GEARING UP FOR 2009: NETWORK RAIL RECRUITS FOR A GROWING RAILWAY

Friday 6 Mar 2009

GEARING UP FOR 2009: NETWORK RAIL RECRUITS FOR A GROWING RAILWAY

Region & Route:: National

Network Rail starts 2009 with a renewed mission to build a bigger and better railway. Whilst other sectors are cutting jobs Network Rail is recruiting the people it needs to deliver its vision for the future.

Network Rail director of infrastructure investment, Simon Kirby, comments: “Over the next five years Network Rail will invest over £20bn in crucial projects all over the country. We will be taking on thousands of high-calibre people to make this happen.”

The company has begun the first of several phases in an active recruitment campaign to fill 1,000 newly created vacancies around Great Britain.

These new vacancies are for apprentices, professional and skilled workers, and will primarily support key enhancement programmes such as new lines in Scotland, the transformation of Birmingham New Street, London 2012, Reading station remodelling, Crossrail and Thameslink.

Of the high number the company plans to employ in the next 12 months, the graduate intake will be doubled to approximately 210. In addition, Network Rail is committing to its second stream of MSc post-graduates in project management. They will be taught full-time at two world-class institutions - University College London and the University of Warwick.

This year also sees a further commitment from Network Rail to its award-winning advanced apprenticeship scheme. No less than 220 apprentices will be given the opportunity to become railwaymen and women of the future.

Mr Kirby added: “In 2008 we took on 3,500 people at Network Rail. There has never been a more exciting time to work for the railway, as we demonstrate our commitment to great projects delivered by great people.

“Network Rail needs people who will play integral roles in each of our major projects and many others – whether it is from an operational, engineering, maintenance or financial perspective. From the smallest to the largest, each is of national importance.”

More positions are expected to be created during the year and interested candidates are encouraged to visit the Network Rail stand at Railtex 2009, 10 – 12 March, Earls Court Exhibition Centre or see: www.networkrail.co.uk/careers for details.

Notes to editors

MAJOR PROJECTS Thameslink Programme: one of the biggest rail projects ever in the UK At £5.55bn of investment, this project is crucial to our growth plans. Due to take an estimated 40 million hours, and completed by the end of 2015, it will support economic growth in the South East, increase train capacity to and through London and reduce overcrowding on the Underground – all before London 2012. Passengers on the Thameslink route will benefit from 50% longer trains and new direct services (e.g. Cambridge to Gatwick). New stations will be built and bottlenecks removed at Blackfriars and London Bridge. Transforming Birmingham New Street: the £550 million Gateway Project This is the first phase of funding to redevelop one of the UK’s busiest stations – tackling overcrowding and greatly enhancing passenger experience. Originally designed to handle 650 trains a day, the station now takes over 1,250 every day. The new concourse will be over three times its current size and passengers will have better, modern facilities in a light and spacious station. Links to the city will be improved and the New Street Gateway will create 3,000 new jobs and deliver economic benefits of more than £1.7bn. MORE PROJECTS • Crossrail – the largest civil engineering project in Europe • £425m at Reading station to increase reliability and performance • £400m plus redevelopment of King’s Cross station • £400m on delivery of essential infrastructure for London 2012 • £300m on a new line from Airdrie to Bathgate (Scotland) • £350m Trent Valley scheme to continue upgrading the railway on the West Coast • £150m Edinburgh Waverley capacity enhancement • £9m on improvements at Euston station

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About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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