Full steam ahead: young people take the drivers seat to improve train services and unlock jobs
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-06)

Lowering the train driver age to 18 will help future-proof our railways, support young people in fulfilling careers and boost growth across the country.

- 18 to 20 year olds to benefit from thousands of job and apprenticeship opportunities by the end of this year
- bolstering workforce will help prevent delays and cancellations on the railways
- getting young people into work and improving rail services will help boost the economy as part of the Plan for Change
Young people will be able to take up new careers as train drivers 3 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 between 18 and 20 years old as early as December 2025, offering skilled roles, valuable experience and long-term career opportunities whilst keeping our country moving, driving economic growth at the heart of our Plan for Change (https://www.gov.uk/missions).

It will also help build up the rail workforce, preventing delays and cancellations caused by driver shortages, which currently account for 87% of cancellations made the night before a service runs.

The decision to lower the age will 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, 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.

In a profession that is less than 9% female and less than 12% represented by ethnic minorities, this will open professional opportunities to a much wider group of people.

This is yet another initiative to help deliver the government’s Plan for Change by unlocking skilled jobs and safeguarding reliable train services, boosting the economy and improving living standards in the process.

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.

This follows a consultation DfT undertook last year (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/lowering-the-minimum-age-requirement-for-train-drivers-from-20-to-18), which received overwhelming support from across the industry and marks a significant step forward for rail reform.

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 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 scheme to 18 year olds to drive trains on the underground network in 2007.

Everyone who takes on the role of a train driver must undergo rigorous training to ensure they are competent, qualified and fit to do so, ensuring the safe use of our railways for everyone.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, said:

This government is determined to widen the opportunities of all young people.

By allowing 18 year olds to take up careers as train drivers we are literally putting them in the driving seat when it comes to finding secure, well-paid work.

This is a core part of our plan to lower the number of young people not in education, employment or training and builds on our Youth Guarantee scheme to give all 18 to 21 year olds the chance to earn or learn.

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.

This is just one of the ways we’re delivering improvements to the railways ahead of the creation of Great British Railways (GBR). Once set up, GBR will bring track and train together, ending years of fragmentation and waste. GBR will relentlessly focus on driving up standards for passengers and proposals for how it will run, including plans for a powerful new passenger standards watchdog, are currently being considered.

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.

Mark Phillips, CEO at Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) said:

To boost economic growth by running more frequent rail services, the industry needs to invest in enabling more young people to start train driver apprenticeships. Our research determined that 18 year olds are capable of safely becoming train drivers and identified opportunities to improve how the rail industry manages competence for all drivers.

Starting a train driving career could be more appealing at 18 than at 20, as young people can choose it over pursuing a degree or an office job. It is an excellent career choice, offering the opportunity to work independently in a role that carries huge responsibility.

Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General of the Rail Freight Group (RFG), said:

Rail freight thrives when the whole network has the skilled people it needs, so we welcome the decision to lower the minimum driver age to 18.

Bringing talent into the cab straight from school can widen the recruitment pool, inspire more young people to choose rail careers and let them build experience earlier but importantly, this is a permissive change. Each freight and passenger operator will decide for itself whether and how to recruit younger drivers.

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