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Saturday 10 Oct 2020

Network Rail employees recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours list

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National

Six current Network Rail employees and one former employee have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, published on Saturday 10 October.

Simon Constable, Dave Williams, Gareth Mallion, Chris Conway, Phil Graham, Brian Paynter and Nasir Khan – who has since left Network Rail – have been honoured for their incredible response to the Covid-19 pandemic, valuable work in their communities and a strong dedication to safety and diversity in the rail industry.

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: “I would like to congratulate Simon, Dave, Gareth, Chris, Phil, Brian and Nasir for their incredible achievement of being recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Their hard work and dedication is an example to us all of the difference we can make at our workplaces and in our communities, and I am proud to call them my colleagues.

“This year’s list included honours to recognise contributions in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic on the frontline and in local communities. I am pleased but not at all surprised to see the outstanding efforts of rail staff acknowledged in this way.”

• Simon Constable, MBE – for volunteering to lead and coordinate distribution of PPE and supplies across Scotland during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Dave Williams, MBE – for his volunteer work at the Simon Community homelessness charity during the pandemic, keeping them supplied with food, warm clothing and other essentials.
• Gareth Mallion, MBE – for volunteering to run the logistics at the Manchester Nightingale hospital, coordinating and leading teams from various sectors to make sure the hospital was set up smoothly.
• Chris Conway, MBE – for continuing his volunteer work in Blackpool throughout the pandemic, delivering up to 1,200 meals a week to the homeless, vulnerable and elderly while his usual soup kitchen had to close due to social distancing.
• Phil Graham, MBE – for coming out of retirement to help train reserve signallers who could cover in the event of staff shortages, helping to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of the railway.
• Brian Paynter, MBE – for his dedication to safety on the railway, for example by ensuring a defibrillator is available on every work site and developing training for first responders to an accident.
• Nasir Khan, MBE – for his commitment to improving diversity in the rail industry – increasing the number of multi-faith rooms for Network Rail employees and co-founding Muslims in Rail, a national network seeking to connect, grow and inspire Muslims working or seeking a career in the rail industry.

Notes to editors

• Nasir Khan, MBE was nominated during his time at Network Rail, however he left the organisation in December 2019.