Railway apprentices at the Railworld Wildlife Haven were greeted with a royal visit in Peterborough as HRH Duke of Gloucester met volunteers, children, trainers and apprentices at the site.
Regular stream trains operate over the historic line from Nene Valley Railway to Peterborough, along an 8 mile stretch of track. The railway has impressively featured in many television series such as London’s Burning and stunts in the James Bond films Octopussy and Goldeneye.
PTS Training, who operate apprenticeship schemes around the UK, have several apprentices gaining work-based training and real-world experiences of a working railway line. The apprentices learn in classroom environments and on the track before they go on to live tracks along the country’s rail network.
Ricky Brotherton is currently training 14 apprentices from PTS Training Academy on practical trackwork.
Ricky said: “Our team of apprentices were truly honored to have been paid a visit by HRH Duke of Gloucester. They are a dedicated group of individuals and they were proud to be able to show the Duke their hard work.
“Being able to meet the Duke is something that our apprentices are never going to forget and we’d like to thank him for taking the time to visit us.”
David Lyall, Head of Operations at PTS said: “The feedback from the team has been fantastic. The visit from the Duke has created a real excitement among our team and has shown that a career in the rail world is important.
“We hope that the Dukes visit will encourage other young people to get involved in the rail industry and to see that it is an exciting and enjoyable career path”
HRH Duke of Gloucester, who is cousin to Queen Elizabeth, is also the patron of the Nene Valley Railway and the Severn Valley, so has a great interest of the train network. He enjoyed a trip from Orton Mere down through to the Peterborough Nene Valley station – the same stretch of track that the PTS apprentices learn their skills on.
This railway is also home to Thomas the Tank Engine and many Thomas events are held throughout the year for the little ones.
Brian Pearce MBE, 71-year-old volunteer and Railworld Wildlife Haven Founder said: “I had my worries in the morning about the weather, as we’d been experiencing high winds. But on the day everything came together and I was so relieved that the day was a huge success.
“I was lucky enough to be able to escort the Duke along a route where we met children, apprentices and fellow volunteers. The day was amazing – one that I’ll never forget.”
For more information about apprenticeships in the railway industry visit PTS Training academy: https://ptstrainingacademy.com/
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