00:00Eighteen-year-olds will be allowed to drive trains from 30 June, according to the Department
00:07for Transport, which says the move is aimed at addressing concerns about the number of
00:12drivers nearing retirement. The current minimum age for train drivers is 20. New legislation
00:19lowering the threshold will be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, time to coincide
00:24with National Apprenticeship Week.
00:27The Department for Transport says a quarter of train drivers are expected to reach retirement
00:32age by 2030. Fewer than one in 25 drivers are under 30, and only one in nine are women.
00:39Less than 13 percent come from an ethnic minority background.
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