More than 600 people gathered in Sydney this week to recognise the best and brightest shaping the future of rail.
The Rail Industry Awards Australia and New Zealand 2025 celebrated excellence across 16 individual and organisational categories, marking achievements in the areas of diversity and inclusion, sustainability, infrastructure, customer experience and more.
Awards Judging Chair and Australasian Railway Association (ARA) Chief Executive Officer Caroline Wilkie said the standard of this year’s nominees was incredibly high.
“This year’s winners represent the very best in our industry and demonstrate the incredible depth of talent we are privileged to have working in rail,” she said. “The judges were impressed by the high standard of entries and outstanding commitment to excellence on display across all categories.
“From leading rail construction projects and technology initiatives to innovative sustainability and safety approaches, our 2025 winners have confirmed that the rail industry is continuing to raise the bar each and every year.”
Pilbara Rail Maintenance had a successful night, taking out the Customer Service Excellence Award for its work supporting Rio Tinto’s rail network, as well as the Safety Excellence Award for its GPS-guided smart track laying system.
The Laing O’Rourke and Public Transport Authority of Western Australian joint venture MELconnx won the Infrastructure Project Excellence Award for its delivery of the METRONET Morley-Ellenbrook Line, while Transport for New South Wales won the Sustainability Excellence Award for Australian-first innovation delivered as part of the Parramatta Light Rail (Stage 1) project.
Individuals who were recognised included EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) trainee Robert Shearer from Alstom, Queensland Rail Senior Project Signalling Engineer Shou Barrett, Sydney Trains Engineering Manager for Operational Technology Christopher Go, and Senior Project Engineer Thy Pham from John Holland.
Ingenium Advisory Executive Consultant Mike Hickey took home the Career Achievement Award, in celebration of his 56-year contribution to the rail industry.
“Mike has been at the forefront of major infrastructure projects across his career, including playing a pivotal
role in preparing the rail network for the 2000 Sydney Olympics,” Wilkie said.
“In addition to his own career achievements, Mike has mentored countless engineers, managed graduate
and apprenticeship programs and contributed to rail education to help build the skills of the next generation
of rail professionals.”
See the full list of award winners below.
Signalling and Systems Engineering Excellence Award
Christopher Go, Engineering Manager, Operational Technology, Sydney Trains
Emerging Rail Specialist Award
Robert Shearer, EHS Trainee, Alstom
Young Rail Professional Award
Shou Barrett, Senior Project Signalling Engineer, Queensland Rail
Young Achiever Award
Thy Pham, Senior Project Engineer, John Holland
Infrastructure Project Excellence Award
MELConnx, an alliance between Laing O’Rourke and the Public Transport Authority of WA METRONET Morley-Ellenbrook Line
Safety Excellence Award
Pilbara Rail Maintenance
Employee Engagement Excellence Award
Flex from the Start initiative, John Holland
Sustainability Excellence Award
Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1, Transport for NSW
Customer Service Excellence Award
Pilbara Rail Maintenance
Wellbeing in Rail
Employee Wellbeing Framework, Swietelsky Rail Australia
Rail Innovation of the Year Award
Autonomous robotic cleaners, Downer Rail and Transit Systems
Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award
Southern Program Alliance, an alliance between Acciona, WSP, Metro Trains Melbourne and the Level Crossing Removal Project.
Supplier Excellence Award
JMD Railtech Engineering
Rail Freight Excellence Award
Pacific National
Passenger Operations Excellence Award
Metro Trains Sydney
Career Achievement Award
Mike Hickey
