Rail Sector and Cullompton Community College

Hi my name is Guy, I'm a science teacher and the careers leader here hence my interest in using new routes to share career information with our students. For this event we have some Y9 Science Stars, so named because they have a real flair for science and assist with our science club and also attend all our STEM cafe events where guest speakers visit and talk about their work. I think transport infrastructure is really exciting and with the promised HS2 and need to develop SW rail links there will be many interesting and diverse job roles in the sector. Better for the students to hear that from and expert though rather than me!

Greetings, I'm Ian Dean. I was formally a Marine Engineer working for Gas & Oil companies maintaining the biggest shipping carriers that sail on the international oceans. I've been a track Engineer for the last 15 years & spent the last 5years working at the HQ of Network Rail for the Professional Head of Track. I've been involved on & off with STEM with activities such as the Big Bang & supported two schools with projects that presented there.
If you have any questions related to my time served in this (or my former) industry then please ask as I've worked in many roles from maintenance, front line track installation, asset management strategy, specification of projects, managing the engineering delivery of projects, compliance, assurance, writing standards & answering recommendations to investigations. I also represent the UK (BSI) at several Engineering Standards committee's in Europe (CEN) & World Wide (ISO); as I am the company's leading expert on Track Geometry.
On the softer side, I'm a Dad with a Daughter and we love building stuff out of Lego amongst many other 6 year old things. I enjoy rock climbing, snowboarding, travel & inspiring anyone who is interested in engineering.

Hello - I’m Paul Barnes. In my early career I went to various parts of the world installing or fixing drinking water, wastewater and food processing systems and pipelines. I have a real interest in monitoring and maintenance of systems - very important to keep water supply for instance and equally important for electricity, gas and rail. I’ve worked in railways for 20
Years in the planning and management of the railways including Crossrail, electrification of the western main line and structires such as Severn Tunnel. I Mentor engineers to become qualified as Members of the Institution of Civil Engineers supporting all the skills required to maintain the standards that keep our infrastructure safe and operating My daughters learned at an early age that all trips we make and holidays will involve bridges, railways or infrastructure somewhere - even when we are skiing or climbing a mountain somewhere. Don’t just ask about railways - I was in Hong Kong doing engineering qualifications recently and they have fascinating work. Paul

Hi. I am the Head of Apprenticeship Delivery for Siemens Mobility Rolling Stock and the National Training Academy for Rail. Looking forward to discussing rail engineering and career opportunities :) Dan.

Hi, what apprenticeships opportunities does the Rail Sector offer?

@Gy, are the Science Stars online? Do they have any thoughts on HS2? I was with the National College for High Speed last night, and some of the facilities and resources they have there - preparing learners for working on the new High Speed networks, are remarkable!

Hi, Why is the UK electrifying the routes?

Hi, Might we get double deck trains in Europe soon?

Hi, how many people work in the rail industry?

Hi Yes there are several questions posted

Hi there, believe it or not the UK rail industry employs more than 190,000 people in a wide variety of roles from train drivers, to managers and engineers!

Hi Scarlett
The rail sector offers a very wide range of apprenticeships at all levels and we include work experience in opportunities. The details are on our website - there are too many to list here.

@Scarlettspiller
Please see
[link removed]
To apply for a Network Rail Apprenticeship scheme. You will find a promotion movie there as well.

@Scarlettspiller

Oooops Links not allowed. Google Network Rail Apprenticeship schemes & you will find some answers there

Hello, My name is Ione and I work for the Rail Delivery Group. I manage an engineering graduate scheme on behalf of the train operating companies and I'll be happy to answer questions.

@ScarlettSpiller - LOTS. :) There's a lot going on in rail at the moment - new lines, new stations, new trains, new technology - all to try and keep up with the increasing demands of moving people and stuff around the country. That means we need lots of people to come in to the industry, in lots of different roles. And apprenticeships are one of the best ways of getting in. There are rail engineering apprenticeships, rail operations apprenticeships, train driver [link removed] As well as general admin, finance, procurement, management - and all the other types of roles that keep the railway going. Is there an area that particularly interests you?

Thank you. The link says it has been removed.

Thank you for all the information.

JWatling21 6 minutes ago - We are electrifying routes for a number of reasons. Overall electric trains are more efficient to run, environmentally better, faster in acceleration and without the space requirements for fuel and larger engines we can put more seats on. Across the world electric trains are proven to work best for customers.

Hi, will electrifying the routes affect the environment?