East Midlands Trains' Stations and Employees Recognised in 2012 'Best Stations Awards'

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Sep 26, 2012) -

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Five East Midlands Trains'' stations have picked up awards in the train operator''s third annual ''Best Station Awards''. The awards celebrate the best of the company''s 89 stations under the categories of Best Small Station, Best Medium Station, Best Large Station and Most Improved station. They also feature a special ''Best Community Partnership'' award, recognising the significant station improvement work that has been delivered through successful community schemes.

This year also marked the launch of a new award to recognise best outstanding personal contribution from amongst the stations team.

Loughborough station picked up the award for Most Improved station this year. The station''s £8 million improvement scheme was recently unveiled, resulting in a transformation of the station''s facilities including longer platforms, a new footbridge/lifts and a newly paved forecourt and car park. The judges particularly praised the dedication and commitment of the small station team at Loughborough for continuing to work together to deliver an excellent service to passengers whilst significant improvement work took place. Uttoxeter station was highly commended in this category.

In the large stations category, the winner was named as Sheffield. Always the most keenly contested in this competition, Sheffield impressed the judges with its improved facilities including state-of-the-art cycle storage, additional self service and extra self-service ticket machines. The judges also noted the station''s environmental improvements, which had resulted in an Environmental Award win in 2011. Leicester station received a highly commended award in this category.

For the second year running, East Midlands Parkway was named as Best Medium station. The judges were once again impressed with the team at this key East Midlands Trains'' station, and the level of pride displayed by the team in keeping the station clean and tidy whilst displaying excellent punctuality and customer satisfaction results. The highly commended award in this category was given to Loughborough.

Melton Mowbray was named as Best Small station. The judges commented that the small team at this winning station displayed dedication, hard work and energy, and also noted the improvements at the station which included a new footbridge, refurbished canopies and resurfaced platforms. Cleanliness of the station has also been significantly improved, and commented on by passengers using the station. Market Rasen won the highly commended award in this category, and this station has also just been named highly commended in small station of the year at the 2012 National Rail Awards.

The final station award was presented to Alsager station, which picked up the Community Partnership Award. This award, introduced last year, has rapidly become one of the most keenly contested awards. The winning station was praised for the active involvement and sense of ownership by the Community Rail Partnership working with East Midlands Trains and the local community. The judges also commented on the work completed to transform the station environment with a particular mention for the clever and hardworking gardeners, and felt that this station was the epitome of community engagement. Aslockton station was highly commended in this category.

Four station employees were also recognised in the new category of Outstanding Personal Contribution Award. David Bradley from Spalding station was named as overall winner of this award for his dedication and commitment to ensuring the station is kept looking in great shape, including maintaining the station planters and flower beds every year and coming into work in his own time to ensure the station and gardens are kept clean and tidy. Above all, the judges were impressed with the way that David went the extra mile every single working day. The highly commended awards were presented to Jason Cocker from Sheffield, Gary Smedley from Nottingham and Ashok Mistry from Leicester.

Andy Moore, Head of Stations for East Midlands Trains, said: "Our stations teams continue to deliver excellent standards for our passengers and it was great to see such a wide range of high quality entries again this year.

"We''re committed to improving our stations for passengers and are currently investing around £10 million to deliver improvements, which will make a big difference for our passengers. However, as the first people our passengers see when they use our stations, it''s vital our people create the right impression and this awards ceremony is about recognising the hard work and commitment of our station teams.

"It really was a tough task in choosing the winners for this year but we congratulate all the deserving winners in this year''s Best Station Awards."

The awards are made by a panel of judges comprising East Midlands Trains'' directors and senior managers and a representative from Passenger Focus.

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East Midlands Trains

- East Midlands Trains, part of the Stagecoach Group, runs fast, frequent trains from and to London St Pancras International and key UK destinations throughout the East Midlands, including Leicester, Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

- East Midlands Trains is currently investing over £40 million to improve stations across its network and every single passenger train within its fleet.

- East Midlands Trains is committed to offering great value fares. Use the Best Fare Finder to search for cheap train tickets and book cheap train tickets to London and on more than 400 routes across the UK.

- Looking for inspiration on top things to do on the East Midlands Trains'' network? Visit Top Things To Do in UK for a range of ideas. Save money on your rail journey with the latest train deals and special offers and discount online.

• Stagecoach Group

  • Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs 35,000 people and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.

  • Stagecoach is one of UK''s biggest bus and coach operators. Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach''s 7,700 buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The company''s business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge.

  • Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.

  • Stagecoach also operates the Sheffield tram network.

  • In North America, Stagecoach operates around 1,900 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Budget coach service megabus.com links around 80 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter and transit services, as well as tours, charters, sightseeing tours and a small number of school bus services.

East Midlands Trains, 1 Prospect Place, Millennium Way, Pride Park, Derby DE24 8HG.

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