At the rail industry’s ‘Golden Whistles’ awards held on Friday, 25th February, at the Marriott hotel in Grosvenor Square, London, East Midlands Railway (EMR) won a Golden Whistle award in recognition of its work with partners in introducing EMR’s Connect fleet.

The project team included members from EMR, Network Rail, and Siemens, and won the Golden Whistle Award in the Outstanding Operator/Operating Team category.

The award recognised how the project helped to solve a key issue with the certification of Network Rail’s overhead power lines that EMR Connect trains use.

Working together, Network Rail and EMR overcame a number of hurdles so that they could fit special equipment to a 12-car Class 360 train. The equipment enabled the team to gather the information that was needed in order to certify the overhead lines as safe for passenger use by the time of the May 2021 timetable launch.

The judges were impressed with the speed at which EMR worked to solve problems, and how it collaborated with Siemens and Network Rail to deliver the project successfully. They said: “Those passengers are now benefiting from upgraded Siemens trains that are running faster and more sustainably thanks to the work by the EMR, Network Rail, Serco, and Siemens Mobility team.”

Paul Barnfield, Operations Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “We are delighted to win this award. It highlights the hard work and dedication of our team to quickly and efficiently collaborate with other partners to meet deadlines that were critical to bring our new EMR Connect service to customers.”

Steve Hopkinson, East Midlands Operations Director for Network Rail, said: “Winning this award is testament to the fantastic alliance we have with East Midlands Railway. By working together, we’re able to provide passengers with a forward-thinking, safe railway. Many of our teams worked incredibly hard to make this happen – and it’s great to see them being recognised.”

Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director, Rolling Stock & Customer Services, Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “This much deserved award shows what collaboration can achieve. I’m very proud that our Customer Services colleagues were able to play their part in delivering for East Midland Railway and, most importantly, the passengers.”