Eighteen-year-olds will likely be allowed to drive trains because of considerations over labour shortages, the Division for Transport (DfT) has introduced.
The present minimal age for somebody wanting a profession on the railways is 20.
However with 87% of night-before cancellations made as a result of a driver is unavailable, the federal government has determined to decrease the age of entry by a few years.
A number of operators depend on drivers to work further shifts voluntarily.
At current, the common age of a British practice driver is 48, whereas 30% are because of attain retirement age by 2029.
A session on reducing the minimal age for drivers, carried out final 12 months by the Conservative authorities, obtained “overwhelming support from across the industry”, the DfT stated.
Different nations which have lowered the age for practice drivers are France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, officers added.
Transport for London opened driver apprenticeships on the Underground to 18-year-olds in 2007.
Coaching to drive mainline trains typically takes between one and two years.
Evaluation and qualification requirements will likely be unchanged.
Business physique the Rail Security and Requirements Board stated its analysis had proven 18-year-olds are “capable of safely becoming train drivers”.
New job and apprenticeship alternatives may very well be out there as early as December, the DfT stated.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, stated the federal government was “future-proofing” the railways towards “delays and cancellations caused by a shortage of drivers”.
Mick Whelan, basic secretary of practice drivers’ union Aslef, stated: “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.”
