Local rail operator Trenitalia c2c has welcomed a new cohort of trainee drivers to the team as part of its ‘Street to Seat’ recruitment programme, following unprecedented interest in the position.

The eight new trainee mainline drivers are the fifth group to join c2c the training scheme - which is open to individuals with little or no rail experience - with the latest programme attracting more than 5,000 applicants in just two weeks!

The new team, aged between 22 and 54 years old, have been dubbed ‘Team Delta’ and come from all walks of life, bringing a range of experience.

The c2c ‘Street to Seat’ course is available to individuals with little or no rail experience to become fully qualified mainline train drivers. Applicants must pass a competitive application process, with psychometric (OPC) testing, panel interviews and a full medical.

Rob Mullen, c2c’s Managing Director, said, “We’re very proud of c2c’s Street to Seat programme, as it gives people from all backgrounds the chance to become fully-fledged mainline drivers. It is an immensely popular scheme, as evidenced by the incredible over 5,000 applications we had in response to the roles being made available.

“Personally, I want to wish all of our new trainee drivers the best of luck with their training, and I look forward to hearing more about their progress!” He added. 

Team Delta includes a familiar face to c2c customers in Alex Bossom, a former British Transport Police Officer (BTP) who has been working alongside the c2c team since 2017, where he was a core part of the BTP’s c2c policing team. Alex has solidified great working relationships with so many c2c colleagues already and will now forge even more, as he starts a brand-new career path to becoming a driver.

Iain Palmer, c2c Head of Revenue Protection and Security, said, “I have known Alex since he first began working with us for the BTP and I have always seen the amazing effort he’s put in. So, now that he has come from the thin blue line to the c2c magenta one, I am very pleased that we will have such a reliable and safe pair of hands transporting our customers to their destinations.”

Aside from law enforcement, our new crop of trainee drivers have joined c2c from a range of employment backgrounds, including aviation and the water industry (where one of our new colleagues worked for Thames Water). Furthermore, all our new trainee drivers are aged between 22-54-years-old – showing that anybody can retrain to become a train driver with c2c.

Training is already well underway with the course including weekly exams, followed by a minimum of 240 hours of on-the-job training with a mentor, three interim assessments and a final five-day assessment. Those that successfully compete the training will typically become qualified drivers in around 9-11 months.

Once qualified, all drivers undergo continuous, frequent assessments to maintain c2c's high safety and performance standards.