Jerome Pacatte

Said the following about Luke Burgess:

“During 2022 and 2023, SWR had to manage a number of significant events including the Platinum Jubilee, the Queen’s funeral, major special events such as rugby at Twickenham or horse racing at Ascot, and industrial action with a series of strike days and periods of Action Short of Strike (ASoS).

SWR enacts a plan for every special event to make sure stations are operated safely and efficiently for the benefit of our customers. Despite the very challenging circumstances at all these events, the Station Operations team under Luke’s leadership worked incredibly hard to offer the best possible service for our customers. All the different operations were managed successfully thanks to his exceptional planning to organise support or contingency staff with which to operate stations and trains.

Organising contingency staff to operate our stations safely and efficiently is a highly complex project and Luke’s successful organisation highlighted him as a pivotal individual. His excellent local knowledge, planning skills and flexibility were vital as events unfolded and kept changing. He demonstrated a high level of resilience and the capability to convince many people to go the extra mile, all while working closely with a multitude of internal and external stakeholders. Luke’s activities during these events included:

· Organisation, training and administration of support and contingency staff

· Assessments of contingency staff to maintain their competencies

· Deployment of contingency staff during days of strike action or ASoS

· Risk assessments to identify potential risks and mitigation at certain locations

· Communication with Network Rail, TfL and other Train Operating Companies to capture different requirements

· Liaison with key stakeholders like the Royal Household, the Football Association and the Rugby Football Union.

The dedication, conscientiousness and professionalism displayed by Luke are exemplary. Luke is a very hard worker, always willing to help colleagues and the business. Of course, there are many other people involved in the management of major events, but Luke will always accept the challenge, work through the obstacles methodically, and influence people thanks to a very human approach.

Luke is comfortable with senior figures, key stakeholders and station colleagues alike. He is well respected thanks to his leadership style, his knowledge, a consistent can-do attitude, an incredible level of resilience and an obsession for customer service.

Luke demonstrated all of these qualities around the New Year’s Eve celebrations in London during the ASoS period in December 2022, a critical time for us at SWR. Due to staff shortages, there was a risk that Clapham Junction, a key interchange for us, would be forced to close. Luke not only managed to identify a solution but also volunteered to work the night shift and lead by example.

Luke is a highly competent professional who shows diligence and customer care. He definitely deserves this award for his incredible contribution to the success of our industry.“