Last week, at an event at Fairfield Halls, East Croydon, a group of 69 trainee and newly qualified train drivers were celebrated.

The celebrated, both men and women, are among the most recent recruits brought in to maintain the pool of employees who drive local trains for Southern Rail and Gatwick Express.

Some had recently finished their classroom training which allowed them to go out in the cab with an instructor whilst others have completed their course and can now drive solo.

The intensive training takes 15 months to be completed and become a fully qualified train driver.

The training consists of six months classroom-based learning, trainees then clock up 225 hours’ driving experience with an instructor. They then take their final four-day initial competency assessment which allows them to go out on the tracks alone.

What did the officials have to say?

Southern and Gatwick Express Managing Director Angie Doll said:

“This was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the hard work and achievement of both our trainees and their classroom trainers and driving instructors.

“Our drivers play a vital role for the local community where they live and quite often work. It’s also great to see more women join the industry as we continue to increase diversity among our people to better reflect the population of the areas we serve.”

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