Direct Rail Services take home sixth consecutive Golden Whistle
Direct Rail Services (DRS) received the prestigious Golden Whistle Award for the sixth time running, when they were officially declared ‘The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator’.
Organised by the Institute of Railway Operators, in conjunction with Modern Railways Magazine, the annual event celebrates operational excellence in the industry.
The Golden Whistle is awarded annually for consistent arrival times at destination over the previous 12 months – DRS were declared more reliable than any of their competitors.
Pictured above from left: Kevin Mackintosh – DRS, Jonathan Niblock – DRS, Greig Gibson – DRS, James Bottomley – DRS, Oliver Paget – Network Rail, Suzanne Brecken – DRS, David Simpson – Scotrail. Official photograph by: Tony Miles
The award also recognises the hard work and dedication of the DRS team, as well as the strong investment in reliability of the DRS fleet of locomotives and assets.
DRS Head of HSEQ and Performance, Norman Egglestone said:
“DRS have just been awarded another well-earned Golden Whistle Award for once again ensuring our customers services arrived at destination on time or no later than 14 minutes behind schedule. In the last year, we have seen over 90% of all DRS Commercial freight services achieve this target. DRS rightly remains by far “The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator” and our continued success received special recognition at the presentation attended by almost all of the rail industry organisations. As ever to achieve this award requires co-ordination, planning and delivery across many parts of our business.
This award would not be possible without the reliability of our rolling stock, the commitment and professionalism of our drivers and ground staff plus the planning and co-ordination of service delivery. It was particularly pleasing that the award was collected by ‘Team DRS’ with colleagues from all departments and locations across the DRS family. I know that everyone who attended the presentation not only took great pride in receiving the award on behalf of their colleagues but also had a superb afternoon networking with one another and helping strengthen further the relationships between our respective areas.”
DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and supports its decommissioning mission with its core nuclear transport business.
NDA Commercial Director, Kate Ellis, said:
“DRS makes a vital contribution to the NDA’s decommissioning mission and I am delighted for the team at DRS to have won such a prestigious award, once again reflecting their commitment to service reliability.”