National Express train operator c2c which operates train services from London Fenchurch Street to East London and Essex won the National Rail Award for the best ‘Suburban & Metro Operator 2011’ at a ceremony held in London last month.
c2c is the first train operator to win this new award, which was presented to Managing Director Julian Drury by the journalist and news presenter Michael Buerk.
The judges commented that c2c stood out from the crowd amongst train operating companies due to their industry-leading approach including a customer satisfaction score of 91%, annual average punctuality of 96.7% and the high ratings for many features of service in the National Passenger Survey.
Julian Drury Managing Director of c2c said:
“The record-breaking c2c team greatly deserves this award and I am extremely proud of them for the consistently high standards they continue to deliver.
“This award recognises the important role c2c plays in delivering a high quality train service for our local community in London and South Essex.
“It is a tremendous achievement for the c2c team to win a major National Rail Award two years in a row and it will help inspire them to perform to even higher levels.”
The award was open to train operators who run suburban, metro or light rail operations into or within major transport hubs such as London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow or Newcastle.
The emphasis being on operations providing intensive services with frequent stops, moving large numbers of passengers, characterised by high demand in peak hours.
c2c’s Ian Palmer was also nominated in the ‘Outstanding Personal Contribution’ category at the National Rail Awards for his dedicated work which has led to all c2c stations receiving and maintaining their secure station accreditation.
This is the second year in a row c2c has won a major National Rail Award, last year the train operator won the ‘London Commuter Operator’ award.
