Student teams from the UK, Germany and Egypt are among those designing and building miniature locomotives for the IMechE’s (www.imeche.org) Railway Challenge 2018.

Launched in 2012, this annual competition requires teams to build a 101/4in-gauge locomotive to precisespecifications and complete a series of challenges at Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire.

This year, 11 teams are taking part, including last year’s winners (SNC Lavalin) and a team from Helwan University in Egypt. The competition finals will take place from 29 June to 1 July.

Simon Iwnicki, a professor at the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (and chairman of the Railway Challenge), said: “The railway industry is entering a period of rapid changes due to the global demand for producing efficient high-speed transport systems, taking freight off the roads, and reducing carbon emissions from transport.

"These challenges must be met by the next generation of railway engineers, and the Railway Challenge is giving teams of young engineers experience of designing and manufacturing a prototype vehicle to meet these demands.”