The National Rail Awards is the highlight of the year for the rail industry: held at the Grosvenor House in London’s Park Lane it is a glittering event attended, it seems, by practically everyone in rail. Jacinta Atkinson, who attended this year’s event as a guest of Nigel Harris, editor of Rail magazine, reports
I have been attending events organised by Rail magazine for a number of years and have been involved in the RAIL100 Breakfast Club (Rail magazine’s business networking and social club for managers) since its inception. I was really excited to attend the National Rail Awards with my colleague Tricia Meade – and we certainly weren’t disappointed!
The 2011 Awards was an amazing event – managed and executed so professionally by Sandy Davis and Stefanie Browne of Rail Magazine. We were greeted on arrival by waiters bearing large glasses of fizz which undoubtedly contributed to the relaxed although vibrant atmosphere in The Great Room – the air was electric with anticipation. We met several senior rail dignitaries, including a couple of the judges of the event who regaled us with stories of their illustrious careers on the railway!
The dinner was, as you would expect from the Grosvenor House, beautifully presented and absolutely delicious despite the fact that the poor waiting staff had to serve well over 1,000 3-course meals and clear over 100 tables before the Awards ceremony even began. The after dinner speaker Michael Buerk, the former BBC newsreader and commentator famous for his reports on the Ethiopian famine in 1984, set the scene for the ceremony with a highly entertaining speech. He had certainly done his research on the industry! He also presented the Awards very professionally and managed to keep the hecklers in the audience at bay!
The nominees were drawn from across the industry. further details of nominees and winners can be found at: http://www.natrailawards.co.uk/page_viewer.asp?page=Home&pid=48
All in all it was a fantastic night. We were proud to be a part of the rail industry, with its rich history of engineering, as it enters a new era of hi-tech multi-million pound projects such as HS2 and Crossrail which are set to revolutionise the future of rail travel in the UK!
