The Heritage Railway Association has provided a new closing date of Tuesday the 3rd of January for its annual awards event which is the largest of its kind in the heritage rail sector.

All categories have benefited from the extension which has been put in place as a number of railways have been handling the effects of the recent severe weather. 

The freezing weather during the middle of December created a number of operational issues for heritage railways across the country and has taken a vast number of staff and volunteer members a great deal of time during the busy ‘Santa’ season. The deadline date shift will now provide everybody with a fair chance of entering the awards following this exceptionally busy period.

Heritage Railway Association Chief Executive, Steve Oates, said: “This time of year is always a busy one for most heritage railways, but the weather in recent weeks has made things even more difficult.

“We’ve been contacted by a number of members who really want to enter the HRA awards, but were simply running out of time due to the weather problems. The new deadline should give everyone enough time to enter once Santa Claus has completed his duties for the year.”

The Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards have been created to recognise the differing types of Heritage Railway Association members and provide them with the opportunity to enter a number of categories. 

The 2023 awards feature five new categories one of which is the ‘Railway of the Year’ and has seen much excitement. The award can be won by a railway, tramway or funicular railway which has achieved and demonstrated ongoing excellence for visitor experience, business, safety, operations, teamwork, equality, preservation, restoration and engineering. The Heritage Railway Association hope that this special award will become coveted by the rail sector as it recognises the entire organisation rather than a singular part. 

Other new categories include the Heritage Railway Association ‘Team of the Year’ award and the ‘Rising Star’ which focuses on innovation, initiatives and success by individuals and organisations who are new to the sector.

Entries for the 2023 awards will now be open until 11.59pm on Tuesday the 3rd of January and each of the categories can be entered via the Heritage Rail Association website.