Following the announcement by Transport Minister Geoff Hoon MP of a planned north-south high speed rail link and news that rail engineering works will disrupt journeys in Devon over the coming weeks, the role of rail engineering has become more prominent.
Torbay MP Adrian Sanders has been raising the matter with Skills Minister Sion Simon, highlighting the shortage of rail engineers that threatens to worsen in the near future.
While travel on trains continues to grow, with an accompanying heavy load of engineering works, there has been a drop of 30% over the last 10 years of the numbers of those taking up engineering, with rail engineering featuring highly in the Home Office’s list of shortage occupations for immigrant workers. In 2004 Network Rail had to fly in engineers from India to carry out signalling works.
The shortage in the UK is mirrored across the world, being most acute in Australia, which will reduce the ability of Network Rail to make up any shortfall through immigration.
Adrian commented: “The railways have the potential to offer a sustainable and good quality transport solution for the UK, as they have already done in many other countries. With Crossrail, High Speed Rail 2, more carriages and a host of other improvements, passengers may soon be able to see a return for the heavy investment they have been contributing to.”
“There is still some way to go though and an important part of having a world class rail system is to have the right people with the right skills. The Government must do more to encourage the uptake of engineering courses to prevent any serious shortfall in numbers.”
Recent Comments