Rail plans at risk from lack of engineers

The huge rail infrastructure projects planned by the Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, left, could be undermined by the industry's failure to attract engineers from other sectors.

A Lloyd's Register survey of 220 members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers found that skilled workers from the nuclear industry and Formula One racing could not get work in rail due to the specific qualifications needed.

This comes at a time when rail needs all the engineers it can get for such major schemes as the proposed High Speed 2 rail link. More than 70 per cent of respondents said skills in energy efficiency would be needed over the next decade.