Rail Sector and Cullompton Community College

@JMcHughShepherd11

In short [link removed]! However this is usually a 'City' Undertaking for metro / commuter sized networks but for international networks there is the radical concept of Hyperloop. Check it out on Google. it's Awesome & if it is actually possible to achieve it will rival the airline companies

My engineering colleague Tim Gabb is having trouble logging onto the forum but has asked me to post this on his behalf:

Hi, my name is Tim Gabb. I work for Freightliner as Professional Head of T&RS Engineering. This means that I am responsible for the maintenance policy for Freightliner’s Locomotive and Wagon Fleets. Freightliner is a leading Railfreight Operator. I am a Chartered Engineer and have worked in the rail industry for 30 years. Please ask me any questions regarding working in our industry.

I will post responses to questions on Tim's behalf.

@Scarlettspiller

An apprenticeship means the chance to earn a real wage while you learn
We pay you £9,479 during your first year, plus £1,265 for successful completion.

In the second year, this rises to:

Age 18 - 20: £12,[link removed]
Age 21-24: £13,[link removed] (£13,[link removed] from 1 April 2018)
Age 25+: £14,[link removed] (£14,[link removed] from 1 April 2018)
and £14,[link removed] in the third year. During your first year of training there will be a 21 week residential stay at Westwood, Network Rail’s training centre.

While you’re at Westwood we’ll pay for your accommodation, three meals a day (brunch and dinner on Sundays), your work clothing and personal safety equipment. On top of all this, you’ll get 28 days’ holiday, plus bank holidays.

@scarlettSpiller if you are interested in going to university you would need 3 A - levels including maths and/or physics. And 5 GCSEs including maths, english and science. The requirements may vary from university to university but these are the general requirements

@[link removed]

If there is a colon in the text it's mistaken for a hyperlink [link removed] : : :

It did not like at-all or e(dot)g(dot) *giggle

From Tim Gabb, Freightliner:
Electrification provides a number of advantages including;
1) zero pollution at the point of use [link removed] where the train is operating.
2) Electric trains are generally lighter and therefore more efficient.
3) Electric trains are also more powerful and can therefore accelerate more quickly increasing capacity of the route.

@ScarlettSpiller again pay will depend on the role and on the company. Also if you are based in London and outside London. Just to give you an idea, the engineering graduates on our scheme start with a salary of approximately £25-26K per year which is usually reviewed a year later. Also the rail industry offers great benefits. Many companies offer discounted or free travel!

JMcHughShepherd11 6 - yes - rail is proving successful in terms of passenger numbers. Urban centres have seen successful reintroduction of trams and metro systems. Existing underground systems are being upgraded for more space on train or on network. Crossrail is an example of a new underground railway and there are already plans for a second Crossrail. In other parts of the world, particularly the Middle East and China, more metros are planned and in construction.

How many different types of jobs are available?

@ ScarlettSpiller

For Graduates:

Your starting salary will be £26,500.

You'll also enjoy:

A welcome bonus of £2,000
28 days' annual holiday, excluding public holidays
An interest-free season ticket loan
75% discount on season tickets up to a maximum of £3,000

@ScarlettSpiller

Too Many to [link removed]!

There are Engineers at various levels and in different roles for Maintenance, Projects, Asset Management Research & Development as well as Head Quarters where I work as a company specialist.

*Too Many to say!

Thankyou for your time and for answering my questions

Thank you for your time and answering my questions. It has been a very interesting conversation!

Thank you for your time and answers, they were very helpful and interesting.
Many thanks.
Goodbye.

@ScarlettSpiller In rail there is a job to suit everyone: engineers, drivers, planners, signallers, ...roles in the front line like at stations ( platform hosts, guards, ticket office roles, station managers ) and on board of trains ( conductors, train managers) , working on tracks, office based jobs . Also jobs that are not specific to rail like HR, finance, facilities, marketing, [link removed] There is a whole plethora of of jobs. I am not allowed to post links here but you can search " Routes Into Rail: What I always wanted" in Youtube and it will show you some.

@ScarlettSpiller @FHall12.

You are welcome. Glad to be of assistance. Look us up or any of the other companies here. it's a great industry & growing every day. We need talented dedicated people to take us to the next level

Network Rail is a varied environment - but the rail industry needs a huge range of skills across all professions and qualifications. Think how many times we are in the news to work out communications alone for instance - before we even reach the technical skills and thousands of staff who maintain infrastructure and trains from keeping them clean to making them move on time.

Great questions - always good to talk about engineering and rail