The rail industry today congratulated more than 100 finalists in the Australasian Rail Industry (ARI) Awards for their outstanding contributions to the industry.
The winners of the 16 categories will be announced on 7 August at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney.
Australasian Railway Association (ARA) CEO and ARI Awards judging chair Caroline Wilkie said the awards showcase the incredibly impressive talent in the rail industry across several areas, including safety, diversity, customer service, innovation and sustainability.
“The Australasian rail industry has extraordinarily talented people at all levels and it was an absolute honour to be involved in the judging of this year’s finalists. As always, it was a very difficult task given the impressive nominations in all categories,” Ms Wilkie said.
“I would like to congratulate every person and organisation being recognised today for their outstanding contribution to the rail industry and for their dedication and commitment to ensuring rail is a safe, productive and sustainable industry."
The awards are hosted jointly by the ARA, Rail Track Association Australia (RTAA), Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA), Permanent Way Institution (PWI NSW), Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) and Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB).
RTAA President Jonathan Barnes said: “Once again, I am inspired by the range and quality of submissions from our emerging track specialists. Each year, it is a great honour to be able to recognise and celebrate their great work and through these awards help them grow their careers.”
RTSA National Executive Chair Stratton Killis said: “The RTSA is pleased to celebrate the skills, achievements and excellence of today’s finalists. We are proud of the ongoing collaborative effort of the Australasian rail organisations to recognise individual, project and organisational successes.”
PWI NSW President Mark Harris said: “We are excited for the future and the groundbreaking work being brought to market by the young achievers of the industry.”
IRSE Section Chair John Skilton said: “The finalists selected recognise people and organisations at the pinnacle of the rail industry embodying innovation, talent and accomplishment in their respective fields.”
RISSB GM Stakeholder Engagement, Sharon Tang, said: “RISSB is proud to recognise and celebrate all the great safety initiatives in the rail industry and continues to be committed to promoting the very highest standards of safety to keep workers in the industry and our communities safe every day.”
2024 AUSTRALASIAN RAIL INDUSTRY (ARI) AWARDS FINALISTS
Young Rail Professional Award
Supported by RTSA
- Alexander Ming - John Holland
- Andrew Sotiros - Martinus Rail
- Anil Thayalan - Metro Trains Melbourne
- Daniel Li - John Holland
- Dylan Jacobs - Jacobs
- James Cho - Transport for Tomorrow
- Jarrah Duckhs - WSP
- Stephen Chambers - Metro Trains Melbourne
- Tom Mitchell - WSP
- Yidan Zhai - Rail Network Alliance
Emerging Rail Specialist Award
Supported by RTAA
- Curtiss Hood - Acciona Rail
- Sasmit Dahl - Martinus Rail
- Keneith Subala - Acciona Rail
Young Achiever Award
Supported by PWI NSW
- Christopher Adams - CPB Contractors
- Kaylyn Chandran - Future Maintenance Technologies
- Samiha Najem - Sydney Trains
- Aaron Spyrakis - Transport for NSW
- Amel Tokalic - UGL Regional Linx
Signalling and Systems Engineering Excellence Award
Supported by IRSE
- Josh Doyle - Metro Trains Melbourne
- Mark Potter - EGIS Oceania
- Mohan Sankarasubbu - Hitachi
- Olivier Leveque - Alstom
Customer Service Excellence Award
Sponsored by John Holland Group | Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Alstom and Transdev Sydney - FIFA Women’s World Cup
- Keolis Downer Adelaide - Increased Rail Accessibility
- Metro Tunnel HQ - Metro Tunnel Project
- Metro Trains Melbourne - The 2024 Taylor Swift concert series
- Metro Trains Melbourne - Passenger Experience Strategy
- Metro Trains Sydney - Operations & Customer Experience
- On Rail Industries - Hunter Valley Drainage and Undercutting On Rail Industries
- Queensland Rail - Customer Accessibility Guidance Tools Project
- Queensland Rail - SEQ New Year's Eve event
- Sydney Trains - Multi Modal Digital Screens
Employee Engagement Excellence Award
Sponsored by Rio Tinto | Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Alstom - Championing Excellence: Celebrating Alstom's Outstanding Teamwork
- Downer - On-Side: Downer Rail & Transit Systems response to finding world-class talent through employee engagement
- Downer - Our Safety Focus: Employee Engagement to Drive Safety
- Martinus Rail - Innovative Leadership Program
- Metro Trains Melbourne - We Move Melbourne
- Metro Trains Sydney - One Business One Line
- Queensland Rail - QR Engage
- Sydney Trains - A Fair Decision Framework for our people
- Sydney Trains - First Impressions Count
- Sydney Trains - Train Crew Virtual Reality Continuation Training
Freight Rail Excellence Award
Sponsored by Port of Melbourne | Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Arc Infrastructure - Situational Awareness Platform
- Arc Infrastructure - Kenwick Intermodal Terminal
- Bowen Rail Company - RACE Live planning and live run management technology
- NSW Ports and Patrick Terminals - Project SABRE
- Visy Logistics - Riverina Intermodal Freight & Logistics Hub (RIFL)
- V/Line - Grain Rail Improvement Plan
Supplier Excellence Award
Sponsored by Siemens | Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Agonics - LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) datasets
- Kallipr - IoT technology to enhance safety, efficiency, and compliance across various rail operations
- On Rail Industries - “Towards Green” initiative
- Training Ahead Australia - expanding course offerings and streamlining the training process for individuals and businesses
Rail Innovation of the Year Award
Sponsored by Project i-TRACE, powered by GS1 Australia | Supported by Australasian Railway Association
- Alstom and the Department of Transport and Planning with Capire and Ability Works - X’Trapolis 2.0 train and G Class tram projects
- Aurizon and Kallipr - Enhanced Rail Safety and Efficiency through Real-Time Temperature Monitoring Innovation
- BHP - OptiRail
- Future Maintenance Technologies - Automated Rail Infrastructure Inspection System
- Metro Trains Melbourne - Digital Signal Sighting using LiDAR Technology
- Metro Trains Melbourne - People Movement Analytics
- Rail Network Alliance - South Yarra Substation
- SLR Consulting Australia - Public Transport Authority Airport Line
- Systra ANZ - Mortdale Maintenance Centre Capacity & Logistic Modelling for Sydney Trains
- Transport for NSW - Electrical Learning Centre
Sustainability Excellence Award
Sponsored by Acciona Rail | Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Acciona Rail - Murray Basin Rail Project
- Aurizon - Aurizon's Decarbonisation Programme
- Degnan Constructions - Illawarra TAP Upgrades
- Downer - Waratah Train Project
- Jacobs - Rolling Stock Decarbonisation
- Metro Trains Melbourne - Infrastructure Sustainability Improvement Program
- Metro Trains Melbourne - Rolling Stock Wheel Management for Sustainability
- Queensland Rail - Tully Revegetation Project
- Siemens Mobility and Monash University - Circular Economy impact on decarbonisation through examination of the M23A MK2 Point Machine
- McConnell Dowell - Mt Derrimut Road Level Crossing Removal Project, Western Program Alliance (LXRP, MTM, McConnell Dowell, Mott MacDonald and Arup)
Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award
Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- BMA Rail - Diversity and Inclusion
- Department of Transport and Planning (VIC) - STEM Graduate, Internship and Work Experience Trial Programs
- GHD - Women in Rail Report
- Pacific National - Women's Series
- Queensland Rail - Engineering Pathways program
- Rio Tinto - Pathways for women in Rail
- Sydney Trains - Experience Program (STEP)
- Sydney Trains - Train Crewing Lactation Facilities Project
- Systra ANZ - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy
- The Marketing GP - Swietelsky Rail Australia
Passenger Operations Excellence Award
Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Metro Trains Melbourne - Visual Tracking to enhance Safety Operations Processes
- Queensland Rail - Christmas and New Year’s extended track closure
- Queensland Rail - Kuranda Range Recovery
- Sydney Trains Engineering & Maintenance - Utilising Operational Technology for Maintenance and Incident Response
- Sydney Trains - NextThere Guards Announcement Project
- V/Line - New Fairer Fares Policy
Infrastructure Project Excellence Award
Sponsored by Andrew Engineering | Supported by RTSA
- ADCO Constructions - The Public Transport Operations Control Centre
- Alstom - Building a sustainable Adelaide A-City EMU fleet
- ARTC - Modernising Critical Train Communications across Australia
- CPB Contractors - Systems Connect Line-wide Work
- Degnan - Unanderra Station Upgrade
- John Holland - Botany Rail Duplication
- John Holland, Next Rail - MTMS T8 Airport Line Power Supply Upgrade
- Metro Trains Melbourne - High Capacity Signalling implementation
- Sydney Trains - Awaba Bridge Renewals
- Transport for NSW - Illawarra Coast Station Upgrade Projects
Safety Excellence Award
Supported by RISSB
- Ann Tomlinson - Alium Works for RISSB Industry Safety Professional of the Year Winner
- Arc Infrastructure - The Critical Control Verification App
- ARTC - Sharing ideas to ‘Make a Change’, RISSB Frontline Worker Initiative Winner
- Jason Zhou - Downer for RISSB Emerging Leader Winner
- Queensland Rail - Mental Health Co-deployment Trial, RISSB Community Safety Award Winner
- Rio Tinto - Frontline Worker Initiative
- Sydney Trains - Safe Access for Maintenance Program, RISSB Safety Leadership Program Winner
- The Marketing GP - Check5 Wellbeing Program
- Transport for NSW - The Level Crossing Technology Trial
- Transport for NSW - VeloSTRAIL
Keeping communities safe on and around rail (TrackSAFE Foundation)
Sponsored by TrackSAFE Foundation
- Canberra Metro Operations - SAIL Program
- John Holland – “Our Giants” Community Safety Campaign - Adelaide Metro Operations
- Metro Trains Melbourne - Community Education Program
- Queensland Rail - Railsmart Rail Safety Education program refresh and relaunch
- Queensland Rail – ‘Travel with Care’ campaign
- Queensland Rail – ‘Your Safety and Security is our priority’ campaign
- Transdev - Sydney Light Rail Safety Forum
- Transport for NSW - Level Crossing Technology Trial
- Transport for NSW - VeloSTRAIL Trial and Type Approval Project
Career Achievement Award
Sponsored by Frauscher | Supported by the Australasian Railway Association
- Winner to be announced at the ARI Awards ceremony.
Contact details:
Media contact:
Natasha Wallace
Senior Manager – Strategic Communications
nwallace@ara.net.au | 0499 272 672
