Labour to lower minimum age for train drivers to 18

Labour will introduce legislation in the House of Commons this week to lower the minimum age for train drivers to 18, as figures show fewer than 3% of drivers on Great Britain’s railways are under 30.

- Gwyn Topham

The government is pressing ahead with its proposals for teenage recruits, lowering the minimum age from the current 20 years old, in a move that ministers hope will stave off a potential shortage of thousands of drivers.

A looming mass exodus through retirement threatens to intensify driver shortages and worsen train reliability, with a lack of crew already a big cause of late-notice cancellations.

The current average age of Great Britain’s 24,00 train drivers is 48, and about 25% of them will reach retirement age before 2030.

According to a National Skills Academy for Rail report, that could mean a shortfall of 2,500 drivers within four years.

While a number of train drivers continue to drive into their 70s, most retire well ahead of the state pension age, becoming eligible for a railway pension at 62.