Date/Time
Date(s) - November 20 2026
9:00am - 4:00pm
Location
The London Marriott
The Golden Spanners is the ‘must-attend’ event for the rolling stock maintenance sector. At this event, the coveted Golden Spanners, the brainchild of Modern Railways’ Industry & Technology Editor Roger Ford, are handed out. But before the awards are announced, we will hear an after-lunch speech from a top industry figure with his finger on the pulse of the reliability of the nation’s rolling stock: Mark Molyneux, National Fleet Performance Manager with the Rail Delivery Group.
Mark Molyneux is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a railway career spanning 36 years and is currently National Fleet Performance Manager at Rail Delivery Group (RDG). This role includes capturing and facilitating the sharing of good practice between Train Operators (and other organisations) to enable the national fleet (which comprises of c15,000 passenger vehicles) to deliver the best possible reliability performance. In recent years, Mark has also authored two industry RDG Guidance Notes outlining Good Practice in relation to New Trains and Depot Performance.
Prior to his 17 years working in various roles at RDG and (and its predecessor ATOC), Mark had 15 years’ experience of working for 750V DC train operators. Career highlights included working at Slade Green Depot improving Networker (Classes 465/466) fleet reliability and subsequently using what he had learned to work with the manufacturer to influence the design of the Connex South Eastern Class 375 Electrostars.
Mark says he has a very low tolerance of things that do not perform their intended function – including people!
THE AWARDS
The Golden Spanners awards – in which the trophies feature that archetypal element of train maintenance, a spanner – celebrate the best of rolling stock maintenance and are handed out to those companies making the greatest strides in train reliability, as measured by Mp701D (Miles per 701D). ‘701D’ refers to the official list of reasons when recording the cause of a Technical Incident which delays a train for three minutes or more. The awards are based on moving annual averages at Period 6 (four weeks ending mid-September).
The source of the statistics on which the Golden Spanners awards are based is the ReFocus programme run by the Rail Delivery Group. This is part of Fleet Challenge, which is responsible for rolling stock performance within the cross-industry National Task Force. This was set up by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in the late 1990s following concerns about punctuality.
Initially called the National Fleet Reliability Improvement Programme (NFRIP), the aim of ReFocus is to encourage the spread of best practice in train maintenance: the Golden Spanners awards are acknowledged as having made a valuable contribution to this aim.
Golden Spanners adjudicator: Roger Ford
Modern Railways’ Industry & Technology Editor Roger Ford is the rolling stock guru who sifts through the running data and decides which fleets have attained the coveted Golden Spanners.
Roger began his career in the railway industry as a Student Apprentice at English Electric, working on the famous Deltic diesel locomotives – a position which earned him his ‘Captain Deltic’ moniker. He has five decades’ experience in railway journalism and has become closely identified with his widely-read monthly ‘Informed Sources’ column in Modern Railways. Traction and rolling stock issues hold a special place in his heart and it is at this ceremony that his coveted Golden Spanners are handed out to those depots and companies that are shown by reliability statistics to be the best at rolling stock maintenance.
AWARD CATEGORIES
• Ex-BR EMU
• Ex-BR DMU
• First generation new inter-city
• Second generation new inter-city
• First generation new DMU
• First generation new EMU
• Second generation new DMU
• Second generation new EMU
In each category, the Golden Spanner is awarded for the most reliable train based on Mp701D and the Silver Spanner for most improved (percentage improvement in Mp701D).
TABLES AND SPONSORSHIP
Tables of 10 at this event cost £2,200 plus VAT, sponsorship details available on request. Contact Chris Shilling via email [email protected] or call on 07736 635916.