What are the RNE Awards?

To show appreciation for extraordinary achievements and contributions to RNE’s work, an RNE Award has been conceptualised in 2022. The main aim is to motivate all partners to

• Spotlight your excellence
  
  With the newly introduced award
• Build and motivate your team
  
  Attract, retain and reward top talent
• Turn stakeholder heads and prove your business impact
  
  Position your team as a strategic partner and show how you’re delivering value
• Highlight your innovations
  
  Gain attention for your projects
• Celebrate your achievements
  
  Enjoy recognition within and outside your organisation

Each year, the RNE Award committee carefully selects the awardees out of the list of nominees. The winners of this award are honored to recognise their outstanding achievements during the December General Assembly.

Nomination process

The nomination must be done via the official registration form by a member of the following groups – RNE GA or MB representatives, RNE HLG and WG chair persons, as well as RNE’s Secretary General. Each submission must be entered in a seperate form (max. 1 nomination per person/entity and category). Deadline for nominations is 16th August 2024.

Nomination criteria:

• individual team, project or initiative that made a significant contribution to the European rail sector in any of the categories
• candidate must be based in Europe
• Nominations must be for a relevant achievement with proven results in line with category description
• Nominations must include a clear description of the achievement that the person/project/initiative is being nominated for and can ideally be accompanied by a proper set of supporting documents (e.g. resume, articles, photos, presentations, videos, etc.)
• Self-nomination is not allowed
• MB members are excluded from receiving an award (part of jury)

Categories:

History of award and previous winners

The RNE Awards were first introduced in 2022.

RNE Award Winners 2024

The RNE Awards 2024 celebrated two remarkable winners, Saskia Meynhardt and Simona Garbuglia, for their outstanding individual contributions to the field of traffic management.

Saskia Meynhardt was honoured for her significant impact on the European Traffic Management Network (ETMN). Her forward-thinking approach, commitment to innovation, and managerial excellence inspired the transformation of innovative concepts into harmonised rules and procedures. These were pivotal for cross-border traffic management and laid the foundation for a future European framework in this area.

Simona Garbuglia was recognised for remarkable efforts in overcoming language barriers within European rail operations. Through her leadership in the Translate4Rail initiative, she set groundbreaking standards in communication, enhancing safety and efficiency. Her analytical skills and dedication to fostering collaboration were key to the project’s success.

During their speeches, Saskia and Simona shared anecdotes from their work and expressed their gratitude to RNE. Learn more about their achievements in our full article:

RNE Awards 2024: Celebrating Excellence in Rail Traffic Management

RNE Award Winners 2023

Per-Åke Wärn received the RNE Award in the category of “Outstanding Individual Contribution”, for his remarkable 39 years of experience and active dedication to advancing the railway sector’s capacity management, pivotal role in shaping industry standards, facilitating the adoption of new models, and successful coordination of RNE’s activities at national level.

Josef Stahl received the RNE Award also in the category of “Outstanding Individual Contribution”, for his extraordinary contributions in transforming the Train Information System (TIS) into one of the most successful B2B systems in the rail industry, his pivotal leadership in the development of TAF/TAP TSI, and his invaluable expertise as an active member in train performance and traffic management working groups.

Find out more about about the winners in their “RNE Winner Interviews”.

• RNE Award Winner 2024 Josef Stahl
• RNE Award Winner 2024 Per-Åke Wärn 

RNE Award Winners 2022

Daniel Haltner received the RNE Certificate of Achievement for his extraordinary contributions to the Timetable Redesign (TTR) for Smart Capacity Management Programme since its inception in 2014, outstanding work in the areas of capacity management and timetabling in various leading roles, and significant part as a key contributor in the technical setup of the Rail Freight Corridors.
Find out more about him in Daniel Haltner’s winner interview. Freddy van der Cruyssen received the RNE Certificate of Achievement for his extraordinary contributions as co-founder of the European Capacity Management Tool (ECMT) and active member in the Digital Capacity Management and TTR Process working groups, outstanding work for the Path Coordination System (PCS), and vital role in the TTCom (Simple Communication Tool for Timetabling) application.
Find out more about him in Freddy van der Cruyssen’s winner interview.

RNE President Paul Mazataud thanked the two awardees for their excellent work and invaluable contributions.

Daniel Haltner was present at the General Assembly to accept the award. He thanked RNE and said he was honoured to receive the award and grateful for the support of his work he experienced from RNE Joint Office Colleagues, RNE Members and, finally, Thomas Isenmann (TVS), who ensured that enough working time was always available for RNE-related activities. He concluded that due to his passion for international rail transport, he will continue to guide his work, even beyond his retirement.

Freddy van der Cruyssen was on vacation at the time and could not be present to receive the award but asked Michel Geubelle (Infrabel), who accepted the award on behalf of Mr van der Cruyssen, to convey that he was very proud to have received the award and would continue working to make TTR a success for all stakeholders.

RNE’s efforts are highly enhanced by many different individuals, as well as companies.

It is our hope that the RNE Awards will serve to convey increased visibility and appreciation for exceptional work done and encourage involvement in RNE’s activities, today and in the future.