Entries are now open for RAIL’s National Rail Awards 2025, celebrating railway excellence from individuals and organisations.
The ‘Railway Oscars’, Britain’s biggest and most respected rail awards ceremony, celebrates outstanding achievements across the industry over the past year, highlighting those which demonstrate innovation and deliver measurable performance improvements.
Those recognised range from senior management to frontline staff, while the event also salutes engineering successes, environmental sustainability, and safety improvements.
All form part of the NRA’s aim to promote the rail industry’s longer-term success and sustainability, in which a highly skilled, diverse, motivated and engaged workforce can thrive under first-class leaders.
For the first time, this year’s event will be held on a Wednesday (September 17). And a new category for 2025 is the Accessibility Achievement of the Year, which celebrates initiatives that reduce barriers for those who have additional needs when travelling by train.
Judges will be looking for entries that have clear aims to improve accessibility, address barriers to independent rail travel, and demonstrate a determination to make the railway more accessible for everyone.
Clive Nicholls, chairman of the judges, said: “As an industry we thrive on the talents of remarkable people, teams and companies - and each year the NRA recognises the very best at our awards night at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane.
“Now with the new category, Accessibility Achievement of the Year, there are even more opportunities for everyone in our industry to enter.
“We promise that every entry will be fully and fairly evaluated. Even if you don’t enter the NRA, the event itself is a great opportunity to make new contacts, develop business partnerships, and have a great time too!”
Last year’s Outstanding Personal Contribution (Management) award went to Wayne Norbury and Jack Roberts, for their work on the Wessex Safe Track Alliance.
Norbury described the event as “an amazing night”, adding that he and his colleague were “incredibly honoured to have been chosen as the winner for our work”.
Freightliner Group UK’s CEO Tim Shoveller received the Outstanding Personal Contribution Senior Management award, an accolade he “never imagined” getting when he started as a Junior Porter on a preserved railway in 1987.
The NRAs are not just about the largest firms. Small- and medium- sized businesses who have the evidence to showcase their excellence and innovation compete on an even playing field alongside bigger organisations.
VTG Rail and Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK’s were victorious in the Freight & Logistics Achievement of the Year in 2024, for the launch of the UK’s first digital iWagon. The judges said they were “impressed by the speed at which a prototype trial has been converted into a commercial reality”.
The Great Place to Work award went to Hull Trains, with its inclusivity programme helping to make it a “stand-out winner”.
HT Managing Director Martijn Gilbert said it would “use this award as a springboard for further success”.
This year’s National Rail Awards ceremony takes place on Wednesday September 17 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.
Angel Trains, one of Britain’s leading rolling stock asset management companies, has been Platinum Sponsor of the National Rail Awards since 2000 and is again supporting the event
Entries for this year’s National Rail Awards will close on March 28. For more information on how to enter, full criteria and judging information, or to enquire about booking tables, visit www.nationalrailawards.com.
2025 categories
Station of the Year - Small.
Station of the Year - Medium.
Station of the Year - Large.
Station of the Year - Major.
Safety Achievement of the Year.
Freight and Logistics Achievement of the Year.
Customer Service Excellence.
Major Project of the Year.
Infrastructure Achievement of the Year.
Fleet Achievement of the Year.
Outstanding Teamwork Award.
Passenger Operator of the Year.
Environmental Excellence.
Outstanding Personal Contribution - frontline.
Outstanding Personal Contribution - management.
Outstanding Personal Contribution - senior management.
Outstanding Contribution to Society.
Innovation of the Year.
Great Place to Work.
Accessibility Achievement of the Year (new for 2025).
Accessibility Achievement of the Year - what you need to know
Entries may come from any team, company or organisation involved in the railway industry, including the wider supply chain. But all entries should show a tangible achievement in improving accessibility on the rail network.
Merely implementing any new legislative or other requirement will not score highly, unless the entry demonstrates a particularly innovative way of meeting or exceeding accessibility requirements. Judging criteria includes:
Has there been a measurable or otherwise demonstrable benefit to passengers with accessibility needs?
Will the initiative have a long-term effect on accessibility? Has the initiative resulted in an increase in the number of disabled passengers using the railway, in reduced assistance failures, or in improved feedback from disabled travellers?
Is the initiative being picked up in other parts of the railway?
Is there evidence of the initiative drawing directly on the diverse needs of disabled users (such as through accessibility panels, collaboration with disabled charities, or advocacy groups), and taking account of the diversity of those needs?
National Rail Awards timeline
January 31: Entries open. Go to the awards website: www.nationalrailawards.com.
March 28: Entry deadline for all categories.
May 13: Initial judges’ meeting to review entries.
June: Judging takes place (due diligence shortlist presentations).
July 9: Second judging session to confirm finalists and decide winners.
Mid-July: Shortlist revealed.
September 17: Winners revealed at the National Rail Awards black-tie ceremony, Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.
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