South Western Railway is committed to equal opportunities employment, and your application will be reviewed by the hiring panel with personal information removed. In order to assist this process please ensure that any attachments such as CV's or covering letter have personal details removed (this includes your name, address and email address). Any other attachments such as professional qualifications can be left unedited. Applications not following this guidance may be rejected.

South Western Railway is currently benefiting from substantial investment in additional rolling stock and infrastructure enhancements which will enable it to deliver new and significantly enhanced service patterns across the network. Working collaboratively with Network Rail it is committed to ensuring necessary access is available to facilitate maintenance and renewal of the current infrastructure which is so vital to delivering a robust train service. SWR is also home to many major events requiring additional capacity to be provided. All of this combine to cause substantial and frequent changes to be made to our timetables and their associated rolling stock and traincrew diagrams.

At the centre of railway operations are train planners preparing operational timetables; planning for rolling stock and train-crews; and solving problems presented by engineering works and special events.

There are now future opportunities to join our training programme where you will be able to become skilled in timetabling, rolling stock and traincrew planning, amending services to cope with both major engineering work as well as special events whilst providing the quality of service our customers expect. These are challenging roles calling for problem solvers who have a keen interest in railway operations and the ability to think laterally.

The decisions made by train planners impact on all areas of the business including safety, efficiency, operational performance and customer experience. Accordingly, in addition to gaining core train planning skills, practitioners need to understand the context within which their planning activity takes place appreciating the roles and responsibilities of those with who they interface as well as industry structures and processes. To enable this, you will be supported through a structured development programme whilst encouraged to gain relevant industry professional qualifications/professional membership.

Main Purpose

• To assist in providing the Train Planning team with support and enhanced resource in the compilation and documentation of efficient and effective train service and associated resource short term plans.
• To gain experience and acquire skills and knowledge in all technical aspects of the train planning process; its associated techniques and systems.
• To gain a working appreciation of how the technical skills of train planning and the plans they generate influence operations, performance, customer service, resourcing, commercial and other business requirements.

Shift Pattern

Average of 37 hours per week; typically, Monday to Friday office hours.

Minimum requirements

• Highly organised and analytical
• Excellent planning skills
• Ability to cope under pressure
• Excellent attention to detail
• Excellent problem solving skills

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits including free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employee, free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependant), 75% discount on many other train operating companies, a range of retail benefits and an excellent pension scheme.

Please note applicants who require a visa, must have at least 6 months remaining at the time of their appointment.

At SWR we believe our people are our greatest asset.

Our vision is to recruit and retain the best talent from the most diverse pool of candidates across our regions.

We are committed to establishing a sense of inclusion for all and to value each person for the unique contribution they bring.