Rail & Transport Recruitment Agency

Sentinel is the UK rail industry's workforce competence management system, used to record, audit and verify the certifications held by every individual working on or near the track. Sentinel holds PTS, COSS, IWA, SWL and other safety-critical credentials, plus medicals and drug-and-alcohol clearance. Employers and principal contractors check Sentinel before deploying workers, and every rail contractor recruiter should too.

CP7 is Network Rail's 2024 to 2029 funding and delivery period, covering the majority of UK rail infrastructure renewals, enhancements and operations outside HS2. CP7 frameworks drive hiring patterns across signalling, permanent way, OLE, civils and station works. Understanding which CP7 framework a role sits inside tells you who the likely candidates are, what procurement route the job runs on, and how to position the brief.

IRSE (Institution of Railway Signal Engineers) is the professional body for signalling and telecoms engineers. Its licensing scheme is the industry benchmark for signalling competence, with category licences covering design, installation, testing and maintenance at different levels. Senior signalling hires almost always reference specific IRSE licence categories, and we screen for the right categories before shortlisting.

S&T (signalling and telecoms) covers the control, protection and communications systems that govern train movement, including traditional signalling, ETCS digital signalling and telecoms. PWay covers the track itself, including rails, sleepers, ballast, switches and crossings, geometry and tamping. The disciplines share the rail context but the engineering is different, the competence regimes are different, and the candidate pools are mostly distinct. We recruit both as specialist desks.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is the UK rail industry's cross-industry body responsible for safety standards, research and the Rail Group Standards that operators and infrastructure managers work to. RSSB is not an employer or recruiter, but its standards underpin the competence and safety expectations baked into every rail hire.

We do not. Train-driver recruitment is run directly by the train operating companies (TOCs), including LNER, GWR, Northern, Avanti and others, often via their own careers sites. We recruit the rail infrastructure professionals who design, deliver and maintain the network itself, rather than the operational train crew who work on it.

Yes, across both HS2 Ltd and the main works civils contractors (MWCC), systems integrators and stations contractors delivering the programme. HS2 interfaces with the wider UK rail infrastructure market (OLE, signalling, civils, rolling stock), so our rail desk is active across the programme and the surrounding supply chain.

Broad 2026 ranges. Design Signalling Engineer 55 to 75 thousand. Senior Signalling Engineer 75 to 100. Track Engineer 50 to 70. Senior PWay Designer 70 to 95. OLE Design Engineer 55 to 80. Senior OLE Engineer 75 to 100. Rail Project Manager 65 to 90. Senior Rail PM 85 to 115. Rail Programme Director 110 to 160. Day rates for contract roles typically run 400 to 800, with signalling and OLE specialists at the upper end. London and HS2 premium applies on many roles.

Yes, across all three. Permanent placements for long-term framework work and asset-owner hiring. Contract and day-rate cover for renewal campaigns, possession-specific work and project mobilisations. Interim programme and commercial cover for senior gaps and turnarounds.

Ninety-four per cent of our rail placements remain in post at twelve months. Safety-critical sectors reward rigorous matching and penalise shortcut hiring. Our process is built around that reality.

Yes. Scotland (Transport Scotland and Network Rail Scotland), Wales (Transport for Wales and Network Rail Wales & Western), Northern Ireland (Translink), and London (TfL, Crossrail legacy, DLR) each have distinct frameworks, contractor landscapes and candidate networks. We track each.