Two extra weeks have been given for entries to the Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards after a string of requests.
A new closing date of 11.59pm on Tuesday, January 3 has been set for entries to the biggest awards event in the heritage rail sector. The extension has been given to all categories after a number of requests from railways that have been dealing with the impact of severe weather. Snow, ice and rain have caused operational difficulties for heritage railways around the UK in mid-December, taking up huge amounts of staff and volunteer time during the busy festive season.
Heritage Railway Association chief executive Steve Oates said: “This time of year is always a busy one for most heritage railways, but the weather in recent weeks has made things even more difficult. We’ve been contacted by a number of members who really want to enter the HRA awards, but were simply running out of time due to the weather problems. The new deadline should give everyone enough time to enter once Santa Claus has completed his duties for the year.”
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A brand new category, one of five this year is Railway of the Year. The award will be given to the railway, tramway or funicular railway that has achieved, and consistently demonstrated, excellence in visitor experience, business, safety and operations, teamwork and equality, preservation, restoration and engineering. Organisers hope that the award will become one of the most coveted in the entire railway sector, as it will recognise high quality across a whole organisation rather than one specific element.
Other new categories for 2023 include the HRA Team of the Year award and Rising Star, recognising innovation, initiatives and success by people and organisations that are new to the sector. A new infrastructure category has also been added.
All categories can be entered online using the HRA website. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Birmingham on March 11.
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