Collaboration leads to launch of Rail Track Engineering Diploma

Transport for NSW recently partnered with Engineers Australia to launch a Diploma of Rail Track Engineering.

The 12-month course is aimed at staff in the management, design, construction and maintenance of our track infrastructure, and it fills a critical knowledge and skill gap not currently being addressed in the VET or tertiary sector. It's currently in the process of gaining Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) accreditation.

The diploma was developed in a collaborative manner by TfNSW with external industry support and key education experts. It will give participants the opportunity to work with industry specialists, undertake practical activities and benefit from contemporary learning principles such as Virtual and Augmented Reality.

Eighteen rail infrastructure staff from across Transport with a variety of backgrounds, experience, knowledge and existing qualifications will be the first batch to take up the diploma course.

During the program’s launch, Sydney Trains’ Engineering and Maintenance Division Executive Director, Stewart Mills, emphasised the need to train existing and future staff for the growing rail industry.

“On 26 November 2017, we will deliver a new public transport timetable, with more than 1500 new train services a week. And with an expected 21 percent growth rate in rail patronage by 2021, we need more skilled people to keep our tracks in top condition,” Stewart said.

During the next two years, TfNSW Organisational Development will work with Engineers Australia to roll the diploma program out to more participants in Sydney Trains and Asset Standards Authority (ASA), as well as to other agencies in the Transport cluster and the broader rail industry.