Building a Greener Railway: How Sustainable Rail is Transforming the Rail Industry

What does the future of UK rail look like, and what does this mean for the workforce running, building and maintaining the UK railway? In this article, the experts at Linear Recruitment delve into the changes sustainable rail is expected to have on the employment landscape, answering how employers need to react to demand for skills and what this means for both the new, and existing workforce.

How Are ‘Green Rail’ Initiatives Shaping the Industry?

At present, the rail industry and its supply chain contribute around £41 billion in economic value in the UK each year according to the Railway Industry Association (RIA).

Currently, transport is one of the UK’s largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for around 25%. Rail however, represents roughly 1% of this figure. As the UK works towards its 2050 net-zero targets, the Government’s sustainability plans aim to reduce this figure drastically and for the UK transport system to be net-zero. This includes phasing out the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles (cars and vans) by 2030, aiming for net-zero domestic aviation emissions by 2040, shifting freight from road to rail or other lower-carbon modes, and removing all diesel-only trains from the passenger network by 2040. Amongst these initiatives is the aim to replace traditional rail transportation with ‘green rail’; achieving a net-zero rail network by 2050.

UK rail electrification and decarbonisation is not just a climate action but something that can improve people’s quality of life, build healthier communities, and support the UK economy further by forging innovation and creating jobs. The railway plays an important role in providing environmentally sustainable transport links, supporting local communities and delivering economic development and growth.  

How Are Net-zero Goals Shaping Rail Careers?

As one of the lowest carbon modes of mass travel, rail is being reshaped by new technologies, electrification projects and digital signalling, but achieving these ambitions depends crucially on the skills, training and innovation of the people building and maintaining the rail system. The ongoing electrification process is encouraging innovation and the development of new technologies. The future of the UK’s railway depends on an evolving workforce equipped to implement these new technologies and deliver sustainable growth. 

How Do These Changes Impact Workforces? 

• A Focus on Engineering: Rail electrification in the UK is the mainstay of rail decarbonisation. Projects such as the Midland Main Line Upgrade and the TransPennine Route Upgrade are creating demand for thousands of skilled professionals from Electrical Engineers and Systems Designers to Project Managers. Demand is increasing for those with background and experience in renewable energy, as hybrid and hydrogen traction technologies continue to emerge. 
• Digital Transformation: As digital signalling continues to roll out this allows networks to run more efficiently, reducing delays, waste and energy use. This shift is driving demand for Data Analysts, Software Engineers and Cybersecurity Specialists, who can merge traditional rail operations with modern, digital infrastructure. Network Rail’s Digital Railway Initiative, plans to transform the network by deploying modern signalling and control technology, with the aim to increase capacity, reduce delays, enhance safety and reduce costs. They’re focus to achieve this is retraining staff to work with these technologies.
• Sustainable Supply Chains: Carbon reduction targets are encouraging sustainable thinking across the supply chain, highlighting the need for widespread workforce upskilling as the environmental impacts at every stage of the cycle are evaluated. This includes roles such as Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Civil Engineers and Procurement Specialists. 
• Training and Apprenticeships: The skills challenge cannot be underestimated. According to the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR), there was a 9.4% decrease in the workforce in 2024 predicting the likelihood of significant skills shortages moving forward. The rail workforce is an aging one; and with high-turnover and low entrants both forecast for the sector, skills shortages risk these sustainability targets. Training initiatives will need to encourage a new workforce into modern rail to help meet these targets and deliver change. 

How Is Education Tackling Skills Shortages?

Recognising the threat of skills shortages, we are seeing the UK government partner with both industry and education to incentivise rail careers both for an emerging workforce and the employers delivering sustainable rail. But what does this look like? 

• An increase in apprenticeships and T-Levels in transport engineering and sustainability, offering a more cost effective way to improve the talent pipe-line and hands-on training for candidates.  
• Further Education colleges are channeling higher investment into low-carbon technology labs and rail training centres, helping underpin the need for sustainable thinking into training. 
• Up-skilling and retraining programmes are helping existing workers transition to digital and energy-focused disciplines; helping maintain the workforce, bridge skills gaps and prepare the foundations of the industry for change. 

What Roles Will Be Most in Demand? 

As we’ve mentioned, the UK rail industry is experiencing exponential change and this will of course be reflected in the roles which shape the workforce responsible for delivering this change. While the importance of eco-conscious planning and labour sourcing is predicted to impact both operations and recruitment, we will also see a sharp rise in the demand for roles with low-carbon expertise and specialist technical knowledge and skill. The majority of change to rail industry jobs is expected to align with the following roles, departments and specialisms: 

• Engineers: As the infrastructure is overhauled, this will call for significant numbers of civil, electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineers. These roles will focus on the planning, design, and execution of the new sustainable infrastructure.
• Technicians: These roles are crucial for installing, testing, and maintaining the new equipment, including trains, tracks, and overhead lines As new equipment, systems and infrastructure is deployed, technicians will be needed to install, test and maintain electrified equipment including trains, overhead lines and tracks. 
• Sustainability Roles: As it evolves, the rail industry will need highly skilled professionals with new skills related to digital technology and sustainability. These will include sustainability officers to mitigate environment related incidents and manage the new environmental impact of green rail, especially as the sector works towards net-zero goals.
• Control Room Operators: As the UK rail network becomes more electrified, there will be increasing demand for staff to monitor, manage and control complex electrical systems from control rooms throughout the UK. 
• Project Managers: The large-scale electrification projects require experienced project managers to oversee them from start to finish. UK rail electrification is a large-scale national project with multiple agencies involved in its success. Experienced project managers will be in demand to oversee these projects to ensure minimised disruption to targets.

Recruiting for the Future of Rail

The reality of modern rail is the shift from traditional engineering to a reliance on technology. The problem the UK rail industry faces is aligning the image of the rail sector with this fast paced, high-tech, digitally rich environment. Rail has never been considered a ‘tech industry’, but net zero targets and sustainability incentives are reshaping its core. To compete with tech-centric industries the rail industry must rebrand itself as a home for digital engineering and technology graduates, where they can forge rewarding careers and tackle the national challenge of delivering technology driven change.

• Adopt Technology 

Technology needs to be focal in the rail industry at its core; from recruitment to delivery. Pathways into data science, software development, digital operations, and engineering need to be amplified with the use of modern, tech-focused job titles that appeal to a younger workforce scoping out opportunities to utilise their skills.

• Diversify Talent

As with many industries, rail must diversify not only in skillset but representation, in order to reflect the public it serves, from within the organisation. This involves STEM outreach in schools, committing to E&D initiatives, and expanding flexible working where possible to compete with modern tech driven environments and industries. 

• Focus on Technical and Transferable Skills 

The rail industry needs to abandon its reliance on industry experience and prioritise the technical and transferrable skills that will bridge skills gaps and deliver modernity. For both new and existing workforces, acknowledging the power in aviation, automotive, technology and telecoms experience will help secure the skills needed to meet the demands of the changing industry. 

• Utilise Upskilling and Apprentice Pathways

With an aging workforce, the rail industry risks knowledge gaps that exceed the graduate influx. In order to survive recruitment must utilise apprenticeships and reskilling. Apprenticeships can deliver threefold, on-job training in digital technologies, engineering and operations while upskilling provides mid-career gateways into the industry from adjacent or unrelated sectors. 

Addressing these skills shortages in the rail industry is fundamental. According to the NSAR an additional £310 million of economic value could be generated in the UK over the next five years. And it’s not only economic value to consider; the NSAR also estimates that if 20% of roles were to be filled by economically inactive people, the rail sector could produce a further £110million in social value by 2029. 

By embracing the changes needed for sustainability, not only will it reshape the rail workforce but it will mean the rail sector is meeting its environmental commitments as well as enhancing the quality of life for both employees and communities.

How Linear Recruitment Can Help

Our experts in our Rail recruitment division are passionate about the rail industry and support finding candidates their perfect roles whilst forging long and strong relationships with our Clients. Our team are aware of the hanges the industry is facing and aim to use this industry insight to pair perfect candidates with emerging roles to help deliver this digital transformation.

Please contact us for more information.