Tonight is the best night of the year for those who love and work in rail and want to celebrate the best it has to offer, because tonight it's time for the National Rail Awards.
This year we had a record number of entries, which makes the rigorous judging process even more challenging than ever. I was personally impressed with the effort, time and thought that the judges put into selecting the shortlists and the winners in each category.They all get so deeply, thoroughly involved in due diligence to check the entries really are as impressive as they seem, take time for careful consideration, sometimes lively debate and their own research which for example involves visiting hundreds of stations up and down the country.
I’d like to thank all those judges for their tireless work. We welcomed two new judges to the panel this year, Simon Kendler from Network Rail and Ian Prosser CBE. We owe a special thanks to Clive Nicholls, who is chair of the judges and co-founder of these awards, so without whom, we wouldnt be gathering together at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London tonight.
I’d like to thank our platinum sponsors, Angel Trains and Siemens Mobility, as well as British Steel for the trophies. And please dig deep for the evening's official charity, the Railway Children.
It also makes it harder to win than ever. I know it’s a cliché but it really is true that all the nominees are winners in their own way because getting shortlisted is such an amazing achievement in itself. But only one winner can walk away with each trophy. And in a few hours we’ll begin to find out who those people will be.
Our host for tonight is Nick Knowles, presenter of DIY SOS, Who Dares Wins, Amazing Railway Journeys and many more. He's now in training for Strictly.
So for those of you attending tonight, it's time to relax, catch up with some old friends and colleagues, cheer on the very best of the rail industry and, in short, have a ball. For those not attending this time, there's always next year!
Here's the ceremony's running order:
17.45 - Pre-dinner drinks reception
18.30 - Call for dinner
19.00 - Welcome from host
19.30 - Dinner commences
21.00 - Presentation of the National Rail Awards 2024
22.30 - Bar opens and networking
01.30 - Bar closes
02.00 - Carriages
Follow the results as they announced live on our X channel
In case you’ve forgotten, our shorlisted entries can be found here:
https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2024/07/22/national-rail-awards-2024-shortlist-revealed
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