Hero photography · masonry viaductWhere railway civil engineers meet, learn and lead.
The association for everyone who designs, builds and looks after the railway’s bridges, tunnels, stations, track and earthworks — through site visits, evening meetings and an archive built by members.
A professional network built around the work itself.
Share what we know
Evening meetings and technical papers from practising engineers, recorded and archived for members.
Evening meetingsSee the work up close
Site visits to live projects — possessions, renewals and major schemes — in the UK and overseas.
Site visitsSpeak for the profession
From the Parliamentary Reception to mentoring the next generation, we make the case for railway civils.
Our missionJoin the engineers who keep the railway standing.
Membership starts free for students and apprentices. Apply online in about ten minutes; our membership secretary reviews every application personally.
- Site visits most people never get to see
Limited places on live worksites, reserved for members.
- A searchable technical library
Papers, slides and scanned archive going back decades.
- CPD that counts
Every event logged with CPD hours on your dashboard.
- Mentoring and a peer network
Young Professionals committee, careers nights and senior mentors.
Coming up
Renewing Victorian masonry arches: from assessment to intervention
Tunnel portal strengthening works
Earthworks resilience in a changing climate
Annual Parliamentary Reception
Latest from RCEA and the industry
Autumn and winter programme announced
Six evening meetings, two site visits and the Parliamentary Reception — plus a new online-first format for members outside London.
Young Professionals committee welcomes four new members
The committee will lead the careers night in January and launch a mentoring scheme in spring.
Industry skills review calls for more civil engineering apprenticeships
A summary of the recommendations and what they mean for employers of railway civil engineers.
Decades of railway civil engineering, searchable.
Technical papers, presentations, publications and the Association’s own history — some free to all, the full archive for members.
RCEA Annual Review 2025
Route to chartership: a guide for railway civils
Early in your career? Start here.
Careers nights, speed mentoring and a committee run by and for engineers in their first ten years.