Hull Trains named as one of most reliable operators in UK

Hull Trains has been named ‘Best in Class’ at a national awards ceremony to recognise the most reliable fleets in the railway industry. 

The Golden Spanner awards, organised by trade publication Modern Railways, celebrate the best of rolling stock maintenance and practices, paying tribute to those companies making the greatest strides in train reliability on behalf of passengers. 

Three categories of trophy are awarded: Gold for best in class, Silver for most improved over the last year, and Bronze for the lowest impact on the customer of failures.  

Hull Trains was awarded a Gold – the highest accolade possible – in the 2^nd Generation new inter-city category. 

Figures are calculated using Miles per Technical Incident (MTIN) Moving Annual Average data, a TIN being recorded where a train is stopped for three minutes or more due to a rolling stock issue. Trains are broken down into categories based on age and type. 

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Hull Trains, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and testament to the commitment and hard work of our Fleet team, working in partnership with Hitachi. They always go above and beyond in their duties to make sure our customers benefit from some of the most reliable services in the country. I would like to thank our teams for making this achievement possible and know they will not rest on their laurels in continuing to make improvements to the reliability of Hull Trains’ services.” 

Hull Train’s fleet was last recognised with a Golden Spanner award back in 2006, with their 222 Pioneers fleet.  

The aim of the awards is to encourage the spread of best practice within train maintenance and the Golden Spanners awards are known to have made a valuable contribution to this aim. More than 350 representatives from across the industry gathered in London for the annual awards ceremony on Friday.

Sara Holland, Fleet Director at Hitachi Rail said: “Receiving this prestigious award for reliability is the best way to celebrate the three-year anniversary of the Paragon fleet. The Hitachi intercity fleet has consistently ranked inside the top 10 on the UK reliability table, often being three times more reliable than the industry average.

“This award is tribute to the collaboration between Hitachi and Hull Trains, as we look to improve reliability, so passengers continue to feel the benefits of these high performing trains.”