Trainee Depot Driver - Bristol

Overview

GWR is the proud custodian of Brunel\’s railway – one of the most prestigious networks in the world. We have some of the newest trains in the country and exciting plans to extend our services. With more than one hundred million passenger journeys each year, we carry people to over 275 stations in the South West, from Cornwall and South Wales to London, passing through beautiful country and some of the UK\’s top tourist destinations.

We are transforming the way people think about train travel, empowering our team of over 6,000 people from all different backgrounds to make it a great experience for our customers. Together, we will revalue rail as a very special way to travel – relaxing, fast, efficient, friendly and fun.

Is your ambition to drive trains?

This Depot Driver role will give you a really good grounding in a safe environment with awesome opportunities to develop your skills in Train handling and driving before deciding whether or not you would like to progress to Mainline Train Driver later on in your career.

You will be responsible for train driving and other driver related activities, including preparing, driving and disposing of traction (train) units, safely and punctually, at our Engineering Depot, St Philips Marsh. Where applicable, when qualified as a Depot Driver, you\’ll also drive on the mainline up to designated signals between the depot and the affiliated station

The role reports to the Driver Management Team at St Philips Marsh and Bristol Temple Meads.

Our Trainee Depot Drivers play an essential role in supporting our mainline train service, so that we can focus on creating a timely, relaxed, fast, efficient, and fun experience for our passengers.

This is an excellent opportunity if you enjoy learning in a work- based environment. Our training course requires your commitment to learning and an intensive period of training. There will be assessments throughout your training period, which will be based around both practical and classroom- based learning, giving you support and guidance you will need, to pass the training and progress to a Qualified Depot Driver.

About You

Do you have fantastic time management skills with the ability to work alone and focus on concentrating in a safety conscious environment?

Are you able to follow instructions when the need for safety is always paramount?

Do have excellent communication skills and enjoy working within an environment with strict procedures and protocols?

Do you enjoy assisting colleagues and customers in the interests of safety and customer service?

If so, this role could be an excellent career opportunity for you!

As a minimum you\’ll need to:

• Be at least 21 years of age to be accepted on to the training course, as this is presently an industry requirement.
• Live within 60 minutes travel time to the depot, without using public transport when it is not available. The safety responsibilities make this requirement a necessity. This is not negotiable.
• Work shifts of varying start times, including weekends and nights shifts.
• Pass a full driver medical which includes passing hearing, sight, and colour vision tests (using the Ishihara plates) Further details in FAQs

Additional Information:

We don\’t need you to have previous Railway experience. We have colleagues from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. We do need you to bring your energy, enthusiasm and willingness to learn in a structured environment.

We are committed to making GWR an inclusive place of work, to ensure we deliver a railway that is inclusive for all.

As this role is an important safety role, we have a stringent recruitment process, that includes various ability tests, that measure the key requirements needed for the role. But don\’t worry too much about this, we will send you Practice Test Materials, when we invite you to any ability testing events, so you will have plenty of time to practice for the tests.

The training salary rate is £32,489 per annum, rising to £48,373 when fully qualified.

If your application is successful and you pass the whole recruitment process, you will be placed in a Talent Pool pending available vacancies in 2026/27 and later in line with our Recruitment Policy

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE REFER TO THE DOCUMENTS ATTACHED.

Trainee Depot Driver Role Profile

Trainee Depot Driver FAQs

The Reward

As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including defined benefit salary pension scheme, free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family, company-sponsored health care plan and an Employee assistance programme.

In case of technical difficulties when submitting your application, please contact the Recruitment Team at gwrrecruitment@gwr.com

We all belong at GWR. This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA, ethnicity, religion and disability. We maintain zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/