Media centre

Wednesday 11 Feb 2015

Local students to build Bridge to the Future in Loughborough

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Youngsters from a group of Leicestershire schools are being lined up to help create a new section of railway in the county thanks to a partnership between Network Rail and Great Central Railway.

The heritage railway’s ‘Bridge to the Future’ project, with Network Rail, will give students hands-on experience of how science, technology engineering and maths (STEM subjects) play a vital part in railway design.

The Bridge to the Future project will reinstate a 500 metre section of the Great Central Railway – the UK’s only double track, main line heritage railway – and students will be able to take part in a real engineering project in the heart of their community.

The project has been created by Network Rail and Great Central Railway, working in partnership with AMCO, Carillion, Murphy, Charnwood Borough Council, Leicester Education Business Company (LEBC) and FJD Civil Engineers. It has been launched in three Loughborough schools: Charnwood College, Limehurst Academy and Woodbrook Vale High School.

The eight week programme will take students through the process of building a bridge. They will learn how to:

- complete ecological / wildlife surveys,
- test ground stability through geotechnical surveys
- obtain planning consent
- plan, design and build embankments and bridges
- understand the complex processes involved in improving and maintaining the rail network
- calculate costs

At the end of the project, students will design and build a model of a bridge based on the specifications for the bridge which will carry Great Central Railway’s steam trains over the Midland Main Line.

Bridge to the Future aims to encourage all students to consider careers in engineering and raise aspirations towards STEM careers. Male and female engineers, environment managers and project managers from Network Rail, AMCO, Carillion and Murphy will take lead roles during the programme, and will be joined by a variety of STEM professionals.

Nicky Morgan, MP for Loughborough and Secretary of State for Education, said: "So much of what I do on a national level as Secretary of State for Education is informed by my experience as a constituency MP, and Bridge to the Future is a prime example of this. The project brings together two of my great passions: encouraging more young people to study STEM subjects, and ensuring more of them leave school with the skills and experiences that employers value. These two things are crucial if we want more young people to have the chance to fulfil their potential and succeed in life.

“It is great to see these two passions that I spend so much time talking about on a national level being brought together here at home. I congratulate the schools and businesses involved and look forward to seeing the project develop"

Lili Tabiner, Great Central Railway, said: “The Bridge to the Future project is a complex feat of civil engineering, but before any structure is built a lot of work is needed so the new railway can operate for many years.

“Experts are guiding us through every stage of the process and each of these disciplines requires specialist skills that are obtained through the study of STEM subjects.

“By taking students on site visits, and through the guidance of engineers working on the scheme, we hope the project will encourage more students to take up science, technology, engineering and maths.”

Vanessa Breward, STEM Coordinator at LEBC, said: “Bridge to the Future is a fabulous real-life STEM project. Britain is great at engineering and we are working with STEM Ambassadors to inspire students of today to become engineers and other STEM professionals to meet the growing demands of industry. The scheme will give students experience of a major engineering project, developing soft skills through project management, problem solving, team working and communication activities as well as building on science, technology, engineering and maths skills. The schools are very excited to be involved in this real insight into the world of work.”

Richard Walker, Network Rail’s Route Delivery Director who is responsible for the programme to modernise and electrify the Midland main line, said: “This is a hugely exciting project which gives a real insight into the diverse, interesting, challenging and rewarding railway careers, in engineering and associated disciplines. It also gives us a great opportunity to preserve the heritage rail network, and promote the works we do to make the rail network better for everyone.”