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Thursday 13 Jul 2006

AND THE WINNER IS...

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National

Tackling anti-social behaviour, sprucing up stations and preserving the natural habitat for many species of flora and fauna were just some of the schemes recognised at the Network Rail Environment Awards last night.  Philippa Forrester, presenter of TV’s Tomorrow’s World and Robot Wars, joined Network Rail Chairman, Ian McAllister, in presenting awards at the ceremony, which was held at the Natural History Museum.  Speaking at the event, Network Rail’s Chief Executive, John Armitt said: “Once again, we have been impressed by the calibre of entries and they show those individuals and organisations that have gone the extra mile to make a significant contribution – not only to the railways – but to the environmental protection and welfare of the country. “We are committed to making sure the railway is an environmentally positive mode of transport and these awards are about recognising the contributions made by the industry.” The awards were won as follows: Biodiversity Protection Award Birse Rail took the award for Underbridge 39 at Sutton Park and the plan to preserve the habitat for flora and fauna Efficiency Award Trackwork Ltd won the award with its sustainable and environmentally friendly solution for the disposal of railway sleepers Community Partnership Award Won by The Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership, whose ongoing project helped improve the presentation at Chirk station, making it a suitable gateway for visitors.  Their work included the installation of CCTV, with the whole community pitching in to the ongoing maintenance of the station Rail Crime Prevention Award Southern Railway took the award for its Crime and Disorder Reduction Task Force.  The team provided a more visible presence on Southern trains and at certain stations.  This proactive approach in tackling anti-social behaviour resulted in passengers feeling safer when using trains Innovation Award Won by Merseytravel for Liverpool South Parkway station, where £32m has been invested in building an environmentally friendly and sustainable station that will benefit the local and wider community long into the future Individual Contribution Award Awarded to Craig O’Brien of May Gurney, who consistently performs over and above the remit of his job, working with a wide variety of groups to achieve solutions that preserve and improve the environment Team Contribution Award The Neville Hill Depot team from Main Train impressed the judges with the way it embraced the implementation of an environmental management system.  The team has developed its own processes to minimise the impact of noise and fumes on the local community as well as developing recycling facilities on site Special Award for Continuing Environmental Excellence The panel of judges created this award for FirstGroup as a way of recognising the company’s continued contribution and commitment to both environmental and corporate responsibility issues.  FirstGroup has embedded strong environmental practices throughout its operations, which have shown significant dividends In addition, special commendations were made to the following:

• May Gurney for being short listed twice in the Biodiversity Protection category
• Ponthenri School in Llanelli where the children were all involved in a clean up campaign to improve their local environment – short listed in the Community Partnership category
• Yorkshire Ecological Solutions for its innovative approach in dealing with calcareous sediments at Cold Knapp, Barry Island – short listed in the Innovation category
• GNER team at Craigentinny Service Delivery Depot for its work to achieve ISO accreditation and continued environmental protection work – short listed in the Team Contribution category