Annual Salary
£24,000 to £60,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Train drivers operate trains on the rail network, carrying passengers and freight around the country.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts
There will be
0.2% more Train driver jobs in 2027.
As a train driver, you'll:
You may need to wear a uniform.
Your working environment may be noisy and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
You can apply to a train operating company for a place on a Train Driver Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
This apprenticeship takes between 1 and 2 years to complete and combines on-the-job training with classroom learning with a training provider.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a rail passenger assistant, train conductor or revenues officer with a train company, then apply for a trainee driver post once you have built up your experience.
This is also a common way to become a London Underground driver with Transport for London.
You can apply directly to a train operating company to become a trainee driver.
Employers usually expect you to have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths, or equivalent qualifications.
You'll have to successfully complete a number of assessments, medical checks and interviews to be accepted onto a training course.
Training normally lasts between 1 and 2 years.
You'll need to:
You can sign up for job alerts with train operating companies to find out about trainee driver vacancies.
You'll find train operating companies through the Rail Delivery Group.
You can get more information about working in the rail industry from Routes into Rail.
Once you're qualified, you could work on passenger, freight or engineering trains. You may also choose to work on particular routes, for example Eurostar lines.
With experience, you could become a trainee instructor:teaching new starters in the classroom; demonstrating cab controls and signals in a rail simulator; accompanying trainees on journeys, as they learn the routes
You could move into management, supervising driver performance and making sure trains and crew are where they need to be on the rail network. You might also move into operations management, planning future rail developments.
Careers that move has more information about how to become a train or Tube train driver.
You'll need: