As a parochial and unglamorous antidote to the Hollywood Oscars that took place last weekend, London Underground was crowned Public Transport Operator of the Year at what LUL are desperately trying to sex up as the "transport Oscars" but are actually more prosaically known as the London Transport Awards.

The MD of LUL explained they had scooped the gong for:

delivering a record volume of service, carrying more passengers than ever before, while at the same time managing an unprecedented programme to rebuild and upgrade the network... Our commitment to customer service, and to keeping customers fully informed at all times, were also key to our success

To summarise then, passenger numbers have increased as have the number of leaflets and noticeboards around the network.

Staff at Kings Cross St Pancras Underground station were voted best customer service team by passengers for the 2nd year running - quite an achievement for the busiest station on the map and considering all the changes they've undergone over the past few years (we're still in awe of the wondrous makeover). The fantabulousness of St Pancras International just above the Kings Cross faithful also, quite rightly, was acclaimed, winning a special Project of the Decade award for London and Continental Railways.

It's a couple of week too late for Be Nice To Transport Workers Day but we'd still like send some warm and fuzzies not only to the award winners but to London Transport as a whole. Glitzy or not, we couldn't get by without you.

For full information about who won through in the 25 categories of awards (yes, we were amazed too) in Transport Times.

Image courtesy of TfL.