Awards honour for sister rail firms

Two rail firms have been named train operator of the year at an annual business awards

West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR), which have invested £1bn into new trains, equipment and facilities, picked up the prize at the 2026 Rail Business Awards.

The two services joined the new publicly owned body, Great British Railways, earlier in February, which will manage the day-to-day running of trains as well as infrastructure, tracks and signalling.

Ian McConnell, managing director at both firms, said he was "proud", adding that the win was a testament to the "hard work of colleagues".

Part of the investment was the introduction of new electric trains to routes such as the Cross City Line – the busiest commuter route outside of London - as well as on the West Coast Main Line for services to and from London Euston.

Investment was also made into depots, including modernising ones in Birmingham, Coventry, Worcester and Shrewsbury.

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