FIRMS offering expert recruits to the railway industry are flocking to York.

Huge multi-million pound demands on York-based Railtrack to improve the nation's rail infrastructure have created a skills gap which recruitment firms are eager to fill.

The latest to move into the railway city is engineering management company Captiva Rail Group Ltd.

The firm, based at Letchworth, Hertfordshire, announced today that it has set up a York outpost in Tower House with the help of York Inward Investment Board.

Armed with about 50 experts in disciplines ranging from site safety controllers to signal installers and engineers, Captiva can also generate supply through its own signalling training school in Milton Keynes.

The group intends opening a similar training school in York, said Andrew Tibbett, commercial manager, who starts the York outpost with Ken Burnley, a quality and safety manager, and Allan White, operations manager.

"Captiva is approved by Rail Training Audit Services Ltd, and our intention in York is to establish a signal training school as soon as is practicable, as well as providing labour and management resources, and the undertaking of signal contracting works," he said.

As announced in the Evening Press last Thursday, technical recruitment firm Technology Resourcing, of Guildford, Surrey, has also set up its railway divisional arm in York, in Tower Court, Oakdale Road, Clifton Moor.

Its management was encouraged by the sustained demand for experienced railway engineers from York-based clients, including Railtrack, Jarvis Rail and WS Atkins.

Captiva, already approved as a "Railtrack Link-up" company, has been welcomed by Dave Taylor, marketing director of York Inward Investment.

He said: "There is a wealth of in-depth rail-related skills here in York, and I'm sure Captiva will find a host of quality skilled workers on their doorstep."

Nigel Rees, managing director of Captiva Rail Group, said: "This is part of our planned expansion. We're well-established in the south of England and more recently, Northern Ireland.

"We want to foster relationships with our existing clients in the North, as inevitably customers generally prefer to deal with local organisations and we respect that. York, a major rail centre, was the natural choice."

Updated: 11:25 Tuesday, March 26, 2002