DEDICATION and hard work coupled with innovative technology have been credited for GNER's success after it clinched the title of best rail operator in Britain.

The York-based firm won the accolade at the inaugural British Travel Awards which celebrate excellence and outstanding achievement in the travel, hospitality and tourism industry.

Award winners in 100 different categories were singled out for high praise following a combination of travel industry and consumer voting and a panel of experts.

After the ceremony in London, GNER chief executive Jonathan Metcalfe said: "We are delighted to win this award. It is a tribute to the dedication and hard work of GNER employees, who take pride in delivering consistently high standards of customer service."

A company spokesman highlighted that GNER consistently achieved high passenger satisfaction scores.

In the latest independent National Passenger Survey, carried out by Passenger Focus, GNER achieved its best-ever satisfaction rating of 90 per cent.

GNER's new-look Mallard electric trains, improved performance and innovations in technology have contributed to high levels of passenger satisfaction.

The Top 100 Travel Companies supplement based on the winners of the British Travel Awards 2006 will be distributed with The Sunday Times in January.

GNER operates 124 week-day train services along the East Coast Main Line, linking London King's Cross, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland, carrying almost 17 million passengers a year.

Other awards at the ceremony included Best UK Attraction which went to the London Eye, Best UK hotel chain, awarded to Marriott, while Hotel Chain Of The Year went to Hilton.

The accolade comes during a difficult period for the railway operator as about 1,500 staff are set to be balloted for strike action to press for changes to their working hours, including a 35-hour week. The action could affect ticket office workers, conductors, and platform and train staff.

GNER said the ballot was "premature" as the company had been making progress in talks with the unions about a shorter working week.

RMT union negotiators are set to meet company chiefs on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) in York Station's ticket office also recently took "action short of a strike" in protest at GNER's plans to restructure their positions.

The action was called off after TSSA officials agreed a deal with GNER bosses.

Earlier this year, York Railway Station, which is managed by GNER, was named the best in Britain at the National Railway Awards, beating more than 2,500 other UK stations.

GNER employs 75 members of staff at York station, which is one of the busiest interchanges on the UK rail network and is used by more than 30,000 passengers each day.

The case for road charging

A review of transport needs in Britain has left the door open to a new high-speed railway line between London and Scotland.

The Treasury-backed study by Sir Rod Eddington - a former British Airways chief executive - has called for road charging to pay for better bus and rail services.

He argues that charging motorists by the mile would raise £28bn a year.

But while he does not rule out high-speed rail connections between London and Scotland, he says such grand transport projects are less important than the modernisation of existing networks.

Bob Crow, leader of transport union the RMT, said Sir Rod's recommendations could "usher in a golden age for public transport".