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
The wait is over – below is the list of finalists for the 2025 RISSB Rail Safety Awards!
Category winners will be announced at the Rail Safety Conference dinner in Sydney on Tuesday, 13 May 2025.
2025 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.
- Rail Active Crossing System, Rail Safety Systems
- Corridor Intrusion Detection System and Obstacle Detection System (ODS), UGL
- Respect the sign. Lives are on the line, Aurizon
- Ollera Creek Emergency Response, Queensland Rail
- 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.
- ALSTOM Dandenong Excellence League (DEL), ALSTOM
- BallastMate – A safer and smarter way to lay bottom ballast, Martinus Rail
- 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.
- Real-time access & possession interactive display, Sydney Trains
- Employee Wellbeing Framework, Swietelsky Rail
- Level Crossing Predictor Improvement Program, Rio Tinto
- Safe by choice, not by chance, Downer
- 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.
- Akshay Doosa, Systra
- Alaman Altaf, MTM
- Jayden Edmonds, Downer
- Linda Toovey, Laing O’Rourke
- 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.
- Shoaib Ahmed, ALSTOM
- Dave Lumsden, Downer
- Kylie Pearse, John Holland
- 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 Rail Safety Awards
We are excited to announce the finalists for the 2024 RISSB Rail Safety Awards. These individuals and organisations are recognised for their extraordinary contributions to the rail industry.
The 18 finalists were chosen from five categories, with winners announced on Tuesday, 30 April 2024 at the Rail Safety Conference awards dinner in Melbourne.
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
FINALISTS
Community Safety
- Mental Health Co-deployment Trial – Queensland Rail
- Using social media to help save lives – ARTC
- Travel with Care – Queensland Rail
Frontline Worker Safety Initiative
- Sharing ideas to ‘Make a Change’ – ARTC
- Tram refurbishment project employee engagement – Downer RTS East Preston
- Trains Services Peer Support Group – Train Driver Recovery Guidebook – Metro Trains Melbourne
- EPG Project Team – Aurizon
- Healthy Minds Support Crew – Queensland Rail
Emerging Leader
- Jason Zhou – Downer Rail Transit Systems
- Brock Tupper – Laing O’Rourke Rail Operations
- Adele Arnup – Rio Tinto
Safety Leadership Program
- Our Safety Focus – Downer Rail Transit Systems
- Re-design of railsafe.org.au and the introduction of a Protection Officer portal – Sydney Trains
- Safe Access for Maintenance Program – Sydney Trains
- Delivering system safety of the under construction CRL project within Auckland Metro – Russell McMullan – City Rail Link, NZ Land Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi
Industry Safety Professional of the Year
- Sarah Lavelle – Laing O’Rourke Rail Operations
- Brian Sheedy – Transport for NSW
- Ann Tomlinson – Alium Works
