2025 RISSB Rail Safety Awards

The RISSB Rail Safety Awards are designed to recognise and celebrate individual and company safety achievements showcasing the industry’s high expectations and commitment to keeping its people and communities safe every day. It promotes diverse thinking, excellence and innovation for the betterment of rail.

Established in 2022, RISSB Rail Safety Awards are open to any individual working in the rail industry, or an organisation operating in, or affiliated with, rail in Australia and New Zealand.

The awards winners are announced at an exclusive dinner event for speakers, sponsors, award finalists and conference attendees during the annual RISSB Rail Safety Conference.

We encourage all in the rail industry to participate. Entering the RISSB Rail Safety Awards provides the chance to recognise the contribution of you and your team to the rail industry.

Winners will automatically be entered into the RISSB Safety Excellence category for the ARA Rail Industry Awards Australia and New Zealand 2025. 

Congratulations to all the 2025 Awards finalists

Category winners announced!

2025 Winners, highly commended and finalists

Community Safety Initiative

The community safety award acknowledges initiatives that deliver an improvement in community rail safety outcomes (e.g. level crossings, trespass or other community safety engagement initiatives). The initiative must demonstrate practical, applicable solutions and community benefits and a commitment to improving safety.

Winner

  • Ollera Creek Emergency Response, Queensland Rail

Highly commended

  • Respect the sign. Lives are on the line, Aurizon

Finalists

  • Rail Active Crossing System, Rail Safety Systems
  • Corridor Intrusion Detection System and Obstacle Detection System (ODS), UGL
  • What’s it going to take? A team approach to safety, TasRail

Frontline Worker Safety Initiative 

This award recognises a frontline rail worker (or team) who, in the past 12 months, championed a rail safety initiative or workplace improvement with exemplary safety outcomes for their co-workers. The nomination should include situations in which the worker or team has demonstrated excellence, and where possible include feedback from community or stakeholders.

Winner

  • BallastMate – A safer and smarter way to lay bottom ballast, Martinus Rail

Highly commended

  • ALSTOM Dandenong Excellence League (DEL), ALSTOM

Finalists

  • Safer Jig Movement, Downer
  • M18 Bluetooth Cable Cutter on the METRONET Victoria-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project, METRONET
  • Airborne Hazard Protection, Swietelsky Rail

Safety Leadership Program 

This award celebrates programs within organisations that promote the overall safety (rail and WHS) capability of the wider organisational team to improve physical and/or psychological safety outcomes. The program must demonstrate innovation and clear safety benefits either for external or internal environments or both.

Winner

  • Real-time access & possession interactive display, Sydney Trains

Highly commended

  • Safe by choice, not by chance, Downer

Finalists

  • Employee Wellbeing Framework, Swietelsky Rail
  • Level Crossing Predictor Improvement Program, Rio Tinto
  • Electronic Authorities Milestone, 4Tel

Emerging Leader 

This award is for excellence and innovation and will be granted to a new (less than 5 years) rail worker in the rail industry to recognise and encourage their contribution to the improvement of safety. The nomination must demonstrate passion and commitment to the rail industry, outlining excellence achieved and a plan for their future in rail.

Winner

  • Linda Toovey, Laing O’Rourke

Highly commended

  • Jayden Edmonds, Downer

Finalists

  • Akshay Doosa, Systra
  • Alaman Altaf, MTM
  • Muhsiul Hassan, Vline

Industry Safety Professional of the Year 

This award acknowledges the overall achievements of a safety professional in improving the health, safety and wellbeing outcomes within a team or organisation. This nomination must include clear examples of consistent safety outcomes and overall professionalism.

Winner

  • Kylie Pearse, John Holland

Highly commended

  • Shoaib Ahmed, ALSTOM

Finalists

  • Dave Lumsden, Downer
  • Joe McGinlay, Rio Tinto
  • Corrie Summers, TasRail

Judging panel

Thank you to the judges for the generosity of their time and expertise.

  • Colin Holmes – Projects & Technical Program Director, Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR)
  • Jesse Baker – General Manager Passenger Rail and Safety, Australasia Rail Association (ARA)
  • Mark Harris – President Permanent Way Institute (PWI)
  • Melissa Radke – Head of Standards Reform, National Transport Commission (NTC)
  • Mohit Sareen – Director Rail Operations, Public Transport South Australia (SA)
  • Sudha Niles – General Manager Products and Innovation, RISSB
  • Sharon Tang – General Manager Stakeholder Engagement, RISSB

 

 

2024 WINNERS

Community Safety

  • Mental Health Co-deployment Trial – Queensland Rail

Frontline Worker Safety Initiative

  • Sharing ideas to ‘Make a Change’ – ARTC

Emerging Leader

  • Jason Zhou – Downer Rail Transit Systems

Safety Leadership Program

  • Safe Access for Maintenance Program – Sydney Trains

Industry Safety Professional of the Year

  • Ann Tomlinson – Alium Works

 

Photos from 2024 RISSB Rail Safety Awards ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos from 2023 and 2022 Awards