The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) yesterday, 15 April, approved an application by The Rail Academy to become officially registered as a Train Driver Training and Examination Centre.

Already approved by OFQUAL as one of four companies authorised to carry out specialist Train Driver Apprentice End Point Assessments, The Rail Academy has now been added to the official ORR public register as competent to:

• Train and assess train drivers in all areas of general professional knowledge, rolling stock and routes.
• Provide this training and independent assessment to train drivers employed by themselves and others.
• Support new driver’s licence applications.
• Prepare and deliver train driver training materials, compliant with the required regulations.
• Register train driver assessors, competent to train and assess train drivers.

Before its approval was confirmed, the Office of Rail and Road thoroughly and comprehensively reviewed The Rail Academy’s systems, processes and capability.

These were assessed in accordance with the Train Driver Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010, which specify the requirements for UK train driver training, examination, and licensing.

Train drivers can only be assessed and licenced from street to seat by organisations registered by the Office of Rail and Road.

By gaining official approval, The Rail Academy is now the only independent Train Driver Training and Examination Centre in the UK that is officially recognised by the ORR.

Full information on the services that The Rail Academy can provide are available on its website at www.therailacademy.com

Other training establishments have recently opened, including the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO)’s Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre at Dudley in the West Midlands, and an Operational Training Academy opened by Network Rail and Freightliner in Yorkshire.

I am absolutely delighted to receive this recognition. Training Train Drivers is necessarily tightly regulated, and it must be done properly by people who are experienced, qualified, and capable. We have a fantastic team at The Rail Academy, and we have now demonstrated to the industry regulator we can be trusted with this important task.

As the UK’s only independent ORR-approved centre on the register, we now offer the rail industry a brand-new choice in how it trains its drivers. So many operators have restricted training and assessment resources and are struggling to cope with the demand. We can now help them deal with that challenge and look forward to getting started!

Cath Bellamy, The Raik Academt Managing Director