First Delegated Legislation Committee
20 April 2026
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First Delegated Legislation Committee House of Commons
00:02 - 00:12
Speaker 1
Order order the draft train driving licenses and certificates amendment regulations 2026. I call them an assertive motion.
00:12 - 02:24
Speaker 2
Thank you very much, and it's a pleasure to see you in the chair. I beg to move that the committee considers the train driving licenses and certificates amendment regulations 2026. As ever, it's a pleasure, of course, to serve with your chairmanship, miss Harris. These regulations are being made under the retained EU law, revocation and reform act 2023, and below the minimum age at which the office for rail and road, or the ORR, can issue a license to drive trains on the British mainline railway from 20 to 18. The conditions for driving chain trains in the train driving licenses and certificates regulations 2010, which I will hereafter refer to as the 2010 regulations, will remain the same.
These conditions include the completion of at least nine years of primary and secondary education or vocational training equivalent to level three qualifications, and proof of passing medical, psychological fitness, and general professional competence examinations. I'll begin by providing some background on the legislative regime and why these changes are being brought forward. The rail network depends on approximately 19,000 train drivers to operate passenger and freight services. The twenty ten regulations require train drivers to hold a license confirming that they're fit and competent, and an employer issued certificate authorizing them to drive specific trains on specific routes. The twenty ten regulations implemented the EU train driving directive.
This sets a default minimum licensing age of 20 across the EU and gives member states the option to adopt a lower age of 18 for domestic services. The UK did not take this option when it was transposed, the directive in '20, 2009. Other countries, including Germany and The Netherlands, have since done so successfully. In February 2024, the Real Safety and Standards Board, the RSSB, published research on lowering minimum age to be a train driver in Britain. This found that 18 and 19 year olds can drive, trains safely when held to the same standards as older recruits.
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