How to Become a Tube Driver in 2026: The Real Route, Tests and Pay

To become a Tube driver, the route TfL names is to get another job at Transport for London first, as a station Customer Service Assistant, then apply for promotion to Train Operator, because TfL says it rarely advertises Train Operator jobs externally. Selection includes tests TfL names, the Group Bourdon concentration test among them, and TfL puts a full-time Train Operator's salary at £76,228.

Checked on 27 October 2026 against TfL's own Freedom of Information replies, its Train Operator job description and person specification, and its careers 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 Transport for London or any train company, and nothing here is official test material.

London Underground calls its drivers Train Operators, so that is the job title to look for. This guide is about the Tube only. Mainline train companies recruit in a different way, with different rules: see how to become a train driver in the UK.

In July 2024 someone asked TfL, under the Freedom of Information Act, what it takes to become a London Underground driver and where to apply. TfL's reply, published on 29 July 2024, is the clearest official statement of the route:

"We rarely advertise externally to recruit Train Operators. However, an avenue to become a Train Operator is via a Customer Services Assistant role (CSA) – there is currently a live advert on our TfL website – candidates generally undertake this role and subsequently apply for promotion to a Train operator after a certain period of time in the CSA role."
TfL, FOI reply FOI-1265-2425, 29 July 2024

The National Careers Service says the same in general terms: you could start as a rail passenger assistant, train conductor or revenues officer, then apply for a trainee driver post once you have built up experience, and this is also a way to become a London Underground driver with Transport for London.

What TfL's reply does not say matters too. It gives no fixed length for "a certain period of time" in the CSA role, and it does not promise that every CSA who applies becomes a driver. Treat the CSA job as a job you would be content to do for a while, not as a waiting room.

TfL has said in two FOI replies that it does not recruit Train Operators from outside as a matter of course. In October 2020, asked whether it would run further Train Operator recruitment externally, it replied: "At such time as there is a requirement to recruit drivers, we may advertise externally." In July 2024 it said it rarely does.

For scale, the same 2020 reply counted 3,847 qualified Train Operators across London Underground's depots. TfL's 2024 reply said its CSA advert was live on the TfL website. Our advice: watch the TfL website for live adverts, and set up any job alerts it offers, for both Train Operator and Customer Service Assistant roles.

The legal rules for train drivers in Great Britain, including the minimum licence age of 18 in force since 30 June 2026 (S.I. 2026/461), are for the mainline railway. The Department for Transport says those licensing regulations exclude tramways, metros and heritage railways. We read that as excluding the Tube, a metro, so for the Tube TfL's own criteria are what count; ask TfL if your case turns on it. Here is what its documents say:

The sources we read do not set out the criteria for the Customer Service Assistant job itself: read the live TfL advert before you apply.

TfL released its Train Operator job description and person specification (version 8) in October 2019, in reply to a request for London Underground operations job specifications. The person specification lists each skill it wants and how it assesses it:

TfL's document names the tests but does not describe them, and it is dated 2019, so a current campaign may differ. Two points are still useful. First, concentration is assessed with a test TfL calls the Group Bourdon Test, and the mainline standard also names the Group Bourdon, for attention. TfL's document does not say whether its version is the same format. Second, fault-finding sits beside it, assessed with a test and in the final interview.

On the mainline, train companies use the standardised psychometric tests in RSSB's RIS-3751-TOM, which are wider than TfL's list:

So both lists name a Group Bourdon test, although the sources do not show that the TfL and mainline formats are the same. No official source we read publishes its layout or timing. How the mainline version is marked and practised is in our Group Bourdon practice guide, and every mainline test is explained in our guide to the train driver psychometric tests.

TfL's person specification assesses five behaviours at interview: safety and security orientation, customer and commercial orientation, communication skills, teamwork and equality awareness. It also asks you to describe previous safety and security responsibilities and how you met them, and previous experience of working conscientiously to meet training course demands. Prepare a true example for each, from your CSA work or an earlier job. That last advice is ours.

The job description lists "Successful completion of the Direct Recruitment of Train Operators Training Course" among the knowledge and skills a Train Operator needs, alongside a thorough knowledge of the rules and regulations for train operation. The TfL documents we read do not give the course length, so we do not quote one.

The training prepares you for the job the description sets out: driving and operating trains as rostered, in line with rules and procedures; carrying out safety and emergency procedures; identifying and, where possible, rectifying train defects; giving customers information about delays and emergencies; communicating with line controllers, signal operators, maintenance and station staff; safety checks before entering service; and safely disposing of the train at the end of service.

TfL publishes Underground salaries in its FOI replies. The most recent we found, published on 28 August 2026, gives these salaries:

Source: TfL FOI reply FOI-1554-2627. It notes changes to the CSA1 and CSA2 figures from April 2026. A year earlier, as of 31 March 2025, TfL gave £71,160 for a Train Operator, £44,140 for CSA1 and £35,270 for CSA2 (FOI-3742-2526).

Three things to keep in mind. These are salaries for the grade; none of the replies we read covers overtime, so we do not estimate it. TfL says trainees' figures differ and does not give them in these replies, so do not expect £76,228 from day one. And if you start as a CSA, the CSA salary is what you earn until you are promoted.

TfL's general careers page lists benefits you could receive, including: free travel on the TfL network for you and a household member, plus 75% reimbursement for National Rail travel; a final salary pension, or a defined contribution scheme for fixed-term contracts; at least 29 days of annual leave plus 8 extra days; and enhanced maternity and paternity leave.

The tests and behaviours in this plan are from TfL's person specification; the order, the timing and the practice advice are ProSyllabus advice. For what a mainline assessment day looks like, read what happens on the train driver assessment day.

Our guides on train driver selection are collected on the UK train driver exam page. For the mainline route, read how to become a train driver in the UK, and for the concentration test itself, how to pass the Group Bourdon test.