About Railway Challenge     

The Railway Challenge, organised by our Railway Division, provides a brilliant opportunity for aspiring teams to compete in yet another challenging industry-specific competition, showcasing their skills, expertise, knowledge, and business acumen.

Each annual Challenge cycle kicks-off in October, ending with a final event in late June/early July of the following year.

The Challenge, now in its thirteenth successive year, continues to bring together teams of university students, as well as apprentices and graduates working in industry across the world to test their business knowledge, design ability and technical skills in a live test environment.

Participants are required to design and manufacture a miniature (10¼” gauge) railway locomotive in accordance with a set of strict rules and a detailed technical specification. The locomotives will be tested live at the competition weekend, which takes place in June/July at Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire, where several categories of winners and an overall Railway Challenge champion will be crowned.

All teams are also asked to attend a site visit at Stapleford Miniature Railway for a Q&A session with the Railway Challenge volunteers and judges.

Railway Challenge Awards
A special awards scheme is now open to all registered teams of the Railway Challenge. The deadline for applications closes on 1 December 2023. Visit the team document library for more information on how to apply.

Find out more

• Why participate?
• Information for competing teams
• Key dates
• Become a partner or sponsor
• Find out about our past events