Government on track to lower minimum age for train drivers to 18 in Great Britain

A report suggests there could be a shortfall of 2,500 train drivers in four years’ time. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Labour will introduce legislation to lower the minimum age for train drivers to 18 in the House of Commons this week, as figures show fewer than 3% of drivers on Great Britain’s railways are under 30.

The government is pressing ahead with its proposals for teenage recruits, lowering the minimum age from 20, in a move that ministers hope will stave off a potential shortage of thousands of drivers.