The Greatest Gathering rail awards highlight Alstom team

Alstom’s recent success story around The Greatest Gathering rail awards stretches across two rail industry ceremonies held just two days apart.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The train manufacturer was recognised at the Railway Benefit Fund’s Heart of Gold Awards 2025 and at the RailStaff Awards 2025, as reported by RailAdvent.

According to the Railway Benefit Fund, the celebrations began on Wednesday, 26th November, at Railpen’s London offices, where the Railway Benefit Fund’s 2025 Heart of Gold Awards took place. The awards were presented by Railway Benefit Fund president Pete Waterman OBE and Chief Executive Officer Jo Kaye. The Railway Benefit Fund Heart of Gold Awards 2025 recognise members of the railway industry who make a real difference by going the extra mile and supporting others.

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The Greatest Gathering rail awards and Star Team success

Among this year’s Heart of Gold winners was the team behind The Greatest Gathering, which took the Star Team Award. The award recognised the staff who organised The Greatest Gathering, held in August at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works. The event was the world’s largest-ever gathering of historic and modern trains, bringing together a unique line-up and explaining why The Greatest Gathering historic and modern trains attraction resonated so strongly across the rail community.

RailStaff Awards 2025 winners from Alstom

The following day, Thursday, 27th November, the focus moved to the NEC in Birmingham for the RailStaff Awards 2025, hosted by celebrated journalist, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo. Alstom again featured prominently among the RailStaff Awards 2025 winners and finalists, with 17 employees shortlisted in 20 categories. Two of the organisers of The Greatest Gathering were on that list: Ben Goodwin, nominated as Rail Ambassador of the Year, and Kathryn Lancaster, a finalist for a Lifetime Achievement Award linked to their work on the event.

Alstom engineers Charlotte Briers and Yasha Siddiqui were also recognised at the RailStaff Awards 2025. Charlotte, a Rolling Stock Performance Lead, received the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award for championing empowerment and progress as part of Alstom’s female employee resource group, Voices of Women. This is the second year that Charlotte has been recognised, as last year she won the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Verena Winifred Holmes Award for her outstanding work as Chair of the Voices of Women ERG at Alstom in promoting diversity and inclusion in the railway industry.

Yasha Siddiqui, the Graduate Chair of Alstom’s graduate scheme in the UK, received the Graduate of the Year award for her efforts to enhance the programme for future graduates and ensure everybody felt included and supported. After completing graduate placements in different engineering teams, Yasha is now a Product Cost Engineer and is exploring cost-saving ideas during the design stage of new rolling stock, helping to shape the next generation of Alstom trains.

Recognition also went to Julie Williams, a Project Manager in Alstom’s Digital and Integrated Systems team. She was highly commended in the Project Person Award category for her involvement in the successful delivery of the Victoria Phase 4 signalling project in South London, adding another example of how Alstom staff fit into the wider story behind The Greatest Gathering rail awards coverage.

Crowds, charter trains and The Greatest Gathering experience

The Greatest Gathering itself proved to be an outstanding success and drew significant crowds to Litchurch Lane works. To handle some of these crowds, the Branch Line Society ran special shuttle charter trains to the event from Chesterfield and Derby, giving visitors a dedicated way to reach the site. Adding a further highlight, Pete Waterman OBE, who presented the Heart of Gold Awards, displayed a model railway at the event, tying together the award ceremonies, The Greatest Gathering rail awards narrative and the enthusiasm for both rail heritage and modern rolling stock.

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