How to Become a Train Driver in the UK (2026): Requirements, Tests and Pay

To become a train driver in the UK, you apply to a train company for a trainee driver job; none of the routes the National Careers Service lists starts with a course you pay for. The company selects you through an application, psychometric tests (the Group Bourdon concentration test among them), interviews and a medical, then pays you while it trains you, usually for 9 to 18 months. Since 30 June 2026 the law allows a licence from age 18, not 20.

Checked on 27 October 2026 against the licensing regulations as amended in 2026, the Department for Transport's explanatory memorandum, RSSB's FAQ on the selection standard, the National Careers Service and the train companies' own pages. Our own advice is labelled as ours. ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of RSSB, the Office of Rail and Road, The OPC or any train company, and nothing here is official test material.

This guide covers the mainline railway in Great Britain: passenger and freight train companies. The licensing regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland, and the Department for Transport says they exclude tramways, metros and heritage railways, which recruit in their own way.

The broad stages are similar across companies, but their order and what each company adds are not: Northern, for example, interviews before the psychometric tests. RSSB says the application process varies by company, that most ask for an application form first, and that some add tests or activities of their own to the standard set. Two facts shape your plan before anything else: vacancies open from time to time, so the National Careers Service suggests signing up for train companies' job alerts, and most companies only take people who live near one of their depots.

A train driver in Great Britain needs two documents: a train driving licence, issued by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and owned by you, and a train driving certificate, issued and owned by the company that employs you, for the trains and routes you drive. The law sets the conditions for each; companies then set their own entry criteria on top.

The Department for Transport's explanatory memorandum gives the reasons. The average train driver in Great Britain is 47, only 3.1% are under 30, and the industry projects that 25% will reach retirement age by 2030. RSSB research published in February 2024 found no clear evidence that drivers aged 18 or 19 pose a higher safety risk than older drivers, given the same training, assessment and supervision. Most school leavers, the memorandum says, have chosen another path by 20, so the old limit kept them out.

The memorandum is also clear about what did not change: every other legal condition for a licence stays the same, and employers can still set their own selection criteria, within the Equality Act 2010. In the public consultation, 52% of respondents opposed the change and 48% supported it; the unions ASLEF and TSSA, the Rail Delivery Group, Network Rail and RSSB were among those in favour.

If you are still at school, The Train Drivers Academy says some companies accept applications from under-18s, that you need to be at least 17 years and 6 months to begin a Level 3 Train Driver Apprenticeship, and that most people will not start training until around 17 years and 9 months or 18, depending on the company.

RSSB's Rail Industry Standard RIS-3751-TOM issue four sets out a standardised psychometric assessment process for train driver selection, and each company wraps its own stages around it. Here are three companies' published processes side by side:

Sources: Avanti's recruitment page (last updated 23 January 2025), Northern's train driver page, and Southeastern's advert and general recruitment process page. Stages change between campaigns, so the company's current advert is what counts.

The psychometric assessment is where most of the preparation goes. RSSB lists the tests by what each assesses: attention is first, with two paper tests, the Group Bourdon and TEA-Occ. No official source we read publishes the Group Bourdon's layout or timing; the train company sends approved practice materials at least a week before your assessment, and those show you what to expect. Each test is explained in our guide to every train driver psychometric test, and the order of the day in what happens on the assessment day.

Four rules from RSSB's FAQ are worth knowing before you apply anywhere:

The attempt rules, a date checker and a 12-month plan are in our guide to train driver retakes and pass rates.

Schedule 1 of the regulations sets the medical requirements. A driver must not have a condition, or take medication, drugs or substances, likely to cause a sudden loss of consciousness, a reduction in attention or concentration, sudden incapacity, a loss of balance or coordination, or significant limitation of mobility. The vision rules include distance visual acuity (aided or unaided) of 1.0, with at least 0.5 in the worse eye, normal colour vision tested with a recognised test such as Ishihara, and a full field of vision; hearing is confirmed by an audiogram. The examination before appointment includes tests for illicit drugs, psychotropic medication and alcohol abuse.

The medical recurs: at least every three years up to the age of 55, then every year. If you have a condition such as ADHD or dyslexia, read our guide to the rules and adjustments for ADHD and dyslexia before you apply.

You are paid while you train, and the employer funds the training, The Train Drivers Academy says. How long it lasts depends on the company, its routes and its trains:

The law shapes what training covers. The general professional knowledge in Schedule 3 includes rail safety rules, signalling and train control systems, infrastructure, operational communication and the types of train and their systems. The certificate then needs examinations on the employer's own rolling stock and routes, including route knowledge and operating rules, with both theory and practical driving tests on the infrastructure; simulators may be used for particularly difficult situations. While training, you may drive only with an authorised driver accompanying and supervising you in the cab.

Once qualified, the Department for Transport says a licence is valid for 10 years, provided you keep meeting its conditions. The certificate stays with your employer: it is owned by the company that issues it.

Pay depends on the company, the location and the type of service, The Train Drivers Academy says. Its published ranges are below, then the one complete pay ladder we found in a company advert:

Shifts come with the pay. Southeastern's advert describes rosters based on a 35-hour week, normally a week of early shifts followed by a week of lates, and Northern asks drivers to work from the early hours to late at night, at weekends and on bank holidays, and to reach work without relying on public transport.

The rules in each row are from the sources named; the timing, the interview examples and the short daily sessions are ProSyllabus advice. A 14-day practice plan for the attention tests is in our Group Bourdon practice guide.

Our guides on this assessment are collected on the UK train driver exam page.