Applicants as young as 18 will be allowed to drive trains amid concerns over driver shortages.
The minimum age to take on the role in Britain will be lowered from 20, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
Rail services are frequently disrupted because several operators rely on drivers voluntarily working extra shifts to run timetabled services. Around 87 per cent of cancellations made the night before a service is scheduled to run are caused by driver shortages.
The Government hopes cutting the age at which people can qualify as train drivers will reduce this reliance on rest-day working.
The average age of a UK train driver is 48, with 30 per cent set to reach retirement age by 2029.
The size of the workforce is forecast to decline over the coming years, as drivers are retiring at a faster rate than new ones are being recruited.
Lowering the nation’s age limit for train drivers will ‘future-proof the railways’, says Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary – Andrew Matthews/PA Media
The DfT said a consultation on lowering the minimum age for drivers – carried out last year by the Conservative government – received “overwhelming support from across the industry”.
Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, 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 [GBR] for decades to come.”
The Government plans to establish GBR as a new public body that will oversee rail infrastructure management and train operation.
‘Increase diversity’
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “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.”
He added that the new policy will “increase diversity in the driver’s cab” as well as encouraging more young people to take on the role.
Among other nations that have lowered the age for train drivers are France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, according to the DfT.
Transport for London opened up its train driver apprenticeships on the Underground to 18-year-olds in 2007.
Training to become a driver of mainline trains generally takes between one and two years.
The DfT said there are several steps before the minimum age can be lowered, including developing plans to integrate younger employees, and amending existing laws.
Assessment and qualification standards will be unchanged.
The Rail Safety and Standards Board said its research “determined that 18-year-olds are capable of safely becoming train drivers”.
The DfT believes new job and apprenticeship opportunities for 18-year-olds could become available as early as December.
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