Career opportunities in the rail sector

Added to this activity, the government has just announced that “paused” electrification plans for the Midland Mainline and TransPennine routes will now go ahead as previously planned.

And with all of these projects either underway or in the pipeline, opportunities for skilled engineers in the sector are on the rise, according to Graham Coombs, spokesman for the Railway Industry Association.

“The railways have a very extensive programme both of new rolling stock and also infrastructure improvements including signalling,” he said. “So there is an enormous workload, which is going to need skilled staff.”

Last year Transport for London awarded Bombardier Transportation the contract to build 65 new trains for its Crossrail line, which is set to open in 2018, linking Reading in the west with Shenfield in Essex in the east.

The Crossrail project is creating 340 new jobs at its manufacturing plant at Derby, where the new trains will be built.

Each of the nine-car Bombardier Aventra trains will be over 200 metres in length, and be able to carry up to 1500 passengers. The trains will also be fitted with an automated vehicle inspection system and predictive maintenance technology.