WHO CAN ENTER?
Any rail business. The Awards are open to all operators, infrastructure owners, manufacturing industry & service providers in both the public and private sectors.
Don’t be modest! If you have achieved a breakthrough in any of our eight categories we really do want to hear from you.
- Engineering and Safety – for the more technical projects and initiatives which show commendable innovation
- Environment and Sustainability – a hot topic on the railway, this category covers innovations which further rail’s environmental agenda
- Passenger Experience – the focus here is on passenger-facing initiatives which make a genuine difference to journeys
- People, Skills and Diversity – for initiatives which help upskill the industry, promote staff wellbeing and make rail more diverse
- Cross-industry Partnership – for projects which demonstrate excellent working between multiple industry organisations
- Operations and Performance – for projects which help keep the railway running smoothly and punctually
- Small Scale Project – for projects which are not significant in their own right but nonetheless show commendable innovation
- Large Project – for significant schemes which feature prominently within the industry
Not sure which category to enter in? Don’t worry, the judges will be available to advise as to which category your entry is best suited to.
HOW DO I ENTER?
We know you are busy so we have tried to keep the procedure simple. But please do take the time to read the guidelines below as this will ensure your entry has the best possible chance when it goes through to the judging panel.
Your entry must be accompanied by a completed entry form, available here. There is a box in which you are asked to explain clearly the novel or innovative features of your entry – please do so succinctly and DO NOT copy and paste full entry details in here. The judges want to hear not just about what you are submitting, but why it is particularly innovative and worthy of their consideration.
Please ensure your entry is of a sensible length – we suggest no more than 2,000 words overall, mindful that the judges may have many entries to read within each category they are assessing. The boxes on the entry form have strict character limits, but you can also upload supporting information in alternative formats, including Word documents or pdfs.
Feel free to include photographs or illustrations to help bring your submission to life. They should be presented as jpgs submitted via the ‘Supporting Material’ upload on the entry web page. If you wish to submit videos or other large files to support your entry, we suggest you use www.wetransfer.com and send to philip.sherratt@keypublishing.com.
Each submission should only be entered into a maximum of two categories.
FAQs
HOW DO THE JUDGES COME TO THEIR DECISION?
A pair of judges is assigned to each category. Without conferring, each judge considers criteria such as degree of innovation, evidence of research, delivery and practicability to show that the idea has worked and enhanced what you offer. The business context and strategic relevance of what you offer will also be considered. The judges then compare notes, discuss any other factors that they think relevant and agree a shortlist which is discussed and reviewed by the judging panel as a whole before a final decision is made.
IF I DON’T WIN, CAN I FIND OUT WHY?
Sorry, but no. The judges are all volunteers and it would add too much to an already heavy burden if they had to respond to many requests of this kind. Their decision has to be final.
DOES IT COST ANYTHING TO ENTER?
No. We want to encourage entries rather than make them subject to any budgetary constraints you might have. We are very grateful to our sponsors for helping to make this possible.
CAN I RE-ENTER A SUBMISSION FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR?
Yes. We sometimes encourage this when a submission has been entered before there has been enough time to gather the evidence to show that it really worked.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES
Please ensure that all entries are in by the deadline of 19 April 2024. The winners and runners-up of each category will be announced at the awards luncheon at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, London on Friday 21 June 2024.
JUDGING PANEL
The Judging panel consists of experts from within the industry. All are extremely highly regarded in their individual fields and take judging of the awards extremely seriously. From time to time, a judge may find it necessary to contact the person named on the application entry form to discuss it further. So please be sure to include the name of the person responsible for the case history you are submitting on the application form.
The Chair of the Judging Panel is David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association.
AND THE WINNER IS… COME ALONG TO THE AWARDS LUNCHEON!
The awards luncheon this year is being held in the Marriott Grosvenor Square, noon till 16.00 on Friday 21 June 2024. Tables of ten are available by contacting Chris Shilling via email chris@shillingmedia.co.uk or call on 07736 635916.
ANYTHING WE HAVE FORGOTTEN TO TELL YOU?
If you have any queries at all about your application, please contact Chris Shilling via email chris@shillingmedia.co.uk or call on 07736 635916.
GOOD LUCK AND GET ENTERING!
