THE country's first rail academy is to open in York.

The city will become a centre of excellence for training and education in the rail industry when the new Yorkshire Rail Academy opens in September this year.

Developed jointly by York College and the National Railway Museum, with £1.25m funding from Yorkshire Forward and the Learning and Skills Council, it will be housed in a building next to the museum.

The academy will include York College's centre of vocational excellence for railway and signalling engineering.

Yorkshire Forward is contributing more than £750,000 towards the cost of the academy as part of its investment in the advanced engineering and metals cluster, to ensure people have the right skills and training for the jobs available within the rail industry.