UK Light Rail sector recognised at international awards ceremony
- UKTram
- Oct 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 7
The 2025 Global Light Rail Awards took place at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London on Wednesday 1st October, bringing together operators, suppliers and industry leaders from around the world to celebrate excellence and innovation in the sector.
Mainspring put on another fantastic event once again, one we're always proud to support. As sponsors, we were honoured to present the Rising Star Award and the UK Operator of the Year Award, recognising outstanding achievements that are helping to shape the future of light rail.
The event showcased groundbreaking projects and initiatives across safety, sustainability, technical innovation and customer service, with UK networks and suppliers featuring prominently among the shortlisted entries and winners. We'd like to extend our congratulations to all the winners, highly commended and nominations. Here are just some of this year’s award winners, including UKTram members and operators, who stood alongside many other outstanding achievements from across the global sector this week.
KeolisAmey Metrolink was crowned UK Operator of the Year, for the second year in a row. The accolade recognises the operator’s commitment to delivering safe, reliable and innovative tram services for Greater Manchester. Sister company KeolisAmey Docklands was also highly commended in the same category.
Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is celebrated a double success at this year’s Global Light Rail Awards. Service Delivery & Security Manager, Shaun Kenneth, was named Employee of the Year, recognising his outstanding contribution to the network and the wider sector. In addition, NET’s FPI Beacons initiative was highly commended in the Technical Innovation of the Year category.
Sheffield Supertram celebrated its success winning the Technical Innovation of the Year Award for its solar-powered remote monitoring system for overhead line tensioning units.
The operator was also shortlisted in two further categories: Most Improved System and Team of the Year, recognising the dedication and innovation of its team on an international stage.
West Midlands Metro secured a trio of honours, including Most Improved System of the Year, Rising Star of the Year and highly commended for Employee of the Year. The wins followed an impressive year of progress, with the network also shortlisted in six categories overall, recognising achievements in customer service, environmental performance and future planning.
Transdev Ireland’s Luas network was for its Resilience Project, highly commended by the judging panel. The project has delivered two new control centres at Sandyford and Broombridge, alongside significant upgrades at Red Cow, introducing real-time synchronisation and seamless failover to ensure uninterrupted operations. Impressively, the improvements were delivered with zero disruption to services, resulting in a measurable increase in network reliability and availability.
Tram Operations Limited (TOL) was recognised with the Significant Safety Initiative award for its Correct Side Door Enabling (CSDE) system. The technology ensures train doors only open where there is a platform, enhancing passenger safety while also helping to improve operational efficiency through reduced dwell times.
Edinburgh Trams was named winner of the Richard Brown Best Customer Initiative Award, recognised for the successful introduction of its Tap On, Tap Off system, which has transformed ticketing and improved the customer experience. Meanwhile, Blackpool Transport was Highly Commended in the same category, reflecting its continued team commitment to delivering customer-focused improvements across its network.
The Mixed-Use Railway Team, which includes representatives from Network Rail, UKTram, ORR, LRSSB, Pre Metro Operations, DfT and other key stakeholders took home the Team of the Year Award. An accolade recognising the community's collaborative work in advancing standards and technical understanding across the interface between light and heavy rail.
UKTram member RKH Qitarat also enjoyed success on the night, receiving a Highly Commended for Team of the Year and winning the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award for its pioneering use of drone technology in tunnel inspections.
Amongst our Light Rail operator members, additional UK members were among those celebrated.
Colas Rail UK and Coventry City Council were Highly Commended in the Outstanding Engineering Achievement category for their collaboration on the Coventry Very Light Rail On-Road Test Track, recognising the project’s potential to transform the light rail industry.
Mott MacDonald also enjoyed success on the night, winning the Vision of the Year award and receiving Highly Commended recognition for Best Environmental and Sustainability Initiative, underlining the consultancy’s innovation and commitment to sustainable transport.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, was honoured with the Judges’ Special Award for her leadership in securing a major funding boost for the region’s tram project. Earlier this year, the government announced £2.1 billion for local transport, paving the way for construction to begin by 2028, a milestone set to transform connectivity and drive economic growth across West Yorkshire.
UKTram extends its warmest congratulations to all the winners and highly commended projects recognised at this year’s Global Light Rail Awards. The event continues to play a vital role in showcasing innovation, collaboration and excellence across the sector, and we are always proud to support it as a sponsor.
The full list of winners is now available. See you next year!
Comments