DP World named Business of the Year at RFG Awards 2024

Credit: Rail Freight Group

Rail Freight Group (RFG) has announced that DP World has been honoured as Business of the Year at the RFG Awards 2024, recognising its significant contributions to the rail freight industry. The company also received the Driving Rail Freight Growth award for its substantial investment in enhancing modal shift. Through a financial incentive programme, DP World increased the share of freight units moved by rail from the port of Southampton by two-thirds in the project’s first six months.

Additionally, DP World has made notable strides in improving cargo handling safety and sustainability. The company introduced the world’s first remote pinning station and transitioned its UK ports to diesel-free operations using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). The fourth berth at DP World London Gateway has been recognised as the world’s first all-electric berth, underscoring the company’s commitment to decarbonising logistics.

Freightliner emerged as a significant winner, receiving both the Rail Freight Project of the Year and the Sustainability & Safety Award. The company, in collaboration with Network Rail, Mendip Rail, Aggregate Industries and Heidelberg Materials UK, had been honoured for the Mendip Train Plan Recast. The judges praised the project for its complexity and the effective use of data, noting its robust and flexible new timetable as an exemplary achievement.

The Innovation & Talent Award went to the partnership between VTG Rail UK and Knorr Bremse Rail Systems UK for their development of the iWagon, described by the judges as a ground-breaking innovation with the potential to impact the rail freight industry broadly.

Aaron Rostron-Barrett from RSSB had been recognised with the Outstanding Individual Contribution award, while Barnaby Nash from Freightliner and Ben Turner from GB Railfreight were named Young Rail Freight Professionals.

Daniel Louisy, founder and managing director of Ashville Holdings, received a Special Award for his efforts to promote rail freight and attract new talent and customers to the sector.

The awards ceremony, held at Shendish Manor in Hertfordshire, also featured fundraising efforts for The Railway Benefit Fund, with attendees contributing to a cause supporting the rail industry community. The judges highlighted the impressive range of innovations and developments across the rail freight sector and commended the high level of collaboration and cooperation throughout the supply chain.