The decision to bestow a royal honour on the Network Rail boss against a backdrop of huge disruption for train passengers in recent weeks has been criticised.
Mark Carne receives a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, on a list that also sees Liverpool football great Kenny Dalglish knighted and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson made a dame.
The Department for Transport admitted the timing of the announcement of the outgoing chief executive's award for services to the rail industry following timetabling issues is 'unfortunate' but added that recent problems should not detract from his overall service.
But one union boss likened the timing of the honour to 'rewarding the captain of the Titanic for jumping ship'.
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said: 'Frustrated passengers will see no honour in that at all.'
Remarkable females including a nun fighting modern slavery and a businesswoman who made her fortune in fake tan are among those honoured in this 100th anniversary year of women's suffrage - although men outnumber women on the list.
As the NHS celebrates 70 years since its foundation, medics are recognised for their dedication, with health sector workers making up 12pc of the 1,057 people honoured in the list.
Dame Emma, 59, who is described in the official citation of the honours committee as one of the UK's most versatile and celebrated actresses, receives her honour for services to drama.
The Remains Of The Day and Nanny McPhee star is joined on the list by fellow actor Tom Hardy, who is also recognised for services to drama, receiving a CBE, while Keira Knightley is made an OBE for services to drama and charity.
Sir Kenny, who managed Liverpool at the time of the Hillsborough disaster and remained a steadfast support of the families in their lengthy quest for justice, said he was 'hugely proud to have accepted the accolade' for services to football, charity and the City of Liverpool.
The 67-year-old Glaswegian and his wife Marina have also helped raise millions of pounds for cancer treatment through the Marina Dalglish Appeal after she successfully battled breast cancer.
Joking that he thought the letter informing him of the knighthood had been from the taxman, he added of the achievement: 'We only set out to do the best we possibly could, even through all the other stuff - the charity or Hillsborough, it was to help people because somebody helped us.'
Following a wave of terror attacks which struck the UK in 2017, former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Mark Rowley, who led the national response, is honoured with a knighthood.
On his retirement in March after 31 years in policing, Sir Mark was praised by prime minister Theresa May for his 'dedication to protecting public safety and tackling the evils of terrorism'.
While there are no honours for local heroes involved in the response to the Grenfell Tower fire, the Cabinet has said it expects 'acts of bravery and extraordinary community spirit' which emerged from the tragedy to feature on future lists, adding that its approach will be 'time-appropriate'.
The brother of aid worker David Haines, who was murdered by Islamic State extremists, is made an OBE for his work against terrorism.
Mike Haines dedicated the honour, for voluntary service to tolerance and education in the UK and abroad, to his younger sibling, who was beheaded by Islamic State extremists in 2014 after being taken hostage in Syria.
Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, the boss of chemical company Ineos who this year topped the Sunday Times rich list with £21.05bn, receives a knighthood for services to business and investment.
Japan-born Nobel prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, knighted for his services to literature, said he was 'deeply touched to receive this honour from the nation that welcomed me as a small foreign boy'.
Former Second World War nurse Rosemary Powell, who at 103 is the oldest on the list, is made an MBE for voluntary service to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, having spent 97 years collecting for the charity.
Renowned war correspondent Kate Adie is made a CBE for services to media, while Stacey Dooley, known for her BBC Three investigative series covering topics ranging from the fight against Isis to the abortion debate, receives an MBE for services to broadcasting.
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