The UK Rail Industry Explained (Technical Trades)

The Rail Industry is split into different sectors and sub-sectors. To say it's an over-complicated industry is an understatement! In this post I’ll do my best to explain the main sectors to help HM Forces leavers decide which area suits them best.

Fundamentally there are 3 areas:

• Infrastructure (The Track)

• Signalling & Telecoms (The Traffic Control System)

• Rolling Stock (The Trains).

Infrastructure is the rail tracks and everything else associated with it such as tunnels, bridges, viaducts, stations, level crossings, earth works (cutting, slopes and embankments), ballast and sleepers. Network Rail are responsible for maintaining the vast majority of UK rail infrastructure but they also out-source work to other companies. Meaning you don’t have to work directly for Network Rail; you could find yourself working for one of their approved sub-contractors (such as Amey, Costain, Colas Rail, Balfour Beatty etc.).

You might see the term ‘p-way’ technician/engineer in job advertisements, P-way (aka Permanent way) means the role is related to infrastructure, i.e. working 'on or near' the rail tracks. Everything associated with infrastructure needs constant maintenance; this can be heavy work (as seen below) but I’m sure there are also more technical areas (such as design & integration).

Anyone working 'on or near' a live railway line must have a Personal Track Safety (PTS) card. So you might see the term ‘PTS required’. This is a 2-day course that’ll cost around £300-600 but it’s fairly common for your employer to pay for it.

Signalling is the traffic management system of the railway; i.e. the traffic lights. You might see the term ‘S & T’ (i.e. Signalling and Telecoms) in job advertisements. The traffic lights (or ‘signals’ to use the rail terminology) are controlled automatically by the trains themselves; under normal operation there is no manual intervention for obvious reasons.

Currently, most trains are detected by either a track circuit or axle counters. The track is split into sections (or 'blocks' to use the rail term). A track circuit is a low current electrical circuit present in the running rails of each 'block'; the trains 'activate' this circuit by short circuiting it (i.e. the wheels and axle act as a switch contact between both running rails).

Axle counters are sensors that count the number of axles into and out of each section of rail (or 'block'). When a section of rail is 'occupied', the traffic light (or 'signal') turns to red. These methods are in the process of being replaced with a digital radio/data communication system that will eventually supersede them entirely; this system is called ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System).

The movement of trains must be managed in an attempt to keep them running in-line with the timetable. Historically this was performed by thousands of signal boxes dotted around the country however the railway is moving to centralised control centres (aka Railway Operating Centres - ROC’s) that manage the movement of trains across a much larger area. Representatives from Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies (TOC's) work together inside the ROC to deal with incidents & delays in an attempt to keep trains running on schedule.

Rolling Stock is the trains. You might see the term ‘fitter’ in job advertisements this is a hands-on train worker. Trains require a lot of maintenance; they have regular scheduled exams (either time or mileage based – sometimes both). Think exam…think day-to-day maintenance; such as: replacement of wearable components (brake pads for example), testing of safety critical systems, fault finding & defect rectification.

There are many different types of train operating in the UK but they can mostly be categorised as follows:

• Passenger or Freight

• Diesel or Electric

In-between the day-to-day exams trains will fail in service; they will require fault finding, rectification and a test before they can be put back out into passenger service. There are also ‘out-station fitters’ that will rectify failed trains and deal with incidents as they happen in service. Typically, they are very experienced with respect to the train fleet(s) the company operates. They will be called out to failed trains or incidents (i.e. collisions or derailments) to help out and rectify issues where possible. Think of them as the AA or RAC but for trains, carrying out temporary repairs to keep the trains operational or simply to clear a blocked railway line.

Longer term maintenance is referred to as ‘heavy overhaul’. Bogies are removed from the train to be overhauled, traction motors re-wound, bushes and other critical wearable components are replaced. Mostly this is quite heavy mechanical work and is often out-sourced to specialist companies.

All train fleets have on-going projects to modify the trains in some way; usually to improve the passenger experience or to enhance the performance/reliability of the train or a particular system. There may also be safety issues that need to be rectified. This can be described as ‘mod work’ so you might see the term ‘mods technician’ in job descriptions.

Generally, trains have a design life of between 30-40 years. Train fleets are always being replaced or additional trains are needed to meet the passenger demand. Due to this there are companies that manufacture, assemble, test and introduce entire train fleets in the UK and overseas. These are often very large, long-term projects that (depending on the contract) may require an on-going maintenance agreement, i.e. the company who purchase the train may request that the train manufacturer continue to maintain the trains for a set period of time.

There is another sector that I've not mentioned 'Electrical Distribution' (or 'Traction Power Distribution'). Some would categorise this under 'Infrastructure' as ultimately Network Rail manage it. It's worth mentioning that this sector is only necessary where the railway line is electrified; which as of YE 2022, equates to approx. 38% of the UK rail network.

Electricity from the National Grid is converted and distributed around the rail network via a network of substations. This electrical power is transferred from substations to the trains via an Overhead Line (OHL) or Conductor Rail (a.k.a. Third or Fourth Rail). Diesel trains can operate on electrified railway lines but it is not possible for electric trains to run on non-electrified railway lines. That said, recent advancements in battery technology may change this to some degree...watch this space!

Hopefully that explains the main sectors of the railway. From this point on the industry becomes much more complex but it should be enough to give you an idea as to what area best suits your skillset or interests.

If you’re leaving the forces and thinking about a job in the railway please get in touch with me, I’m more than happy to answer any of your questions. Just send me a direct message on LinkedIn.

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