High Speed Rail and Infrastructure Technician

The high speed rail and infrastructure technician was approved for delivery on 27/12/2017. This Higher apprenticeship standard awards you with a level 4, qualification when completed. The usual duration of this apprenticeship is 36 months, but this does not include the End-Point Assessment Period.

The role of a High-speed rail and infrastructure technician is to provide technical solutions across the construction, maintenance and operation of a high-speed railway. You will be responsible for the safe design, construction, installation, maintenance and operation of a high-speed railway to ensure customers receive a safe and reliable service.

To enable apprentices to succeed in this highly skilled profession, you will develop core knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the industry. This includes developing a strong understanding of health, safety and environmental regulations, and how to apply these in the workplace.

Apprentices will also have the opportunity to specialise in one of the following eight areas:

• Civil engineer: Design, plan and implement high-speed rail civil engineering projects, which could include tunnels, cuttings, bridges, viaducts, or embankments.
• Track: Design, plan, construct, maintain, renew and repair railway tracks, with a focus on monitoring the environmental impact on the track.
• Systems engineer: Identify system interfaces, contribute to interface management and communicate effectively across multiple disciplines and levels.
• Command, control and communications: Contribute to the selection, design, installation, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of command, control and communications systems.
• Rolling stock: Design, service, inspect and diagnose faults in the rolling stock and associated vehicles.
• Power: Erect and direct the erection of different types of overhead line structures.
• Operations: Apply standard network code and operational code to manage timetabling and high-speed rail operations, ensuring efficiency.

• Civil engineer

If you would like to find out more about the high speed rail and infrastructure technician apprenticeship standard, skills, learnt, assessment methods and duties of the role, visit the Institute for Apprenticeships.