Jessica O'ConnorYoung people will be able to take up new careers as train drivers three years earlier, in a bid to boost the number of drivers needed for reliable services and provide more employment opportunity for school leavers.
The Government announced that thousands of jobs and apprenticeships will be made available to those between 18 and 20 years old as early as December 2025, offering experience and long-term career opportunities.
The move also aims to help build up the rail workforce, preventing delays and cancellations caused by driver shortages.
The average train driver is 48 years old and rising, with 30% due to reach retirement age by 2029.
Bringing young talent into these skilled roles now will bridge this gap, preventing any future shortages and ensuring consistent, reliable services for passengers.
Several other countries have already successfully and safely 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 successfully opened up its train driver apprenticeships to 18 year olds to drive trains on the underground network in 2007.
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.
“We’re future-proofing our railways against delays and cancellations caused by a shortage of drivers, ensuring that we can provide reliable, passenger focused train journeys under Great British Railways for decades to come.”
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.”
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “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. This is another step forward in our mission to break down barriers and create new opportunities for young people.
“This is our Plan for Change in action: bringing in fresh, diverse talent, tackling skills shortages and helping to grow our economy across every part of the country.
Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at Rail Delivery Group, said: “Our railways have played a vital role in connecting communities and supporting economic growth for 200 years and train drivers are an important part of this.
“Working as a train driver is an incredible long-term career opportunity and we want to open the doors, especially to school-leavers, to encourage a wider and more diverse pool of young people to apply, reflecting the communities we serve.
“These changes will not only help us to recruit the next generation of drivers, lowering the average age of the workforce, but will also help to ensure a resilient railway for the years to come.”
