GEN Y RAIL
Gen Y Rail champions crowned
It’s been a tremendous fi rst year for Gen Y Rail and the UK Rail Industry Training Trust. David Stevenson reports from the last few regional competitions and the national fi nal, and hears from the people from across the rail industry who helped make it all happen.
T
wo teams from the north west have been crowned the fi rst national Gen Y Rail
champions in a fi ercely fought contest at Network Rail’s Westwood training facility.
In the under-16s category EBA Bright Lights, an all-girl team from Eaton Bank Academy, took the top honours; and in the over-16s segment, an all-boys team from Stockport College – Total Train Innovation – were named the winners.
During the fi nal, 15 teams from the regional heats, including the north east, north west, east and west midlands, were tasked with taking on a two-part challenge.
First they needed to environmental
impacts
consider and
the the need
effects, to
communicate with stakeholders in opening a disused railway line; and secondly they were tasked with designing a new station with a
engaging with stakeholders and the long-term benefi ts the project will bring to the city, in an attempt to give the students some ideas and inspiration for the challenge.
Speaking to RTM about the challenge the students faced, Ratyal said: “They had a budget of £30m to deliver the project, but it was interesting to see how they thought about the challenge and tackled the needs of the stakeholders and all those involved. Once they got going they really got into it.”
engaged on the development, commercial and environmental aspects of the programme.
“If only 5-10% of the students who come to these events come our way, into the rail sector, then it is a job well done.”
As a minimum for the station designs, the students were told they needed to include a roof structure,
external cladding, vertical access
power, paving, platforms, fl ooring, entrances and a choice of six shops.
The judging panel of industry experts evaluated the concepts in terms of the understanding of
the budget £30m. Innovative station designs managers
Early in the day, Kash Ratyal and Alice Cooper, both of whom are project for
Network
on the £600m Birmingham New Street redevelopment, discussed the ideas behind the work, the importance of
18 | rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 14 Rail
Proposals included plans to use multi- directional escalators to deal with congestion at different times of the day in the stations, the use of wind turbines and solar panels to make the structures energy self-suffi cient, and the importance of keeping stakeholders
Ellie Harrison, 14, said: “We’re pretty shocked to have won this. We tried to include everything we could in the design without making it boring.
“We were slightly over-budget, by £8m, but we justifi ed it by making it an entertainment and social hub.
limited of
challenge, showing innovation and
creativity, the realistic nature of the proposed solution,
and themselves. how the teams presented
Nick Spall, route delivery director LNW North at Network Rail and one of the judges, said it was diffi cult to pick a winner. “Certainly, judging it was extremely diffi cult, especially as the kids are unconstrained from the usual thought processes we have as we get older.”
Under-16s
But in the end, in the under-16s category, Eaton
Bank Academy’s team EBA Bright Lights took the national title with their design, which was all about creating a ‘social hub’ station.
They were unable to stick within the £30m budget, going £8m over, but they explained how their design could recoup the money through optimum use of on-site commercial opportunities, including a cinema and rooms to hire for professional and social meetings. They were also keen on keeping the station as eco- friendly as possible using innovative heating methods.
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