Salford-based Vital Services Group was highly commended at the 2012 Rail Business Awards.
Vital Rail Security (VRS) and Vital Technology (VT) were each recognised in the Safety and Security Excellence category, by taking two out of the four finalist places.
The judging panel was headed by Steve Agg, Chairman of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Commenting on VRS’s manned guarding security services, the judging panel said:
“This appears to be a very well implemented process of safety and primarily security activity that has been 100% effective to date with a large number of arrests and detections.”
The business has been involved in a number of projects across the UK in the past year, working in association with Network Rail and British Transport Police (BTP), at locations including the Thames Valley, Erewash Valley and the Chilterns.
Nick Jones, Business Development Manager for VRS, said:
“We are proud to have been highly commended by the judges for our work on cable theft prevention. Cable theft is a massive issue at the moment and, working alongside Network Rail and BTP, I believe that VRS have made a significant contribution to countering this demonstrably dangerous and costly area of criminality on the rail infrastructure.”
The judges also praised the work performed by Vital Technology, saying: “While the use of CCTV is not new, the intelligent electronic analysis system and the way it has been deployed and supported [by VT] is commendable.”
Lawrence Webster, VT’s Business Development Director, said: “We’re thrilled about this commendation, and consider it important to have been acknowledged as a strong contender in a competitive field. We will build on this excellent industry recognition, although I have to say that this has only been possible because of the invaluable support we continue to receive from Network Rail, especially in the East Midlands region. I must also pay tribute to the enormous amount of hard work put in by all the members of our technical team, without which this commendation would not have been received.”
This was the 14th annual Rail Business Awards, which were attended by 700 leading members of the UK’s rail industry and suppliers. The Awards recognise excellence in business, technology and engineering, as well as in sectors such as safety and security both in stations and on trains.