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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent

‘It’s an illogical job’: Why driving a train isn’t as cushy as it might seem

Driving a train requires ‘exceptional concentration within a low-stimulus environment’.
Driving a train requires ‘exceptional concentration within a low-stimulus environment’. Photograph: Robert Mason/Alamy

Few professions’ pay have aroused such incredulous ire as train drivers: earning an average of nearly £70,000 a year, going on strike to demand more, and they don’t even have to steer. But if it really is such a cushy number, why doesn’t Britain have enough drivers – and what does it take to join their ranks?

Driver shortages have become a leading cause of disruption on Britain’s railways; about seven out of eight “P-coded” cancellations, made the night before travel, are down to a missing driver.

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