Who are we?

GWR is the proud custodian of Brunel's railway - one of the most prestigious networks in the world.  We have some of the newest trains in the country and exciting plans to extend our services.   With more than one hundred million passenger journeys each year, we carry people to over 275 stations in the South West, from Cornwall and South Wales to London, passing through beautiful country and some of the UK's top tourist destinations. 

We are transforming the way people think about train travel, empowering our team of over 6,000 people from all different backgrounds to make it a great experience for our customers.  Together, we will revalue rail as a very special way to travel – relaxing, fast, efficient, friendly and fun.

About the team:

This role reports to the Driver Management Team at the relevant depot.

About the role

Our Trainee Train Driver and Trainee Depot Driver roles are for those passionate about customer service.

Train Drivers play a crucial role in setting a new standard for rail in the 21st Century which is focused on creating a relaxed, fast, efficient, and fun experience for our passengers. In addition to driving our customers to their destinations, giving amazing customer service, following the correct procedures, and working with colleagues to ensure our services runs efficiently.

Our Training programme requires hard work, a commitment to an intensive period of training and exceptional attention to detail but offers a rewarding career with the opportunity to be part of the changing future of travel. There will be assessments throughout your training period, both practical and academic, which will give you all the tools and support you need to progress through to a Qualified Mainline Driver or Qualified Depot Driver

We are recruiting for both Trainee Driver Mainline and Trainee Depot Driver talent pools. 

The locations for the Trainee Driver  Mainline roles are:

Exeter, Penzance and Par

The location for the Trainee Depot Driver roles are:

Longrock Depot, Penzance

About You

Are you able to follow instructions when the need for safety is paramount, always?

Do have excellent communication skills and enjoy working within an environment with strict procedures and protocols?

Do you enjoy assisting colleagues and customers in the interests of safety and customer service?

If so, this role could an excellent career opportunity for you!

As a minimum you'll need to be:

• You must be 21 years of age or older to be accepted on to the training course, as this is an industry requirement.
• You'll need to live within 60 minutes travel time to the depot, without using public transport when it is not available. The safety responsibilities make this requirement a necessity. This is therefore not negotiable
• The ability to work shifts of varying start times, including weekends and nights shifts.
• You'll need to pass a full driver medical which includes passing hearing, sight, and colour vision tests (using the Ishihara plates). Please see FAQs for further details.

Additional Information:

We don't need you to have previous Railway experience. We have colleagues from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. We do need you to bring your energy, enthusiasm and willingness to learn in a structured environment.

We are committed to making GWR an inclusive place of work that, to ensure we deliver a railway that is inclusive for our customers.

As this role is an important safety role, we have a stringent recruitment process, that includes various ability tests, that measure the key requirements needed for the role. But don't worry too much about this, we will send you Practice Test Materials, before we invite you to any ability testing events, so you will have plenty of time to practice for the tests.

The training salary rate is £32,489 per annum, for both Trainee roles.

This rises to the following rates for each role when fully qualified:

Qualified Depot Driver: £48,373

Qualified Driver Mainline: £69,105

You will be able to indicate your first location choice in your application. Your application, if successful, will be prioritised for your first location choice.

We have opportunities for Trainee Drivers at these depots, to join our Talent Pool for 2025/2026.

If your application is successful in the whole recruitment process, you will be placed in a Talent Pool pending available vacancies in 2025/2026.

The Reward

As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including on-going development, defined benefit pension scheme, free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family, company-sponsored health care plan, discounted shopping and gym membership and an employee assistance programme.

We all belong at GWR. This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.  We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/