Team applications open for Railway Challenge 2021

Now in its tenth successive year, team registrations for the 2021 Railway Challenge open on 1 October 2020.

The Railway Challenge brings together teams of students, apprentices and young professionals to follow a system engineering process to develop, build and test a railway locomotive that meets specific competition objectives.

Attracting teams from the UK and overseas, the Challenge gives participants the chance to develop their engineering knowledge, soft skills and practical abilities with a real-world project. Growing from four teams taking part when the competition was launched in 2012, the Railway Challenge has gone from strength to strength. It is now an established event attracting a full capacity of teams who compete at the Stapleford Miniature Railway.

Participants gain direct experience of working in a team on an engineering project, making them highly desirable candidates to industry. Railway Challenge Deputy Judge, Malcolm Dobell notes that he would “encourage any undergraduate or trainee to seize the opportunity to participate in the Railway Challenge - the experience helps kick start a career in the industry.”

Nikhil Pillai, a member of the University of Birmingham Railway Challenge 2020 team, had the following to say about taking part:

“As independent researchers and students, this has been an excellent opportunity for us to work as a part of a team and appreciate a diverse range of skills. Participating in the Railway Challenge has also helped some of our researchers with the practical application of their research. Hands on technical skills, problem solving, project planning and management are a few other skills that our team members have benefitted from.”

If you haven’t had the chance to take part before or are looking forward to getting involved once more, download the updated rules and technical specification documents for the 2021 Railway Challenge. Please note, that registrations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis with a limit of 15 teams in total. Submit your team before registrations closes on 15 November 2020.

In the meantime, take a look back at our 2020 Awards Ceremony, previous Challenge results and event photo galleries to be inspired to take part in the tenth edition of the Railway Challenge.

• Read Rail Engineer magazine articles providing detailed summaries of all the previous nine Railway Challenge events.