An unwavering commitment to delivering wide-ranging improvements for customers, the environment, and the communities it serves has earned the West Midlands Metro team a prestigious international award.
At the Global Light Rail Awards gala event in London this week, the Metro was named Most Improved System, triumphing over strong competition from networks across the UK and around the world. The accolade reflects a year of significant investment and innovation across the network, resulting in improved reliability, customer satisfaction, and sustainability.
Sophie Allison, Metro Managing Director, explained: “It’s fair to say that the network has faced numerous challenges in recent years, but thanks to the fantastic work of the team and investment across the existing network, the Metro is now more popular than ever. Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen significant improvements in customer satisfaction, patronage and reliability, alongside a reduction in our carbon footprint.”
A wide range of initiatives have contributed to West Midlands Metro’s recent success, including a series of infrastructure and track upgrades, the rollout of state-of-the-art ticket machines, the support for local community groups and businesses and the installation of energy-efficient LED lighting across the fleet and network.
A range of measures aimed at enhancing safety and security on the network have also been introduced, including the adoption of a pedestrian safety campaign led by the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board.
The awards also recognised outstanding individual contributions within the Metro team. Michael Parkes, Assistant Fleet Engineer, received the Rising Star award for his proactive approach to learning and ability to take on new responsibilities and challenges. Nicola Steadman, Network Controller, was also Highly Commended in the Employee of the Year category for her outstanding contribution to network operations.
“This recognition from our peers in the light rail community is particularly timely as we prepare for the opening of the Birmingham Eastside and Wednesbury Brierley Hill extensions, and our customers can look forward to even further improvements in the months and years to come,” Sophie added.
