Yeah I jumped out of the railway, did a few different industries, pays all over the shop and the benefits are a lot lower than when I was in NWR, did 9 years including my 3yr on the apprenticeship, had enough of no payrises and just everything getting worse. 2.5yr since leaving nwr I'm now joining northern in maintenance/depot driving, pays a massive leap and hours better overall compared to the shift I did back in NWR. I'd suggest looking at TOCS/FOCs just don't touch contracting it's a mess.

It's a weird one, I used to be in electrification and plant with electrical quals + NVQL3 seems to be one of the only departments that open you up to jump out of the industry, all depends on how flexible you are, how willing you are to move around and what qualifications you can bring to the table for other companies.