The European Railway Award

The European Railway Award was initiated in 2007[1] and is jointly organised by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER),[2] and the Union des Industries Ferroviaires Européennes, the Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) .[3]

Award ceremony and annual reception

The European Railway Award honours outstanding political and technical achievements in the development of economically and environmentally sustainable rail transport. The award is held annually in Brussels with over 500 participants. The award includes prize money, which is donated to the charitable organizations of the laureates’ choice. The jury consists of CEOs of rail companies and other stakeholders from the transport sector.[4] Siim Kallas,[5] Vice-President of the European Commission, and Brian Simpson, Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the Transport Committee, are regular guests of honour of the European Railway Award. The Award Ceremony is always followed by the joint CER-UNIFE Annual Reception.

Political award

The political award is given to personalities who have contributed to the development of economically and environmentally sustainable rail transport in their countries and in Europe.

YearName[6]Achievements
2007Karel van MiertAs European Commissioner for Transport (1989-1993), Karel van Miert laid the foundations for the creation of an integrated European railway market.
2009Moritz LeuenbergerFormerly Swiss Minister responsible for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Leuenberger set out a blueprint for a sustainable transport policy in Switzerland. With the aim of transferring goods traffic from the roads to the rails, he promoted the Swiss “Heavy Vehicles Fee” (LSVA), which came into operation on 1 January 2001 on the Swiss public road network after a national referendum. To reduce Switzerland’s CO2 emissions, Leuenberger also promoted an incentive tax on fossil fuels, which entered into force at the beginning of 2008.[7]
2010Felipe GonzálezGonzález, former Spanish Prime Minister, was awarded for the decision to incept a new, high speed railway line between Madrid and Seville in 1986, which entered into service in 1992. He was also awarded for the implementation of the "Plan Felipe", which changed the railway's role in Spain’s big cities.[8]
2011Ken LivingstoneBritish Labour politician and former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone received the award for his decision to implement the Congestion Charge in inner London on 17 February 2003.[9]
2012Karel VinckVinck, former CEO of the SNCB, received the Political Award for his contributions to the development of ERTMS as the European ERTMS Corridor Coordinator. Vinck supervized the implementation of ERTMS on the six ERTMS corridors.[10]
2013Benedikt WeibelWeibel, the CEO of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), had a major influence on its strategic direction. He received the Political Award for his systematic and successful progress in long-distance, regional and international services. He inaugurated Rail 2000 on 12 December 2004. Under his leadership the density of trains per line kilometer doubled.[11]

Technical Award

The Technical Award is given to personalities who have contributed to the design of breakthrough solutions and technologies in the rail sector.

YearName[6]Achievements
2007Jean DupuyDupuy received the Technical Award for his decisive role in designing and putting into operational service Europe’s first high-speed train, the French TGV.
2009Bengt SternerSterner received his award for his leading role in initiating the UIC ETCS Project and in specifying the European Train Control System ETCS.
2010Roland HeinischHeinisch, a long-standing member of the executive board of Deutsche Bahn AG and head of the German infrastructure manager, has significantly contributed to the technical development of railways.[12]
2011Stefan HaasHaas received the Technical Award for the development of eddy current brakes for high-speed train systems that became a regular feature of high-speed train travel.[9]
2012François LacôteLacôte was the designer of the first TGV trains in 1971.[10]
2013Johannes NicolinJohannes Nicolin received the Technical Award for his innovations, especially those in intermodal freight wagons.[11]

Press review
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References
  1. Transport Business "Rail sector celebrates European Railway Award", 2010
  2. Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies "The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies"CER
  3. Association of the European Rail Industry "Association of the European Rail Industry"UNIFE
  4. Brussels Diplomatic "European Railway Award 2013 assigned", Brussels, 27 February 2013
  5. European Commission "Putting Europe’s railways on track for the future", Speech, Brussels, 26 February 2013
  6. European Railway Award "Political Award"European Railway Award
  7. Transport Weekly "European rail sector celebrates European Railway Award 2009", 21 January 2009
  8. EurActiv, EU 'wise men' chief wants more rail, less road, EurActiv, 5 February 2010
  9. Global Railway News "Ken Livingstone and Stefan Haas receive European Railway Award", 10 February 2011
  10. Railway Gazette International, Awards encourage European railway integration, Railway Gazette International, 9 February 2012
  11. European Voice"Prestigious awards at the European railways industry annual reception", 28 February 2013
  12. Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Managers (CER) "Felipe González and Roland Heinisch receive European Railway Award", Press release, 3 February 2010


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