Rail Sector and Cullompton Community College

@JWatling21

Electrification provides cleaner, more efficient & more powerful traction for rolling stock.

Electrification was introduced as early as 1960 on the West Coast Mainline. Other Regions to benefit are recently are Western Region where the new Inter City Express Trains are running.

What skills/grades/GCSE's are needed to work for the rail sector?

JMcHughShepherd11 9 minutes ago
Europe and other parts of the world have many double decker trains in use on high speed (300kph) and commuter operations. If you mean will we have them in the UK - not without significant change to our existing tunnels, bridges and stations or a brand new line (like HS2) which is built to take them.

@JMcHughShepherd11

In short we will not be having double decker trains in the immediate future.

Europe Double decker trains are naturally bigger so we would need to bore bigger tunnels, lift bridges & move all our platforms to accommodate them. This is astronomical undertaking and would be far more expensive than building a new railway.

Scarlett, the grades you need would depend on the role you would like to apply. Are you interested in apprenticeships or graduate level roles?

Hi, Might double deck trains be used in the UK?

FHall12 10 minutes ago - Hi - I presented this last week to a manufacturing conference. Network Rail has38,000 direct including 600 apprentices. About 120,000 in companies supporting Network rail. The rail industry as a whole probably in excess of 250,000 including Transport for London

Either really. I am taking triple science GCSE - will this help?

@FHall12

35,000 Work in Network Rail alone. We actively recruit to sustain that number at all levels

Hi, do you have people working in other countries beside the UK? (America? Europe?)

At Freightliner we have an engineering apprenticeship scheme where apprentices get hands on experience of working in our vehicle maintenance facilities throughout the UK whilst studying for qualifications in electrical and mechanical engineering. The apprentices will work with a team of qualified, knowledgeable engineers who will pass on their skills and experiences - a great way to build a career in engineering.

What is HS2?

FHall12 4 minutes ago - In the long term yes for the better. In the short term the removal of emissions and engine noise can help locally. There is always a risk of fuel spillage with trains carrying their own fuel, so that is also a benefit

@scarlettspiller

Extract taken from our web site on GCSE grades:

We invest a great deal in our apprentices in order to help them complete the programme. We want to know that you’re likely succeed before we offer you a place, which is why we set entry criteria. Specifically, we ask that you have four GCSEs at A* - C / 9 - 5. Primarily this is because you’ll take on academic study at the same time as working, and complete 27 work-based learning assignments and reports of at least 2,000 words. And, to complete the engineering side of the qualifications, you'll need a base understanding of maths and science.

Unfortunately, we can't accept all qualifications as equivalents. Although the level of the qualification is the same, the breadth and depth of content is not. To begin your apprenticeship programme at the same stage as everyone else, you will need to have covered GCSE content.

@IDean (Principal Engineer Track)

Thanks, What about expanding The Underground/Metro? Might we have more underground rails in the future?

@JWatling21

In short Yes. Network Rail has a consulting division that work in Canada, USA, Dubai, Australia & New Zealand

Freightliner, which is a rail freight operator, has operations in Poland, Germany and the Middle East. Our parent company, Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) is a US railroad company - so yes opportunities are global!

@scarlettSpiller some companies require 3 GCSEs : maths, english and Science. Some require 4 including the 3 mentioned previously. Triple Science excellent if you also have maths and english

@JWatling21

HS2 = High Speed 2. It's going to be a new railway. HS1 links London to the Channel Tunnel. HS2 Links London to Birmingham in Phase 1 and will reduce the current journey time from just under 1hr 30 mins to around 45 mins.

What does pay range form and to?