolling stock maintenance. Winners are based on data provided by train companies on train reliability over the past twelve months. Three levels of trophy are awarded: Gold for most reliable, Silver for greatest percentage improvement and Bronze for fastest time for recovery after an incident.
Paul Staples, TPE’s Fleet, Safety and Service Delivery Director, said:
“I am very pleased to see two of our rolling stock fleets recognised for their reliability and the speed with which they allow us to recover service when things do go wrong. The two fleets are the product of close and complex collaboration between large teams at TPE, Siemens, CAF, Alstom and Eversholt Rail.
“Our Class 185 units have been for many years and remain a critical, core part of the railway in the north of England and our Class 397 units, introduced just three years ago, have made their mark as a fast, comfortable, modern way to travel on our longer distance services between Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“These awards are testimony to the dedication and effectiveness of the many colleagues in the team as well as the inherent capabilities of the trains, and I offer my congratulations for securing this recognition and my gratitude for everything they do for TPE’s customers every day.”
Matt Colclough, Siemens Mobility Customer Services Operations Director, said:
“It is an honour to have our Class 185s given the top award at the Golden Spanners for a seventh year in a row. The teams at Ardwick and York take real pride in their work maintaining the trains and this award is a fantastic recognition of this.”
Dave Lowe, Managing Director at CAF Rail UK commented:
“We are very pleased to have been recognised in these important awards. Not only do they reflect the hard work of our manufacturing colleagues, they also show how effectively our engineering and support teams can work seamlessly with their partners in the train companies to ensure day to day operations are delivered to the highest possible standards. We look forward to working with TPE on continued improvement of the fleets service and reliability.”