BRITAIN'S first Rail Academy, which opened in York a decade ago, is to close down next summer.

The Yorkshire Rail Academy, based next to the National Railway Museum in Leeman Road, was launched as a partnership between York College and the museum.

It had funding from Yorkshire Forward and the Learning and Skills Council and was viewed as a boost to the city's reputation as a centre of railway expertise.

As recently as March last year, it appeared to be thriving, as college principal Dr Alison Birkinshaw and 'apprenticeship ambassador' Cllr Julie Gunnell were shown what the work of railway engineering apprentices at the academy entailed.

But a museum spokeswoman said yesterday that its activities had centred on training rail engineering apprentices with a third partner, Vital Rail, which had gone out of business, and the last apprentices with the organisation finished their training earlier this year.

"Given the changing face of rail engineering training, the National Railway Museum and York College have decided not to attempt to launch a new apprenticeship scheme in the YRA at this time and are currently discussing how best to work together in the future.

"The National Railway Museum remains committed to education and is looking to grow the 40,000 booked educational sessions it hosts each year.” She added that the academy would close next August.

A York College spokesperson said it remained committed to working with rail engineering companies to ensure the education and training on offer met their needs, both now and in the future.

"We also remain committed to partnership working, both with the NRM and the rail industry, but we believe different models of training, especially in the age of technology, will be needed to meet the changing needs of the sector."

News of the closure comes just weeks after it was announced that a new National Academy for Rail Professional Education was to be launched, with bases in York, Derby and London, as part of the new franchise for the East Coast Mainline won by a consortium of Virgin and Stagecoach.

A campaign to bring a national railway college for the HS2 project to York ended in failure in October when Doncaster was chosen to co-host it.