Brunel Award
# Brunel Award

The Brunel Awards are given to railway companies, to encourage outstanding visual design in railway architecture, graphics, industrial design and art, technical infrastructure and environmental integration, and rolling stock. The name is assigned to them in honour of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, founder of the Great Western Railway, and designer of the giant ship SS Great Eastern.

## History

The Brunel Awards were first awarded in 1985, during the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom presented the inaugural awards, at a ceremony in Bristol, England.

| Awards | Year | Place | Organiser | Occasion |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1st | 1985 | Bristol | British Rail (BR) | 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway. |
| 2nd | 1987 | Vienna | Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) | 150 years of rail transport in Austria. |
| 3rd | 1989 | Amsterdam | Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) | 150 years of rail transport in the Netherlands. |
| 4th | 1992 | Madrid | RENFE | 50th anniversary of RENFE, opening of the LGV Madrid-Seville, Expo 92 and Summer Olympic Games, 1992. |
| 5th | 1994 | Washington DC | FoRTE | Foundation for Railway and Transportation Excellence. |
| 6th | 1996 | Copenhagen | Danske Statsbaner (DSB) | |
| 7th | 1998 | Madrid | RENFE | 150 years of rail transport in Spain. |
| 8th | 2001 | Paris | SNCF | Entry into service of the LGV Méditerranée. |
| 9th | 2005 | Copenhagen | Danske Statsbaner (DSB) | |
| 10th | 2008 | Vienna | Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) | |
| 11th | 2011 | Washington DC | Center for Industrial Design in Transportation, Inc. | |
| 12th | 2014 | Amsterdam | Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), ProRail | 125th anniversary of Amsterdam Central Station and 175 years of rail transport in the Netherlands. |

## Categories

Beginning with the 2011 award ceremony, there have been five categories of award; the third category is new.

* Category 1: rail stations
* Category 2: technical infrastructure
* Category 3: freight and railroad support buildings
* Category 4: industrial design, corporate branding, graphics, furnishing
* Category 5: rolling stock
