South West Trains and Network Rail encourage young people to consider careers in rail

As part of Rail Week, South West Trains and Network Rail have revealed plans to invite the public along to events at London Waterloo and Portsmouth & Southsea stations, in a bid to get more young people to consider a career in the rail industry.

The scheme is being led by Young Rail Professionals and will combine all aspects of the rail sector, including passenger train companies, Network Rail, freight operators and others to do more to inspire young people at schools, colleges and universities into choosing a career in rail.

London Waterloo is currently one of the busiest stations in the UK, with just under 100 million passengers passing through in 2014-15.

The news comes as £800 million is set to be invested at Waterloo station, over the next three years, to provide space for 30 per cent more passengers during peak times. The investment will be the biggest on this network for many decades.

During the event, staff from a range of different parts of the railway; including guards, drivers, engineers and volunteers from British Transport Police will be available at London Waterloo station on Wednesday 29 June from 11.00 to 15.00 and Portsmouth & Southsea station on Thursday 30 June, from 10.30 to 15.00.

Kelly Barlow, HR director for South West Trains, said: “Rail Week is a great opportunity to meet with young people, or anyone considering a change in career to show how rewarding, diverse and exciting a job in the rail industry can be. We can offer careers and opportunities across a huge range of roles and we’re looking forward to meeting anyone who would like to find out more.”

John Halsall, Route Managing director at Network Rail, said: “Britain’s railways are a remarkable success story. Passenger numbers have doubled in the last twenty years and are continuing to grow, and the current UK Government is spending £40bn on a five year maintenance and upgrade plan to meet this demand. The industry employs some of the brightest engineers in the country but we need more, as well as a huge range of other skills to deliver this plan. That’s why Network Rail and South West Trains are jointly supporting Rail Week to encourage young people to explore the huge variety of careers available in the industry.”