The Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010

Requirement for licences and certificates

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (12), a railway undertaking, or infrastructure manager, must not deploy a person to drive a train unless that person is authorised to do so by a train driving licence issued by the ORR, the Department for Regional Development or a safety authority.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (12), a railway undertaking must not deploy a person to drive a particular type of train, or to drive a train on particular infrastructure, unless that person is authorised to do so by a train driving certificate issued by it.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (12), an infrastructure manager must not deploy a person to drive a particular type of train, or to drive a train on particular infrastructure, unless that person is authorised to do so by a train driving certificate issued by it.

(4) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (12), a person must not drive a train unless that person is authorised to do so by—

(a) a train driving licence issued by the ORR, the Department for Regional Development or a safety authority; and

(b) a train driving certificate for the type of train driven and the infrastructure driven on issued by the railway undertaking, or infrastructure manager, by whom that person is deployed to drive the train.

(5) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (12), a person who drives a train must have the required train driving licence and train driving certificate with them whilst driving it, or otherwise be able on board the train to satisfy the ORR, or their inspector duly appointed under regulation 38, that they are so authorised to drive the train by the required train driving licence and train driving certificate.

(6) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (12), a railway undertaking, or infrastructure manager, must take reasonable steps to ensure that a person it deploys to drive a train has the required train driving licence and train driving certificate with them whilst driving it, or are otherwise able to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (5).

(7) Subject to paragraph (8), and if a railway undertaking so decides, a train driver it deploys to drive a train on specific infrastructure need not be authorised by a train driving certificate to drive it on that infrastructure in the following cases—

(a) where a disturbance to railway services has occurred which requires the re-routing of the train or the maintenance of tracks, as specified by the infrastructure manager concerned;

(b) an exceptional one-off service which uses a historical train;

(c) an exceptional one-off freight service provided that the infrastructure manager concerned has agreed;

(d) the delivery of, or demonstration of, a new train; or

(e) to enable the training or the examination of the train driver.

(8) Paragraph (7) does not apply unless—

(a) subject to paragraph (9), another train driver, who holds a train driving licence and a train driving certificate relating to the specific infrastructure, accompanies and supervises the driver in the cab whilst the train is driven on that infrastructure; and

(b) the infrastructure manager of the specific infrastructure is given prior notice.

(9) Before the 29th October 2018, the reference in paragraph (8) (a) to “another train driver, who holds a train driving licence and a train driving certificate relating to the specific infrastructure” includes a train driver who neither holds, nor is yet required to hold, such a licence or certificate but whom the railway undertaking is satisfied has sufficient knowledge and experience of the specific infrastructure to give the necessary supervision.

(10) An infrastructure manager may not oblige a railway undertaking to make a decision under paragraph (7).

(11) A train driving licence issued otherwise than by the ORR on the basis of an exemption from the medical requirements set out in Schedule 1 is not valid in Great Britain, and the holding of such a licence will not satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (1) or (4)(a).

(12) A person who is training to be train driver (“the trainee driver”) may drive a train without being authorised to do so by a train driving licence and a train driving certificate provided that an authorised driver—

(a) accompanies and supervises the trainee driver in the cab whilst the trainee driver drives the train, and

(b) complies with the requirements of paragraph (5) as if the authorised driver was the driver of the train.

(13) Subject to paragraph (14), in paragraph (12) “authorised driver” means a train driver who is authorised to drive the train by a train driving licence and a train driving certificate issued by the railway undertaking, or infrastructure manager, for whom the train is driven relating to the type of train driven and the infrastructure driven on.

(14) Before the 29th October 2018, in paragraph (12) “authorised driver” includes a train driver who neither holds, nor is yet required to hold, a train driving licence or a train driving certificate but whom the railway undertaking, or infrastructure manager, for whom the train is driven is satisfied has sufficient knowledge and experience of the type of train driven and infrastructure used to give the necessary supervision.