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Features

Bridlington is a key location on the route served by the Community Rail Partnership. Northern 170477 waits to leave the Yorkshire seaside town with the 1300 Scarborough to Sheffield service on March 23 2022. PAUL BIGGS.

Feature

A railway with “people at its heart”

Andy Comfort discovers how volunteers are working with a train operator to promote and improve a Yorkshire line.

Engineering 13 Jun 2025

"Within those ten days I was able to accomplish my credentials in the roller and the dumper, and it has been an upward trajectory from there." - Fatima Tejan-Jalloh

Feature

Welcome to the HS2 Bootcamp

A small project at Euston could lead to bigger things… and help to build a legacy. Tom Edwards reports.

Major projects 12 May 2025

Driver Training Manager Dave Enderby in the simulator cab. TOM INGALL

Feature

“A generational jump” in training drivers

Tom Ingall sits behind the controls in one of Northern’s new driving simulators.

Digitisation 25 Apr 2025

Empty chairs? The railway faces a looming ‘retirement bulge’, albeit the problem is likely to be less severe when it comes to drivers compared with other roles. A Hitachi IEP rests at King’s Cross. ALAMY.

Feature

Rail’s retirement challenge and the looming skills shortage

Nine per cent of people working on the railway left last year. Paul Clifton asks whether enough is being done to to fill the empty seats they leave behind.

Staff and employment 23 Apr 2025

A bird’s eye view of the Greatest Gathering launch at Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane facility. STEVE DONALD.

Feature

Railway 200: Gearing up for the ‘Greatest Gathering’

The ‘Greatest Gathering’ at Alstom's Litchurch Lane factory in Derby will be one of the biggest events during this year's celebrations, explains Peter Plisner.

Staff and employment 12 Mar 2025

Peter Wright, a service assistant for Arriva TrainCare, puts his newly learned skills to use, carrying out maintenance on CrossCountry’s Voyager fleet at Tyne Depot. ANDY COMFORT.

Feature

One way to tackle recruitment difficulties breaks new ground

The new government is looking to recruit 100,000 people into the rail industry. One train maintenance company has taken matters into its own hands.

Staff and employment 14 Nov 2024

The HS2 green tunnel construction site at Chipping Warden. Thousands are working on HS2 construction sites, and the company has tasked its supply chain with bringing in new people who are currently unemployed, skilling them up with pre-employment training.” HS2 LTD.

Feature

The new rail recruits adding business benefits with diversity

Why should rail employers take on people from disadvantaged backgrounds? As well as the right thing, Paul Clifton learns that it’s essential for the future.

Staff and employment 27 Sept 2024

Feature

NRA Great Place to Work award winner 2024: Hull Trains

Hull Trains won the Great Place to Work award in the 2024 National Rail Awards.

Staff and employment 16 Sept 2024

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NRA Outstanding Personal Contribution (Management) award winner 2024

Jack Roberts and Wayne Norbury, Project Managers for Network Rail, win to a standing ovation.

Staff and employment 16 Sept 2024

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NRA Outstanding Personal Contribution (Frontline) award: Jason Hart

The award for Outstanding Personal Contribution (Frontline) in the 2024 National Rail Awards went to Jason Hart, Wheel Lathe Supervisor, Siemens Mobility.

Staff and employment 16 Sept 2024