25 June 2026
Tonight, we celebrated the very best of the UK rail supply chain at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) Dinner & Railway Industry Supplier Excellence (RISE) Awards.
A cross-sector judging panel of industry experts selected the winners from 11 categories, including Client of the Year, the Application of Digital Technology, Employee of the Year, Employer of the Year, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), Innovation, Partnership, Rising Star, Safety, SME Growth in Rail, and Wellbeing.
Some 300 people attended the prestigious Sheraton Grand London Park Lane for the Awards Ceremony, where guests heard from Transport for London Commissioner Andy Lord and supported the Railway Mission charity appeal, in an evening hosted by renowned presenter and magician Ben Hanlin.
One of the big winners of the night was Liz Baldwin, Southern Integrated Delivery (SID) Director at Southern Renewals Enterprise, who was awarded Client of the Year by the RIA Board for going above and beyond to develop good supplier relationships. After receiving her award, Liz said: “The real thing for me is that I feel it isn’t me that won the award, it’s the team. It’s the foresight of the region to create such a collaborative model. A huge thank you to our ecosystem partners who have made collaborating with them so easy.”
The Award winners in full were:
- Client of the Year Award – Liz Baldwin, Southern Integrated Delivery (SID) Director, Southern Renewals Enterprise
- The Application of Digital Technology Award – LNER – Digital & Innovation Team
- Employee of the Year Award – Kathryn Duncan, AtkinsRéalis
- Employer of the Year Award – Telent Technology – Part of M Group
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Award – AtkinsRéalis
- Innovation Award, sponsored by Magellan – Peninsula Transport STB
- Partnership Award, sponsored by GeoAccess – Motion Applied (Partnered with Peninsula Transport, Great Western Railway (GWR), Network Rail, and Hitachi Rail)
- Rising Star Award, sponsored by Infinitive Resources – Caitlin Richardson, Richardson Rail Services Ltd
- Safety Award – TfL Elizabeth line / AARC Professional Services
- SME Growth in Rail Award – MoniRail
- Wellbeing Award – Cleshar
The following entries were Highly Commended:
- The Application of Digital Technology Award – Ultrabeam
- Employee of the Year Award – Sooyash Dosonyee, Nextec Engineering
- Employer of the Year Award – Railway Project Services Consulting Ltd
- Innovation Award, sponsored by Magellan – Gripple
- Partnership Award, sponsored by GeoAccess – Project Leaders Ltd
- Rising Star Award, sponsored by Infinitive Resources – Aamir Zahabi, WSP
- Safety Award – TRU East SHES Team
- SME Growth in Rail Award – TeamBA
- Wellbeing Award – QTS Group
Commenting on the Awards, RIA Chief Executive Darren Caplan said: “Many congratulations to all of the people and railway businesses recognised at the RIA Dinner & RISE Awards 2026, including those named as winners and highly commended by our judges. The calibre of entries this year was exceptionally high, and showcased the breadth of expertise, dedication and talent that runs throughout the UK rail supply chain.
“It is clear with the record level of passenger numbers and healthy revenues announced by the ORR last week that there is a positive future for rail in the UK, and the individuals and suppliers taking part at the RISE Awards – whether nominees or winners – will play a crucial part in ensuring we have the products, services and innovations UK rail will need as develops an even bigger and better railway for the future.
“I’d like to offer special congratulations to Liz Baldwin, who won Client of the Year. The RIA Board chose Liz for going above and beyond to develop good supplier relationships.
“So thank you everyone who attended and who helped make this year’s event such a success. We look forward to coming together again next year to once again showcase the railway industry’s supplier excellence and achievements across the rail supply sector.”