Edinburgh Trams brought home the silver this week.
The company won the coveted Operator of the Year title at a prestigious awards event celebrating excellence in the light rail sector.
As well as winning the top award, it was Highly Commended in the Most Improved System category at the Global Light Rail Awards in London this week.
The annual event highlights exceptional innovation, performance and customer service and the city’s tramway also made the shortlists for the Best Customer Initiative, Team of the Year and Project of the Year under €50m awards.
Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams Managing Director, commented: “To be named Operator of the Year, and to do so well across a range of other categories, is a fantastic achievement and testament everyone’s hard work over the past 12 months.
“This latest accolade follows the naming of Edinburgh Trams as the UK’s number one transport operator for customer satisfaction by the highly respected Transport Focus organisation and reflects our efforts to wrap the business around the customer.”
Awards judges were impressed by the way the tramway has increased services at peak times and stepped up operations during the city’s many cultural and sporting events, initiatives that have seen customer numbers rise by around 10 per cent to 5.6 million. The system has also recorded industry-leading levels of reliability and punctuality and turned a profit a year ahead of schedule.
Lea added: “We’re obviously delighted to receive this recognition from the wider light rail sector but we’ll never become complacent and continue to look at ways of enhancing our services for the people who matter most, our customers.”
Transport Convener and Chair of Transport for Edinburgh, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, said: “This is an excellent win for Edinburgh Trams – to be awarded ‘Operator of the Year’ is testament to the service’s efficiency, reliability and value to the people of Edinburgh.
“Since launching in 2014, there is no doubt that the service has grown immensely, achieving near-perfect customer satisfaction and a year-on-year growth in patronage, so to be highly commended in the ‘Most Improved System’ category is equally deserved.
“These awards are thanks to the hard work and dedication of the team behind Edinburgh Trams – congratulations to all those involved.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
