Teen's anti-rat device could save railways millions

Most teenagers hope to leave college with good grades and friends for life.

But enterprising engineering student Jackson Hall will finish his studies at York College having invented a device that could save the rail industry millions of pounds.

Jackson was on a work placement with AGH Engineering, a design consultancy in the city, when he came up with an idea for a screen to stop rats and other animals chewing through electric cables.

Ageing signal boxes on the rail network often suffer from the problem, leading to power failures and delays to trains.

Network Rail has now installed his polycarbonate screen at two signal boxes in the Leeds area, and there are plans for the technology to be used in 63 others.

Jackson has also been offered a job with AGH when he finishes his manufacturing and engineering T-Level course - with the firm's principal engineer Adam Wood praising his "impressive" invention.

Jackson said: "It's nice to know that something that I've done has genuinely been invested in."

Explaining how he solved the problem, he added: "Before, if just one of the boxes was damaged it was creating a short circuit that would stop trains being able to run on miles and miles of track.

"They have to get decommissioned and rebuilt, which is more money and time."

AGH works with partners in the industry including Network Rail, and Wood cited a recent power failure at Leeds Station that had cost more than £1m in repairs and delay compensation.

Wood added that he hoped the product would eventually be rolled out nationwide.

"Sometimes, a simple idea can become a very efficient way of saving delay minutes, which is obviously great for Network Rail and cost-saving.

"But there's also a wider impact to passengers and rail operators and, when you start looking at the knock-on effect, the numbers clearly increase exponentially.

"For Jackson to deliver something that has future-proofed and negated an issue has enhanced the confidence the client has in our company.

"It's all come from his ideas and thought process, which is impressive for a student coming to us at the age of 17."

Next summer Jackson will start his new role as a design technician, and AGH will also fund a Higher National Diploma (HND) qualification.

His family and friends were "buzzing" about his achievement, Jackson said.

"It's really hard to get jobs at my age, so it was very lucky I'd been given the opportunity to show someone who can give me a job what I can do.

"It feels pretty good that they trusted me to create the product, and it's given me a bit more confidence in my ability."

AGH have now been asked by Network Rail to quote for the installation of Jackson's screen at 65 signal boxes.

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