DRS scored a hat-trick of success at this year’s Golden Whistle Awards in London where they were declared, for the third year running, Officially “The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator” taking home the prestigious Golden Whistle Award.
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 on consistent arrival times at destination over the previous 12 months during which DRS were declared more reliable than any of our competitors. The award also recognises the hard work and dedication of the DRS workforce and the vital roles played to ensure our services get to their destination on time as well as the strong investment in reliability of the DRS fleet of locomotives and assets.
Alan Moore, Executive Chair of DRS “Any Business or Service will only be successful if they develop a strong reputation for the reliability of what they provide. At DRS we know all of our customers expect and rely on quality services. Therefore to win this award not just once, but three years running is a fantastic achievement, a great testament to everyone involved in the company but most out recognition of the importance we place on putting customer needs first.”
Following the awards Head of Performance for DRS, Norman Egglestone said: “This is the fourth time DRS have received the award and the third year in a row we havesuccessfully retained our position as Officially ‘The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator’. Whilst the award is recognised as a “performance” award it requires co-ordination, planning and delivery across many parts of our business to achieve this”.
He then went on to thank those who work hard to ensure DRS services remain Safe Secure and Reliable: “To all who will have contributed to the excellent levels of performance seen during last year at various points, I just wanted to thank each of you for your specific work, as your roles every day have a fundamental part to play in maintaining our position and reputation of delivery for the customer. Even during the enormous challenges faced when the country was hit with devastating storms, causing flooding and landslips on the rail network, your work gaining customer acceptance of plans, through to identification of available routes, planning of resources and ensuring delivery on the day remained at exceptional levels far above our rivals”.
(Pictured above from left: David Hunter-Network Rail (NR), Norman Egglestone–Direct Rail Services Ltd (DRS), Sabrina Brannan-DRS,
Ian Walker-DRS, Stephen Harold-DRS, Steve Rhymes-NR, Jon Philips-NR, Neil Dodd-DRS. Official photograph by: Tony Miles)