KESR hosts major trackwork event on National Engineering Day
THE Kent & East Sussex Railway hosted the rail industry’s fifth prestigious twoday trackwork training event, the start of which this year coincided with National Engineering Day on November 2.
Known as the Practical Trackwork Challenge, the initiative is organised by the Permanent Way Institution, and is held as the cornerstone of knowledge leadership and continuing professional development in its field.
The largest yet, the challenge on November 2/3 was attended by 32 delegates from throughout the UK rail industry, including Network Rail, Transport for London, and London Underground.
A “very encouraging” number of female delegates were said to have attended, and the trackwork for the event itself was designed by a young track design engineer, Jessica Brown, who is currently completing an engineering degree while working for TFL.
The challenge, which was first held in 2017, offers current rail staff, engineering students, and apprentices who have little or no practical track experience the opportunity to work on a live engineering project in a safe and controlled railway environment. After Covid-19 delayed almost all trackwork training, which must be done with teams working in close proximity to one another, the challenge is helping deliver a vital round of catch-up experience. It also demonstrates the strong opportunities for collaboration between the modern and heritage rail sectors.
During the intensive event, delegates have the opportunity to meet with and be trained by hugely knowledgeable and experienced rail professionals, along with the chance to observe and contribute to track replacement and improvement projects.
No public trains operate on the KESR during November, making it the ideal choice for the challenge’s first location in the South East.
The programme is designed to not only provide skills training, but to also leave the host railway with infrastructure improvements without a financial bill. PWI member organisations, including some of the UK’s largest construction groups and plant companies, have provided equipment, material and training free of charge, while the delegates carry out the work under professional supervision.
Delegates from 18 companies and organisations with a dozen sponsors donating equipment and expertise worked in four teams of eight, rotating between theoretical presentations and work on two sites around Northiam; one just outside the station, replacing track and ballast, and the other installing new expansion switches and concrete sleepers at the 120-year-old Rother Bridge to ensure its future strength.
KESR general manager Robin Coombes said: “It is a great privilege to be hosting this important training collaboration. There is a long-lasting and permanent connection between modern and heritage railways, and the engineering skills being passed on through this initiative are vital to keep both systems on the rails, serving the community.
“As a charitable operation which, now more than ever, has to keep a firm hand on our costs, we are incredibly grateful for the lasting infrastructure improvements this has provided.”
The challenge first ran in autumn 2017 at Didcot Railway Centre.