Northern celebrates as staff and stations are recognised with national awards

The event, organised by RAIL magazine, is one of the industry’s premier awards ceremonies, with each category always hotly contested. 

The station team at Bolton won the Medium Station of the Year award and the team at Buxton won a commendation for Small Station of the Year.  

The awards recognise the important part Northern’s stations play in the local community and the work carried out by Northern to make the station as inviting as possible for customers. 

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “Our staff work hard to keep the stations looking their best and to provide the best possible service to our customers. 

“Our stations are more than somewhere to catch a train - they are a vital part of the local community.”  

Northern is also celebrating success for Vinnie O’Brien who won a LifeSaver Award for his efforts that helped a young woman earlier in the year. 

Vinnie, 55, from Liverpool works as a train presentation operative for Northern at Southport station and intervened to save the life of the customer – administering first aid until paramedics arrived. 

Jack Commandeur, engineering director at Northern, said: “Many congratulations to Vinnie for winning this well-deserved award.  

“He should be proud of himself and of his quick actions saved the life of this young woman, and he is a credit to Northern and a role model to all of us.”  

Northern is the second largest train operator in the country, with nearly 2,000 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.