Checked 27 October 2026. Requirements, steps and pay are from ScotRail's train driver careers page as captured on 28 February 2026. ScotRail had no driver vacancy open on 27 October 2026; check the next advert, which decides.
ScotRail recruits trainee drivers through adverts on its own vacancy site: after an application form, shortlisted candidates sit a psychometric assessment in Glasgow (possibly on two separate days), then a competency-based interview and a medical. Its careers page puts training pay at £36,032 a year, rising to £50,086 once qualified and £63,421 after the 3-year post-qualifying period.
Checked on 27 October 2026 against ScotRail's own train driver careers page (the Internet Archive capture of 28 February 2026), its vacancy site and RSSB's FAQ on the selection standard. ScotRail had no train driver vacancy open on 27 October 2026. 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.
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Before you read on: play level 1 of our concentration trainer, free
Three timed sheets of dot groups, 40 seconds each: mark every group of exactly four dots. At the end you see your accuracy, groups per minute, and missed and wrong marks counted apart.
Play level 1 freeIndependent practice by ProSyllabus. Not the official test, not a copy of it, and not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
Who can apply to ScotRail
ScotRail lists what it looks for under "What are we looking for?" (the last row is from its process section):
| Requirement | ScotRail's rule |
|---|---|
| Age | Over 21 years old, though you can start training at 20 (careers page, February 2026). The law has allowed a licence from 18 since 30 June 2026, so check the age in ScotRail's next advert. |
| Medical | Pass a safety critical medical examination, including eyesight, hearing and colour vision tests and drugs and alcohol screening. |
| Shifts | A flexible approach: shift and weekend working, across seven days. |
| Experience | Previous rail experience is not essential. It asks for experience in an equally responsible role where safety is paramount. |
| Qualities | A good communicator who listens actively; enthusiasm and the ability to stay focused; the ability to identify problems and viable solutions. |
| Car licence | Ideally, but not essentially, a current car driving licence. |
| Checks | Satisfactory references and Disclosure Scotland, then a six-month probation period. |
ScotRail's age rule after the 2026 law change
- ScotRail's careers page (as captured in February 2026) says you must be over 21, and can start training at 20.
- Since 30 June 2026 the law allows a train driving licence from 18 (S.I. 2026/461).
- ScotRail had no driver advert open on 27 October 2026, so check the age requirement in its next advert.
The legal rules are in our guide to becoming a train driver in the UK.
ScotRail says it actively encourages applications from groups under-represented among its drivers, such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and people from LGBTQ+ communities, and asks you to share any additional needs so it can run a fair process.
ScotRail's recruitment stages, in order
ScotRail's careers page sets out the process in this order. It receives a high volume of applications: if the ScotRail Recruitment Team has not invited you to the first assessment within 12 weeks of the closing date, it asks you to be patient, because it may still contact you later in the year.
Application form
Open only while there are live vacancies. Say why you want to drive, and your relevant experience, skills and knowledge against the advert.
Psychometric assessment
For shortlisted candidates, held in Glasgow, possibly on two separate occasions and at short notice.
Competency-based interview
To find out more about you and your suitability for the role.
Medical
Including drugs and alcohol screening.
References and probation
Satisfactory references and Disclosure Scotland, then a six-month probation period.
From ScotRail's "Interested in becoming a train driver?" page, as captured on 28 February 2026.
ScotRail says it recruits at various points during the year and keeps each advert open for at least two weeks. If you are offered a trainee driver role, it says it will work with you to start as soon as possible, subject to notice periods, disclosure checks and your circumstances.
The psychometric assessment in Glasgow
ScotRail does not name the tests on its page. RSSB's standard RIS-3751-TOM issue four applies to all new train driver candidates from 7 December 2024, and the company you apply to tells you which tests you must sit (RSSB says companies can still apply part testing). RSSB's FAQ lists the tests by what each assesses:
| What it assesses | Test (RSSB table 1) |
|---|---|
| Attention | Paper Group Bourdon and Test of Everyday Attention-Occupational (TEA-Occ) |
| Vigilance | WAFV vigilance test |
| Memory | TRP1: Trainability for Rules and Procedures test (part 1b) |
| Reasoning | TRP2: Trainability for Rules and Procedures test (part 2) |
| Perception | ATAVT: Adaptive Tachistoscopic Traffic Test |
| Reaction time | WAFV and ATAVT |
| Hand coordination | 2HAND: two hand coordination test |
| Communication | MMI: Multi-Modal interview |
| Behavioural aptitudes | SJE: Situational Judgement Exercise, and the MMI |
What each test asks of you, in brief
- Group Bourdon (paper, attention). RSSB lists the paper Group Bourdon under attention. No official source we read publishes its layout or timing. Our Group Bourdon practice guide.
- TEA-Occ (attention). The Test of Everyday Attention, occupational version. Our TEA-Occ guide.
- WAFV (vigilance, and reaction time with the ATAVT). The WAFV vigilance test, listed by RSSB under vigilance and reaction time.
- TRP 1 and 2 (memory and reasoning). Trainability for rules and procedures, in two parts.
- ATAVT (perception). The adaptive tachistoscopic traffic test.
- 2HAND (hand coordination). A two-hand coordination test.
- SJE and the multi-modal interview (behaviour, communication). RSSB supplies both.
Test names and what they assess are from RSSB's FAQ, table 1. Each test is explained in our guide to every train driver psychometric test.
ScotRail warns the assessment may take two separate days. Plan for that: a first day that goes well is not the end, and a second invitation can come at short notice. RSSB's FAQ says invited candidates are given approved practice materials at least a week before the assessment, and that the national database is checked as part of your application. The attempt limits and waiting times are in our guide to retakes and pass rates, and the order of a typical day in what happens on the assessment day.
One sample: the attention task, in our trainer's format
The Group Bourdon assesses attention. Our trainer practises the same ability with its own task: on each timed sheet, mark every group of exactly four dots and nothing else. Here is one worked example of eight groups, with the three outcomes the trainer counts:
Green frame: a correct mark. Dashed amber: a four you passed without marking (a missed group). Red frame: a mark on a group that is not four (a wrong mark).
Drawn from scratch by ProSyllabus for this guide, not copied or traced from any test or practice material. It shows the format of OUR trainer (find every group of exactly four dots), not a Group Bourdon sheet: no official source we read publishes that layout.
This was one example of eight groups
A full trainer sheet has 48 to 126 groups, against the clock
Level 1 is three timed sheets, free with no sign-in. You see your accuracy, groups per minute, and missed and wrong marks counted apart. Independent practice of the same ability, not the Group Bourdon itself.
Play level 1 freeIndependent practice by ProSyllabus. Not the official test, not a copy of it, and not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
The ScotRail interview
ScotRail calls its interview competency-based, designed to find out more about you and assess your suitability for the role. It is the next stage after the psychometric assessment. In a competency-based interview you can expect to be asked for examples from your own experience (our explanation of the format, not ScotRail's words).
Our advice for a ScotRail interview
- Go back to ScotRail's list of qualities: safety in a responsible role, communication and active listening, staying focused, and finding viable solutions. Prepare one real example for each.
- Expect questions on rules: ScotRail asks for "a healthy respect for the rules" and punctual, reliable service.
- Be ready to explain how you will manage seven-day shift work, because ScotRail says the job is not a 9 to 5.
- ScotRail's own tip: research the role before applying, and check your application for errors.
ProSyllabus advice, from the qualities on ScotRail's page. The question types assessors use, with one worked STAR answer, are in our train driver interview questions guide.
Training at ScotRail
ScotRail describes the Driver Training Programme like this:
| Part | What ScotRail says |
|---|---|
| Length | A training programme that could last between 18 and 24 months; its pay section says the programme can last up to 24 months. |
| Content | Practical training, classroom learning and training in ScotRail's new train simulators. |
| After qualifying | Continuing learning through continuous professional development. |
ScotRail trainee train driver pay
ScotRail publishes every step on its careers page (as captured in February 2026), from training to the full salary:
Annual salary as stated on ScotRail's "Interested in becoming a train driver?" page; Internet Archive capture of 28 February 2026. The full-time salary after the post-qualifying period is £63,421.
The benefits ScotRail lists are a contributory final salary pension scheme, free and reduced-rate rail travel for you and your family, a generous holiday allowance, maternity and paternity pay, and its Hapi benefits package with access to HealthShield services. Pay changes over time, so check the figures in the next advert.
Where ScotRail recruits, and when
ScotRail recruits through adverts on its own vacancy site, apply.scotrail.co.uk. On 27 October 2026 it listed two vacancies, both Train Presentation roles, and no train driver role. Its careers page does not list depots, so check the location in each advert.
Our advice while no ScotRail advert is open
- Use the Register Interest page on ScotRail's vacancy site to set up job alerts, so you see the next driver advert within its two-week window.
- Draft your application now: why you want to drive, and examples of safety, rules and reliability from your own work.
- Start attention practice before the advert opens. If you have not heard within 12 weeks of the closing date, ScotRail may still contact you later in the year.
- Attempts at the psychometrics are limited and results count across companies, so sit them only when you are ready.
ProSyllabus advice, based on ScotRail's careers page and RSSB's FAQ.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a ScotRail trainee train driver earn?
ScotRail's careers page (captured February 2026) gives £36,032 a year during training, £50,086 when newly qualified, £53,493 six months after qualifying, £57,451 nine months after, and £63,421 after the 3-year post-qualifying period.
How old do you have to be to be a ScotRail train driver?
ScotRail's careers page, as captured in February 2026, says you must be over 21, and can start training at 20. The legal minimum for a licence fell to 18 on 30 June 2026, so check the age in ScotRail's next advert.
Where is the ScotRail train driver assessment?
ScotRail says shortlisted candidates attend a psychometric assessment in Glasgow, which could be on two separate occasions and at short notice. A competency-based interview follows.
How long is ScotRail's train driver training?
ScotRail says its programme could last between 18 and 24 months, with practical training, classroom learning and simulator training. You are paid £36,032 a year during it.
Is ScotRail recruiting trainee train drivers now?
No train driver vacancy was listed on ScotRail's vacancy site on 27 October 2026. ScotRail says it recruits at various points in the year and keeps adverts open for at least two weeks, so set up an alert on its Register Interest page.
The concentration trainer
Practise attention before your ScotRail assessment
- Level 1 free with no sign-in; levels 2 to 10 unlock with one payment, no subscription.
- From 48 to 126 groups a sheet, three to six sheets a run, 40 to 50 seconds a sheet.
- Freshly generated sheets for every run, so you are not repeating a sheet you have learned.
- Accuracy, groups per minute, missed and wrong marks by sheet and by row, and your first half against your second half.
The price is on the trainer page.
Start with level 1 freeIndependent practice by ProSyllabus. Not the official test, not a copy of it, and not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
Other train companies: Northern, GWR and Avanti West Coast. More guides on this assessment are on the UK train driver exam page.
More in this series
- Group Bourdon test practice: free sheets and a 14-day plan
- The TEA-Occ test: what it is and how to prepare
- Every UK train driver psychometric test explained
- Free practice tests compared
- How to pass the Group Bourdon
- Pass rate and retake rules
- The assessment day, step by step
- Group Bourdon pass mark and scoring
- ADHD, dyslexia and the medical
- How to become a train driver in the UK
- Train driver interview questions: the MMI, the DMI and STAR
- Northern trainee train driver
- Train driver fault finding test (DFFT)
- How to become a Tube driver
- GWR trainee train driver
- Avanti West Coast trainee train driver
- LNER trainee train driver
- Southeastern trainee train driver
Sources
- official — ScotRail: "Interested in becoming a train driver?" careers page (Internet Archive capture of 28 February 2026; read 27 Oct 2026): requirements, application process, training, salary and benefits, Q&A
- official — ScotRail Search & Apply, all current vacancies (read 27 Oct 2026): two Train Presentation vacancies and no train driver vacancy
- official — The Train Driving Licences and Certificates (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/461), in force 30 June 2026 (legislation.gov.uk; read 27 Oct 2026): minimum licence age 20 to 18
- official — RSSB and the Rail Assessment Centre Forum: 3751-FAQ, issue one, on RIS-3751-TOM issue four "Psychometric Assessment in Train Driver Selection" (read 27 Oct 2026): the tests, attempts, practice materials, the national database
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
