Latest news: Railway internships

Rail companies are to join forces and offer paid work placements to 100 graduates in the South West of England. 20/01/2012

The Track and Train scheme offers graduates the chance to work for a total of 18 months in three different companies. The successful applicants will spend six months working for network rail followed by two further placements at a passenger or freight operator or another rail company.

There are 27 companies taking part in the scheme, which is aimed at young people who have left university in the last two years. Applicants will need to be available to start on April 1 2012 and the schemes will run for 18 months. Each successful participant will be paid £22,000 a year.

‘We know that there are many smart, talented individuals out there that haven't had their break yet and as a growing industry we can work together to provide challenging, valuable and paid work experience to kick start their careers.

'What sets this scheme apart is those involved will work across the rail industry and by linking it all together, develop a fantastic knowledge and understanding of the challenges we all face and the opportunities for the future,’ said Patrick Butcher, group finance director at Network Rail.

Typical roles in the Track and Train scheme will be in: network operations; station and train teams; customer service; sales and marketing; route strategy; asset management and project management. The industry already has existing graduate schemes in place in finance, IT and engineering.

Additional coaching and mentoring classes will be provided at Network Rail's development centre with those on the scheme being offered advice on CV writing, interview techniques and presentation skills.