{"id":46169,"date":"2024-05-17T10:37:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T00:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=46169"},"modified":"2024-05-17T10:37:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T00:37:48","slug":"dft-proposes-lowering-minimum-age-to-drive-trains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=46169","title":{"rendered":"DfT proposes lowering minimum age to drive trains"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department for Transport (DfT) is proposing that the minimum age for driving a train on Britain\u2019s railways is reduced to 18 in order to ease staffing shortage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The age limit, currently 20 years old, could be lowered as early as this summer.<\/p>\n

DfT said that the average age of a train driver currently is 48. The workforce is \u201cprojected to shrink\u201d as many older employees retire in the next five years.<\/p>\n

The department said that lowering the minimum age would \u201cbuild resilience\u201d and enable school leavers to take up apprenticeships and train to join the profession.<\/p>\n

Rail minister Huw Merriman said: \u201cWe want to open the door for young people considering transport as a career, and this proposal could give school leavers a clear path into the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy boosting age diversity in the sector and attracting more drivers, we can help support reliable services while creating opportunities for more young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Train services have been repeatedly disrupted due to a near two-year dispute over pay involving drivers\u2019 union Aslef and many train operators.<\/p>\n

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has repeatedly called for an end to operators relying on drivers volunteering to work overtime and on rest days, which are usually at weekends.<\/p>\n

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: \u201cWe firmly believe there should be enough drivers to cover all the available shifts and do not agree, as a union, with the reliance on rest day working and overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always argued that lowering the age drivers can begin their training will help the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only will it increase the number of drivers but we also believe that those at the pointy end of the train should reflect the communities they serve and that includes having young people in cabs.\u201d<\/p>\n

A DfT consultation on the plan is seeking views on how the processes for selecting, training, monitoring and supervising train drivers could be adapted to support the minimum age reduction.<\/p>\n

Training to become a driver generally takes between one and two years.<\/p>\n

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents operators, says the average train driver salary across Britain is \u00a360,055.<\/p>\n

RDG chief executive Jaqueline Starr said: \u201cWorking as a train driver is an incredible career opportunity, and we want to open the door to encourage a wider pool of young people to apply.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese proposed changes will help us to recruit the next generation of drivers, lowering the average age of the workforce, and helping to ensure a resilient railway for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy Bagnall, chief executive for Rail Partners \u2013 a group representing private sector rail organisations, said: \u201cTaking forward these proposals would meet a long-standing aspiration for the industry which would have a positive impact on getting more young people into the railway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith driver shortages and an ageing workforce, it is critical to secure the skills we need for the long-term to help improve reliability for the customer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy lowering minimum age requirements for train drivers, working on the railways should be seen as a more attractive career choice for school leavers, including those from diverse backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department for Transport (DfT) is proposing that the minimum age for driving a train on Britain\u2019s railways is reduced to 18 in order to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,387,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british-railways","category-scotlands-railway","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}