Eighteen-year-olds will soon be allowed to drive trains as the Government lowers the minimum age requirement from 20 due to concerns over labour shortages.
The Department for Transport (DfT) announced the change today as part of efforts to address the significant number of cancellations caused by driver unavailability.
The decision comes as the rail industry faces growing staffing challenges.
With almost 90 per cent of night-before cancellations occurring because a driver is not available, the change aims to address a critical staffing issue.
Eighteen-year-olds will soon be allowed to drive trains as the Government lowers the minimum age requirement from 20 due to concerns over labour shortages
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Currently, the average age of a British train driver is 48.
Many operators rely on drivers working extra shifts voluntarily to maintain services.
The ageing workforce presents a growing challenge for the rail industry.
The situation is expected get worse, with 30 per cent of train drivers due to reach retirement age by 2029.
A consultation on lowering the minimum age, carried out last year by the Conservative government, received "overwhelming support from across the industry", according to the DfT.
The Rail Safety and Standards Board said its research showed 18-year-olds are "capable of safely becoming train drivers".
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The UK is not alone in making this change, with France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland having already lowered their minimum age for train drivers.
Transport for London has been ahead of the curve, having opened driver apprenticeships on the Underground to 18-year-olds back in 2007.
The move brings Britain's mainline railways in line with these existing practices.
Training to become a train driver on mainline railways generally takes between one and two years.
Despite the age reduction, the DfT confirmed that assessment and qualification standards will remain unchanged.
This ensures that safety standards are maintained while opening the profession to younger applicants.
The decision comes as the rail industry faces growing staffing challenges (stock image)
PAThe change focuses solely on entry age rather than altering the rigorous training requirements.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the Government was "future-proofing" the railways against "delays and cancellations caused by a shortage of drivers".
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers' union Aslef, also supported the move, saying: "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."
The DfT has indicated that new job and apprenticeship opportunities for 18-year-old train drivers could be available as early as December this year.
