Thousands of apprenticeships to be made available to young aspiring train drivers
Lowering the train driver age to 18 will help future-proof the nation’s railways, support young people in fulfilling careers and boost growth across the country, the Department for Transport has said.
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Young people aged 18 to 20 are to benefit from thousands of job and apprenticeship opportunities by the end of this year.
They will be able to take up new careers as train drivers three years earlier to boost the number of drivers needed for reliable services and put more school and college leavers on track to step straight into work.
Thousands of jobs and apprenticeships will be made available to those aged between 18 and 20 as early as December 2025, offering skilled roles, valuable experience and long-term career opportunities while keeping the country moving and driving economic growth as part of the Government’s Plan for Change
The plans aim to prevent any future shortages of train drivers and ensure consistent, reliable services for passengers.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: "We’re taking bold action to improve train services and unlock thousands of jobs.
"We’re committed to getting the economy moving and a big part of that is getting young people into the workforce, putting them on track for a skilled and fulfilling career, which will boost growth across the country and help deliver our Plan for Change."
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson added: "By opening up this vital sector to more young people, we’re not only creating a pathway to high-skilled careers but also addressing the skills shortages that hold back our transport network and economic growth.”
It will also help build up the rail workforce, preventing delays and cancellations caused by driver shortages, which currently account for 87 per cent of cancellations made the night before a service runs.
The decision to lower the age aims to future-proof the railways, reducing the over reliance on rest day working by getting more people into the driving seat and ensuring a steady stream of drivers entering the industry.
The average train driver is 48-years-old and rising, the Government said, with 30 per cent due to reach retirement age by 2029. Bringing young people into skilled roles will bridge the gap, preventing any future driver shortages and ensuring consistent, reliable services for passengers.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, said: "ASLEF has been campaigning for many years for the lowering of the age at which drivers can start training.
"This decision – to allow people to leave school, or college, and join the railway in the driving grade at 18 rather than wait until they’re 20 – will increase diversity in the driver’s cab by encouraging more people from ethnic minority backgrounds, more LGBT+ people, and more women – as well as more young people – to drive trains on Britain’s railways.
"Because, at the moment, young people who want to become train drivers leave school or college at 18, get other jobs, and we miss out as an industry, as they don’t wait around until they turn 20 to find a career."
Several other countries have already successfully adopted a lower age limit, including the Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland, with other countries, including Japan, considering a change in law.
Transport for London also opened up its train driver apprenticeships to 18-year-olds to drive trains on the underground network in 2007.
