The fast-improving Tyne & Wear Metro has been named as 'the best in the UK' in front of an assembled audience of senior decision-makers from the global industry at the prestigious 2011 Light Rail Awards held in London. The awards ceremony, now in its fifth year and held in association with Tramways & Urban Transit, also recognised Bergen's Bybanen in Norway as Worldwide Project of the Year for its outstanding brand new light rail system that opened in June 2010.

The Operator of the Year accolade awarded to DB Regio Tyne & Wear recognises the company's success in its first 16 months in charge of Newcastle-upon-Tyne area urban rail services. Passengers have been treated to extra services, more staff on the ground, cleaner, brighter and more reliable trains, and as the judges said: 'Above all, dead-straight honesty'.

Bybanen Bergen Light Rail, which has recently completed its first light rail line, has already established itself as the backbone of the public transport system in Bergen, and was named as Worldwide Project of the Year despite keen competition from Gold Coast Rapid Transit (Australia), Angers (France), Dallas (USA), and Miskolc (Hungary).

The newly-opened tramway line 1 in Murcia (Spain) was given special praise for its campaign of persuading passengers to surrender their cars in return for lifetime season tickets, as was Midland Metro for its sterling efforts to clean up the environment in one of the most difficult areas of the West Midlands of the UK.

Manchester Metrolink was honoured three times for the high quality of delivery with its ongoing 65km (40-mile) expansion of the city's light rail network, and international consultant Mott MacDonald was also recognised for its consultancy expertise. Bombardier Transportation was named as 2011 Worldwide Supplier of the Year.

The audience gave a standing ovation for the London Tramlink team for their amazing achievement in restoring a full service within just four days after July's rioting destroyed the system's main artery.

LIGHT RAIL AWARDS 2011
BEST CUSTOMER INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
Highly Commended: Serco Docklands -Ambassadors and Accessibility
Winner: National Express, Midland Metro - Communications Upgrade

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
Highly Commended: MPT Consortium - Manchester Metrolink Phase 3
Winner: Mott MacDonald

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR - SPONSORED BY ARUP
Highly Commended: Centro - Community Payback Project
Winner: Alstom - APPITRACK

MOST SIGNIFICANT SAFETY INITIATIVE - SPONSORED BY MOTT MACDONALD
Highly Commended: Nexus - Interactive Safety Teaching Pack
Winner: Transport for Greater Manchester - Metrolink School Engagement Project

ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
Highly Commended: Veolia Transdev, Dublin - Green Week at Red Cow Depot
Winner: Tranvía de Murcia, Spain

EMPLOYEE/TEAM OF THE YEAR
Highly Commended: Manchester Metrolink - Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Team
Highly Commended: Serco Docklands - Closures Team
Winner: British Transport Police, East Croydon

CAMPAIGNER OF THE YEAR
Mike Connelly

PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Highly Commended: Centro - Great Charles Street Bridge
Winner: Transport for Greater Manchester and MPact-Thales - Manchester Metrolink extensions

WORLDWIDE SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Bombardier Transportation

WORLDWIDE PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Special Mention: Miskolc, Hungary - Green Arrow Project
Highly Commended: Gold Coast Rapid Transit, Australia
Highly Commended: Dallas Area Rapid Transit - Green Line, USA
Highly Commended: Angers Tramway, France
Winner: Bybanen Bergen Light Rail, Norway

OPERATOR THE YEAR - SPONSORED BY PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
Special Mention: Veolia Transdev, Dublin
Winner: DB Regio Tyne & Wear

JUDGES' SPECIAL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
Winner: London Tramlink Recovery Team

For a full review of the Light Rail Awards, see the December 2011 special issue of Tramways & Urban Transit.