GWSR wins prestigious Award at the Heritage Railway Association Awards
Infrastructure Award recognises ‘predict and prevent’ strategy
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) has won a coveted Award at the annual Heritage Railway Association awards, held in Llandudno on Saturday evening, 7th March 2026.
The railway was shortlisted for its entry in the ‘Infrastructure’ category, with an entry titled “‘Predict and Prevent’, a whole-railway asset management approach to infrastructure resilience”, going on to win against stiff competition. Other shortlisted entries were the National Railway Museum’s Station Hall; a new locomotive watering facility at Peak Rail; and the completion of a 36-year project to fully reopen the Chinnor & Princes Risborough line.
Professor John Dora, who is an internationally acclaimed climate change expert and Chairman of GWSR Plc, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that we have won this Award on behalf of our volunteers and all the hard work they do to maintain our lovely railway.
“Britain’s heritage railways operate on infrastructure that in most cases, is well over 100 years old,” he points out. “Bridges, culverts, earthworks and track are all subject to changing environmental effects which present new challenges from extremes of weather – such as long, hot spells and flooding.
“Most heritage railways – and indeed the national network – have traditionally carried out works reactively, for instance, clearing ditches and catchpits when flooding occurred.
“The GWSR was no exception,” says Prof. Dora. “Now we have identified and assessed all of our drainage systems. This is vital when you realise that rain falling on the Cotswold escarpment alongside our railway, has to cross the line as rivers, brooks and seasonal streams, on its way to the Rivers Avon and Severn. Our 14 miles of railway has more than 80 places where water crosses the formation which, if not maintained properly, suffer lasting damage such as embankment erosion in extreme rainfall.
The GWSR has used professional asset-management systems derived from the best-practice international ISO 55000 ‘Asset Management’ guidance, as well as British infrastructure resilience guidance – all within a volunteer environment.
“What is particularly striking is how seriously our volunteers take this,” Prof. Dora adds. “We have a well-qualified team who proactively maintain our drainage systems which, over future years, will protect our railway from climate change. Our railway has not been immune from extreme events such as serious embankment collapses and we have learned from that.
“The very sustainability of heritage railways, not just ours, depends on the ability to build protection for future years.”
The Award was presented by Henry Silverwood of category sponsor Geo Inspections at the glittering event, which was attended by more than 300 delegates from across Britain’s heritage railway industry.
Steve Oates, Chief Executive of the Heritage Railway Association, said: “I congratulate the GWSR and, indeed, all of those who have won accolades in this prestigious Award ceremony. We received a record number of entries this year, and the event was the biggest we have ever organised. The standards achieved by railways such as the GWSR in terms of restoration, operation, and marketing are quite extraordinary and a source of national pride. Our industry provides fulfilment and enjoyment for thousands of volunteers who are doing something very worthwhile in terms of preserving Britain’s rich railway heritage as well as pleasure for millions of visitors.”
The UK heritage railway sector operates over nearly 600 miles of track, attracts some 13 million visitors annually and contributes £600 million in value* to the UK economy.
The GWSR, as one of the leading tourist attractions in the Cotswolds, carries over 100,000 passengers per year.
Concluded Prof. Dora, “We owe it to our 900-plus volunteers; those who enjoy travelling on our railway and, of course, to those businesses who benefit from our visitors (such as other attractions, shops, pubs and b & bs), that we ensure our railway is future-proofed and here for future generations to enjoy. This Award confirms that we are doing just that.”
* Heritage Railway Association statistics https://www.hra.uk.com/resources
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