project was wholly about putting passengers
first, from the main driver, which was to increase
capacity to enable the doubling of passenger
numbers to more than 32 million per annum by
2043, to enhancing the passenger experience
through improved concourses plus new and
extended platforms to facilitate more frequent
reliable services and longer trains.
People using Lime Street were 93.8 per
cent satisfied, according to the National Rail
Passenger Survey published in January 2019,
putting the Liverpool station ahead of both St
Pancras (93.6 per cent) and King’s Cross (92.9
per cent).
Amery Sersa and the S&C North Alliance also
did well, highly commended for high-speed
handbacks. A collaboration between Network
Rail, Amey and Rhomberg Sersa, the S&C North
Alliance has spearheaded the initiative to hand
back at line speed following major track renewal
interventions. Work sites have been handed
back at speeds of up to 125mph, a world
first. Crucial to this achievement are various
techniques to fully consolidate the track during
construction, which means it no longer requires
the passage of trains to do this.
Osborne received the second Highly
Commended certificate for its use of virtual
reality (VR) at stakeholder events. CombinedBuilding Information Modelling (BIM) technology
with Virtual Reality equipment makes design
solutions accessible to a wider range of
stakeholders, helping those who would never
have usually commented on a scheme see how it
would impact them, and offer their opinions on
the solution.Supplier of the Year
So that was it for the individual categories. All
that remained was the big prize, the coveted
Supplier of the Year Award, to be presented by
chief executive Andrew Haines.
He joined Julia on stage to announce the
winner. Everyone present was a winner in
some way - they were all on the short list,
many had won or been commended for their
work in the individual categories, and together
they represented the cream of Network Rail’s
suppliers.
So, without further ado, and without too
much of a shock considering the results of the
other categories, Andrew Haines announced
that Network Rail’s Supplier of the Year was
Buckingham Group Contracting.
Two category wins and one highly commended
had sealed it, and it was an impressive
performance from a company that had won the
same overall award in 2015.
Fergal Kiernan, senior project manager at
Buckingham, said afterwards: “Buckingham
Group, for the last two years, has been top of
the charts with regards to the KPI performance.
That’s down to the dedication of the teams
and a number of people who are assigned to
manage and coordinate the KPI process for us,
and that was testament to the excellent job
they’ve done.
“Buckingham has, over the last two to three
years, delivered a huge amount of work for IP
Signalling and for the various rail contractors,
and I think receiving the award is a really, really
pleasant surprise. Our rail director Simon
Walkley, who couldn’t be here tonight, will be
absolutely chuffed.”
And probably sorry he missed the evening...Buckingham team
celebrating their wins.Winners of Supplier of
the Year - Buckingham
Group Contracting.46 RAIL PARTNERSHIP AWARDS
46