Teams of undergraduate students, industry apprentices and young professionals from the UK and overseas will compete in a new track-based challenge as part of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Railway Challenge (www.imeche.org) at Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire; and this year will see the introduction of a new ‘auto-stop function’ element to the competition, with the teams having to make their locomotive stop automatically as close as possible to a marked point on the track. They will also be required to produce a technical poster, showing how the principal systems of their locomotive work.

The competition, which was launched in 2012, requires participants to design and manufacture a miniature-gauge railway loco-motive, which will be tested at the competition weekend this summer in a series of challenges. These challenges include a design report and a business presentation, as well as track-based tests on the locomotive’s traction, ride comfort, noise, maintainability and ability to store energy. The Railway Challenge organisers will also be hosting a STEM Day at the competition; local schools will be invited to take part in activities run by a group of STEM Ambassadors.

Railway Challenge chairman Simon Iwnicki said: “Introducing an auto-stop element to the competition will encourage the next generation of engineers to understand the importance of railway safety. This new part of the competition will give early-career engineers the experience of designing, building and operating a locomotive that can help to prevent accidents.”

The confirmed teams taking part in the Railway Challenge 2019 are: University of Huddersfield, University of Warwick, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences & Reuschling, Transport for London, Brunel University London, Helwan University, Ricardo Rail, University of Sheffield, Bombardier Transportation and University of Derby, SNC-Lavalin and Transit, Newcastle University, South Western Railway/CEMAST, Poznan University of Technology, and Network Rail.