Bombardier Transportation Celebrates Success at Rail Business Awards

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - March 2, 2015) - Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation is celebrating its success at the prestigious Rail Business Awards, which were held in London on February 26. Senior representatives from all sectors of the UK rail industry attended the event where Bombardier and its project partners won three awards.

Lewis Slack, Fabrication Shop Team Leader at Bombardier Transportation's BTRoS subsidiary, won the Rail Engineer of the Future award. This award, sponsored by Electromotive Diesel, seeks to recognise young rail engineering talent. Following a rigorous interview process, Mr. Slack, was given this award due to the clear initiative he has shown throughout his career development. This included completing a welding and fabrication apprenticeship, participating in a work exchange program in Germany, as well as earning a subsidiary diploma.

Bombardier and engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash won the award for Technological Innovation for their joint work on the Train Zero project at Bombardier's Derby plant. Train Zero is a state-of-the-art system integration facility that provides Bombardier with the capability to test and refine new rolling stock much earlier in the design process than was previously possible.

Richard Jones, Rail Business Manager at Frazer-Nash Consultancy said, "Our collaboration with Bombardier on this project has drawn on our knowledge of current best practice cross-industry and Bombardier's unrivalled experience of building great trains. We are delighted that the rail industry has recognised the value of the project, which is also set to act as a catalyst for further innovation by Bombardier's engineers and suppliers to collaborate on the integration of train systems at an early stage. That's something we hope to develop in the future"

Bombardier Transportation was also mentioned in the Rolling Stock Excellence award, sponsored by Wabtec. This award recognised the London Underground's successful upgrade project. The BOMBARDIER MOVIA metro was a key component of this sub-surface upgrade, which improved service and performance on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.

David Waboso, Capital Programmes Director at London Underground, said, "Our new trains, built by Bombardier in Derby and creating thousands of jobs in the UK, have proved an instant hit with our customers and it's not hard to see why. These comfortable, spacious, accessible, air-conditioned trains will be serving 40 per cent of the Tube network by the end of next year and are a major factor in making the sub-surface Tube lines fit for the demands of the future. I'm hugely pleased that we have been recognised by the Rail Business Awards for this world-class new rolling stock."