THE Government has announced that a new National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering is to be created, and that a second industry training centre specialising in sub surface lines is to be set up by Crossrail. The academies will receive funding worth almost £8 million. The transport secretary Andrew Adonis has welcomed the news.

The announcement has come from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills, which said an investment of almost £3 million would be made through the Skills Funding Agency. The new National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering is being supported by many industry bodies, including Network Rail, Transport for London, the Rail Freight Group, the Rail Industry Association and ATOC.

Lord Adonis said: “The creation of this new academy is very timely. Just last week I set out proposals for a new high speed rail network. Building and maintaining this network would not only create significant new opportunities for the UK’s design, engineering, construction and manufacturing sectors, it would require a new generation of skilled railwaymen and women. Over the next twenty to thirty years the UK will require a step-change in transport capacity and connectivity. We believe high speed rail is the way to achieve this step change and this Rail Academy will help provide the skills we would need to make it a reality.”

The Learning and Skills Council has also approved a Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in Ilford to be run by Crossrail. This will receive a grant of £5 million and will develop new courses and qualifications, providing training for up to 1800 people a year.