Two Great Western Railway colleagues have been recognised for their outstanding work after picking up honours at the RailStaff Awards, held last night at the NEC in Birmingham. Emma-Jane Kennedy, based at Weston-super-Mare, won the Station Staff Award, while Jack Farley from Reading Train Care Depot took home the Railway Depot Award.

The annual RailStaff Awards highlight the dedication, professionalism and innovation of railway workers across the industry. This year, GWR saw nominations across seven categories. Among them, Lucy Fawkes-Grey and Lee Bladen were highly commended for the Health & Wellbeing Award for their work in creating a new call, support and welfare procedure for colleagues.

Emma-Jane, a Service Delivery Supervisor, said:

“I never expected this. I’m so grateful that someone recognised what I do. I was literally filming the stage, then realised they said my name. This award isn’t about me but the team I work with at Weston-super-Mare.”

Jack, Depot Engineering Manager at Reading TCD, said:

“This is a huge surprise and I’m so grateful to my colleagues at Reading Depot – Gareth Storton and Graeme Smith – for their mentoring and leadership so far in my career. The depot is one big team, making sure we play our part in delivering a safe and reliable railway for our customers and it’s amazing to get recognised like this.”

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood added:

“We’re incredibly proud of all of our staff who go above and beyond in helping to deliver the best possible service for our customers. Congratulations to Emma-Jane and Jack and all of those who were nominated for a RailStaff Award. Their names were put forward by fellow GWR colleagues, demonstrating the level of respect they clearly hold within their teams.”

Image: Great Western Railway