South Western Railway’s station development manager wins prestigious award

South Western Railway’s station development manager, Steve Smith walked off with the highly prized Cycle Champion award at the recent 2017 National Cycle-Rail Awards.

The National Cycle-Rail Awards recognise the progress made by the rail industry and associated organisations towards encouraging integrated cycle-rail travel.

Steve has been working over the last 10 years to improve facilities for passengers at stations. During 2016/17, he led a team to deliver cycle facility improvements at 36 stations across the South Western Railway network. His achievements include delivery of an additional 1,400 cycle spaces and eight new cycle hubs.

At the awards ceremony , Steve learned that he had won the prestigious Cycle Champion category for his leadership, coordination and motivation in delivering cycle facilities on the South Western Railway network.

"We are currently planning some exciting future cycle improvement schemes - watch this space!"

Steve’s line manager, SWR head of station property, Alistair Wright said of Steve: “This is a deserved award. Steve is a talented and hardworking member of the team. He is passionate about design and the potential of our stations to be better places, and has championed the development of our cycle schemes over the last two years.”

The Judges were quick to praise Steve for his work with comments including: “A clear winner here.” And “Steve has clearly shown his passion and dedication towards his job.”

Going forward, Steve will be contributing significantly towards SWR’s £1.2bn investment plan to transform the customer experience. The plan includes the introduction of new and as-new train fleets to increase capacity; longer, more frequent trains; quicker journey times and better connectivity; station improvements and a better ticket buying experience. It will also work to support the communities it serves, driving regional economic growth and improving its social and environmental responsibility.