Inside Northern's train driving school

Northern is seeking to recruit up to 280 train drivers and conductors in 2023

A train operator has announced plans to recruit up to 280 drivers and conductors this year.

The BBC spoke to Gemma Stanley, a former detention officer, in her ninth week of a driver training programme at Northern's Leeds academy.

She said: "I'm itching to get in that seat."

Northern said the recruitment drive was not to "plug gaps", insisting it has "always had enough drivers".

Nonetheless, it comes as latest figures show almost one out of every 12 trains across Britain was cancelled in the four weeks prior to 7 January, excluding strike days.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said the pandemic impacted on services, with fewer drivers and other staff being trained and higher rates of absence.

Gemma Stanley, a trainee train driver

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: "The issue has been the backlog that was created for training drivers through the pandemic.

"The training resumed about six months into the pandemic and then it just took quite a slow beat rate to get all of our drivers fully productive."

The latest driver roles are based in Carlisle, Darlington, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Skipton and York and come with a starting salary of £23,000 per year, rising to £54,500 once fully qualified.

Conductor roles are based in Carlisle, Doncaster, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Sheffield, Skipton and York, with salaries starting at £22,000, rising to £29,000 once fully qualified.

The BBC was introduced to Ms Stanley who said she was surprised by the amount of classroom-based learning.

"It will be another four or five weeks before I even get into a train and even then it will be in a depot at 5mph," she said.

Northern's driver training manager, Dan Davison, explained that it takes up to 18 months to fully qualify.

He added: "It always shocks some people that we do not put a trainee into a train driver cab until around Week 13. Those previous 12 weeks, they are in the classroom learning the rules needed to operate a train safely."

Trainee drivers being put through their paces using simulated scenarios

Mr Davison said recruits will then learn "all about the trains and how to fix them", before the "practical handling" phase of the course, when they will be taught how to drive trains while learning Northern's routes.

Northern said it was actively encouraging women to apply as part of a push to improve the male-female balance of its workforce. It was also seeking to attract more applicants from under-represented ethnicities to ensure it reflects the communities it serves.

Ms Stanley said she is the only woman in her cohort but said this was "unusual", adding: "In some classes, it's nearly 50:50."

In October, Transport for the North, which advises the Department for Transport, called on the government to fund a Rail Academy of the North to fast-track the training of new drivers.

Northern's Ms Williams said it seemed "quite a sensible idea" for train operators to send trainee drivers and conductors to one academy for basic classroom-based training, but added they would still need specific training on trains and routes.