The ‘orange army’ which keeps Tyne and Wear Metro on track through winter has been honoured at a prestigious industry award ceremony.
Rail maintenance staff at Nexus, which owns and manages Metro, were named Team of the Year at the Global Light Rail Awards.
The prize recognises the efforts the staff make to protect Metro’s track and infrastructure from the worst of winter’s storms, snow and frozen conditions.
Cllr Nick Forbes, lead member for Transport on the North East Combined Authority, said: “This is a well-deserved honour for the men and women who work in sometimes awful weather to keep Metro passengers on the move.
“The efforts Nexus staff make behind the scenes are a big part of ensuring that Metro is a reliable public service for the North East, and one we are striving to improve all the time.”
Raymond Johnstone, Director of Rail and Infrastructure at Nexus said: “The maintenance staff who work on Metro are a team dedicated to keeping trains on the move whatever the weather throws at us, and we are delighted and humbled to get this recognition from the global rail industry.
“Dealing with winter weather comes down to meticulous planning, but also sometimes to the skill and experience of the staff on the ground as the temperature drops or the wind rises.”
Tracks owned and managed by Nexus were kept open throughout last winter, a season which saw severe and unprecedented disruption affecting most rail lines across the North, including the shared route between Sunderland and Newcastle.
When Storm Desmond in December 2015 saw a whole factory roof blown onto the Metro line at Bede in South Tyneside the Nexus team worked in gale force winds to cut up and remove the debris and restore 500 metres of damaged power lines.
Judges at the Global Light Rail Awards, held in London, singled out Nexus for praise in its planning for winter. Attention to detail includes regular patrols at points where snow is likely to drift or ice builds up, having staff on stand-by at key junctions to respond quickly to faults – and sending out regular supplies of hot coffee and food to support them on site.