Scotrail train driver jobs attract thousands of applications

The company was transferred to public ownership on April 1 last year after the Dutch public transport business Abellio was stripped of its contract in December 2019 due to poor performance

Scotrail say it is working closely with rail union Aslef to boost applications from under-represented groups - such as women, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabilities and people from LGBTQ+ communities.

Some 17% of current trainees are women, which compares to 6% of qualified drivers, a sign, it says, that things are moving in the right direction, says the company.

While train driver jobs always attract a high volume of applicants Mark Ilderton, Scotrail's Head of Drivers, said the Scottish Government acquisition may have fuelled even more interest.

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“I think certainly those who apply recognise that it’s a great time to join the company,” he said.

READ MORE: Scotrail bid to encourage more women into train cabs 

“It’s a hugely rewarding role and I think the numbers are reflective of that.

“Every single day you will be potentially be carrying thousands of customers across the network.”

This is the biggest recruitment drive since April last year when the government announced 130 drivers were being trained up to plug shortages, caused by training delays due to Covid.

The requirement for drivers to work rest days was part of last year’s now resolved dispute. 

Applicants must be over 21 years old and must pass a “safety critical” medical examination including eyesight, hearing and colour vision tests.

Short-listed candidates are invited to attend psychometric assessment and then a competency-based interview.

The ability to keep calm under pressure is key, says Mr Ilderton.

Training can last up to 24 months and during this period employees earn £31,398 which increases to 46,614, six months after qualifying, and £50,063 after nine months.

After, three years this rises to £55,265.

READ MORE: Scottish trains contract awarded to French company 

The majority of Scotrail’s current trainees have worked other jobs in the railway such as guards and ticket collectors but its common for drivers to come from aviation, the military, the police and fire service.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Craig Barker.

“It was a massive shock to me. The volume of information is really intense and it never really stops because it’s constantly being updated. 

“It’s very like pilot training, the way they have to refresh their rules and knowledge every so often.”

The trainees are already getting used to batting away remarks that train drivers, “sit at the front of the cab and press a button”.

They must pass a rules exam with 400 questions, which is repeated a year later and learning routes is at the heart of the job.

Train drivers have to know what is ahead before it becomes visible so can only only work over routes they have learned and been assessed on.

“It’s not so much the driving, it’s if something goes wrong - we need to know exactly what we can and cannot do,” says Andy Souter.

“It’s a lot of responsibility.”

The group are under the expert guidance of driving instructor Dianne Holloway, 55, who has been with Scotrail for 23 years, starting off as a ticket collector at Glasgow Central before progressing to the front of the train.

Earlier this week a mural celebrating one of the UK’s first female train drivers was unveiled at London Euston.

READ MORE: Prosecutors consider if Network Rail will face charges over Stonehaven crash 

West Coast commissioned the image of Glasgow-born Karen Harrison. It has a target of achieving an equal gender split for new recruits by 2030.

“I remember a train came in and it was a female and that was the day I wanted to be a train driver,” she said.

“I left school at 15 and didn’t start studying till my 30s so that was the daunting thing for me.”

She recalls driving a train full of Old Firm supporters that was running late and a fan shouting through the cab, ‘I knew it would be a woman driving.’

“I just laughed,” she says. “You can’t get annoyed by stuff like that.”

She mainly covered the Motherwell to Glasgow line when she was a driver but says she secretly harboured a desire to work on the West Highland Line, consistently voted one of the world’s greatest rail journeys.

“I don’t know what it is about train driving but people always seem to be impressed.”