What you need to do before becoming a train driver at Northern

How difficult could it possibly be to get behind the levers to take passengers from station to station?

The Telegraph & Argus visited Northern's office in Leeds city centre to find out.

The apprenticeship scheme involves 20 weeks in the classroom (Image: Newsquest)Northern is the second largest train operator in the country and runs around 2,500 services a day.

The company employs more than 7,000 people across the North of England, including 2,016 train drivers and 1,426 conductors.

Northern is looking to hire 108 train drivers and 198 conductors in 2024 and actively encouraging people from all walks of life to apply.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the country (Image: Newsquest)With that in mind, I underwent a series of tasks similar to those designed to find the best candidates.

The first challenge was based on alertness and concentration.

We had one minute to circle the capital D's in 20 lines of 22 letters.

I completed 13 lines but only got 11 right. Trust me it was more tricky than it sounds!

The open task was more difficult than expected (Image: Newsquest)The next task focussed on our attention skills where again we had to circle all the T's in an assortment of symbols and letters.

This was while listening out for the word 'dog/s' in a spoken passage. It was the only one I scored 100 per cent!

Our final assignment involved learning and recalling information in a short period of time.

A couple of paragraphs depicting when lights should be switched on your train needed to be memorised.

This was then put to the test with a few multiple-choice questions.

Some of the theory hopeful drivers need to learn (Image: Newsquest)An hour of computerised checks would usually follow - including one where applicants had to stare at a white screen and click whenever a grey square would appear.

Coordination tests, an interview, and a situation judgement exercise were also part of the psychometric assessment process.

A simulation game takes future drivers through what they need to know (Image: Newsquest)Make it through all that and you earn yourself a place on the Northern’s Driver Apprenticeship Scheme.

To begin with, hopeful train drivers will complete an intensive classroom-based training period lasting up to 20 weeks.

Virtual Reality (VR) sets are used to teach pupils what to expect on the train - without them having to leave the classroom. (Image: Newsquest)Once that is completed, apprentices can then step into a train cabin for some practical training.

Approximately 240 hours of train driving experience with a mentor is required before they can take on the final assessment - described as a "really intense driving test" - which has around a 90 per cent pass rate.

Having seen the size of various rulebooks and route maps, classes of up to 12 are really put through their paces. (Image: Newsquest)For drivers, a starting salary of £23,000 would then be increased year-on-year with the final rise being up to £54,000.

Last year, Northern received a huge 16,071 applications for driver positions – an average of 79 applications for each position that was advertised.

So to those who thought becoming a train driver was an easy ride, mind the pun, maybe think twice before applying.