First AI engineering apprentices join Britain's railway

The first cohort of Artificial Intelligence Engineering Apprentices has joined Britain's railway. Twenty apprentices started on 22 September 2026, forming two cohorts based in York and London.

The apprentices will combine specialist learning with hands-on experience, building the skills needed to support the safe and responsible adoption of AI across the rail industry.

Key facts

• Apprentices: 20, in two cohorts
• Start date: 22 September 2026
• Locations: York and London
• Placements: spread across the railway industry, coordinated through the AI Incubator Accelerator (AIIA)
• Led by: GBRX, the strategic technology and innovation body for Great British Railways

Why the scheme was set up

The long-term, industry-wide scheme comes six months after GBRX published Artificial Intelligence in Rail: The Industry Action Plan. The plan identified capability as a key constraint on AI adoption in rail.

Since the plan was published, GBRX has also:

• Set clear priorities for where AI can have the greatest impact across rail
• Set up the AI Incubator Accelerator (AIIA) to connect expertise and deliver the plan across the industry

Placements are spread across the industry so that skills are built inside individual organisations while also strengthening capability across the sector.

What they said

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said: "We're investing in the future talent and expertise that will bring the rail network into the 21st century. These AI apprenticeships, alongside the new GBR rail foundation apprenticeships, mark the start of a new era for the sector as we work to set up Great British Railways, one where cutting-edge technology and skilled people work hand in hand to transform how our railway runs."

Toufic Machnouk, Managing Director of GBRX, said: "A plan on paper will not deliver our ambition, capability is the constraint and the action we are taking responds to that. We launched the AI apprenticeship programme to create sustainable skills for the future bringing together a unique blend of expertise in both AI and rail."

AI apprentice Kirsty Duenas said: "I'm so excited that the AI scheme has given me the opportunity to learn about and see how AI is used in ways I didn't even think of."

Richard Turner, Network Rail's Head of Apprenticeships, said the programme "will create valuable capability and open up exciting career opportunities for young people."

Part of a wider push on rail skills

The programme supports the government's wider drive to strengthen the rail skills pipeline. The Department for Transport recently announced that up to 600 young people aged 16 to 21 will join a new Great British Railways rail foundation apprenticeship over the next four years, with the first cohort based in Derby. Skills England has since approved the Rail Foundation Apprenticeship (FA0010) for delivery.

Network Rail alone has welcomed around 300 apprentices this year across engineering, business, IT and finance, and was ranked fourth in the Department for Education's Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers for 2026.

What this means for the industry

Building AI skills inside rail organisations matters as much as the technology itself. Safe adoption depends on people who understand both how AI works and how the railway runs. RCG holds ISO/IEC 42001 certification for AI management, and we will follow how the scheme develops.

Read the full announcement on the Network Rail Media Centre. To find out about RCG's independent end-point assessment, visit our apprenticeship assessment page.