All abroad: why UK rail engineers are valued overseas

Britain is a country built around railways. Since the opening of the legendary Stockton and Darlington line on Teesside in 1825, rail infrastructure has been an integral part of the nation’s development. Today, the rail industry plays a key role in the nation’s economy, contributing around £9.3bn each year. Nearly one in five European passenger journeys take place in the UK, giving the nation the fastest-growing rail network in Europe.

But keeping up that growth requires skill. Much of the network in Britain is buried deep within the urban environment that makes maintenance and renewals complex tasks. As well as this, the UK has several regional systems that developed when the railways were originally conceived. “This presents technical challenges that do not exist in many other countries,” said Ailie MacAdam, global rail sector lead at Bechtel. “A good example of this is Crossrail; this short section of tunnel now connects three regional lines that have very different power and signalling systems.”