GB Railfreight Trainee Train Driver Guide
At GBRf the psychometric pass usually comes before the application, not after it. What that means, and the routes in
The pass comes first
Passenger companies such as Avanti West Coast and Northern put you through the psychometric assessment as part of their own process. GB Railfreight’s trainee adverts work the other way round. Its Trainee Train Manager adverts for Crewe and Felixstowe, both posted on 6 August 2026 as talent pools, say: "Applicants must have successfully passed their Train Driver Psychometric Assessment within the past 5 years." They add that if you have failed part of your assessment within the last six months, you cannot apply "on this occasion".
GBRf’s careers page says the same in its FAQ: "For Trainee Train Managers you would need to have passed your OPC Train driver psychometrics". A qualified Train Manager needs a valid European Train Driving Licence (ETDL) instead, and drivers who already hold one, passenger or freight, do a conversion course.
Where GBRf recruits, and the 45-minute rule
GBRf says it employs 1,400 staff across the country and became the largest rail freight operator in 2026. Its trainee adverts name a single location each, and the Crewe advert puts the distance rule plainly: "You must live within 45 minutes of Crewe." The careers FAQ applies the same 45 minutes to all of its "key depots, placed all across the UK". That is tighter than the 60 minutes Avanti West Coast allows, so check the depot before you apply. The August 2026 pools were for Crewe and Felixstowe, and GBRf says it advertises all its current vacancies on its careers page.
Training, pay and hours
Trainees go to GBRf’s training school in Peterborough to learn what they need for a train driving licence, and must be "available to complete the classroom training without disruption for 15 weeks (this means no annual leave)". The adverts give £28,937 a year while training and an annual leave package "aligned to annualised hours". Neither publishes the qualified salary.
Who can apply, and in what order
- Age and licence."You must be over the age of 21 with a clean UK Manual Car Drivers licence." The adverts kept 21 in August 2026, after the legal minimum for a GB train driving licence fell to 18, so GBRf’s own threshold is the one that applies.
- Distance. Within 45 minutes of the depot.
- Psychometric pass. Within the last five years, with no failed part in the last six months.
- Interview, then medical.The adverts say you must pass a full TDLC railway medical before the course, arranged by GBRf "if successful at interview stage".
The tests behind the pass
The assessment GBRf asks about is the national train driver battery set by RSSB’s standard RIS-3751-TOM, sat at a registered assessment centre such as The OPC. Paper attention, memory and reasoning tests come first, then computer tests of vigilance, perception and coordination, a situational judgement exercise and an interview. Our train driver tests page covers each one. You can practise six of them:
- Group Bourdon (Dots Test) (11 minutes, free)
- TRP1 Rules and Procedures Memory (21 minutes)
- TRP2 Dials Reasoning (8 minutes)
- TEA-Occ Attention (Lift and Directory) (10 minutes)
- WAFV Vigilance (Grey Square) (32 minutes)
- ATAVT Traffic Perception (6 minutes)
The waiting rules between attempts, and the three-attempt lifetime limit, are in our guide to train driver attempts and standards.
Common questions
Is a Train Manager at GBRf a guard?
No. At GBRf the Train Manager drives: a qualified Train Manager must hold a train driving licence, and the trainee role is the route to one.
My pass is from a passenger company. Does GBRf accept it?
The adverts ask for a pass in the Train Driver Psychometric Assessment within five years and do not restrict it to freight. GBRf was listed by The OPC in 2020 as a national-standard company, so a national pass met its bar then. Confirm with GBRf’s recruitment team at careers@gbrailfreight.com.
Does GBRf recruit trainees all year?
Its 2026 trainee adverts were talent pools for named locations, with courses "planned to commence in coming months" rather than on fixed dates. Keep your pass in date so you can apply when a pool near you opens.
Applying to passenger companies as well? GWR was also listed as using the national standard.