- Nearly 150 new drivers in training to support future growth plans
On Friday,
Temitope Awe took control of the 0454 from Basingstoke to Waterloo, his first service as a newly qualified train driver. As part of plans to expand services, South Western Railway has around 150 drivers in training, many of whom will be setting out as fully qualified in the coming weeks and months.
Temitope, or “Temi” as he is better known, has been with SWR for 14 years, spending 11 years in revenue protection at Waterloo and 2 years as a guard before training to become a driver.
Over the past 14 months, Temi has undergone the intensive full time training programme, which includes classroom based training, exercises in a high tech driver simulator and supervised driving.
Commenting on his newly acquired skills, Temi said: “It’s been a challenging but enjoyable 14 months training, and I’m excited about this new chapter in my career with South Western Railway!”
Andy Mellors, Managing Director, South Western Railway, said: “Congratulations to Temi on starting a new chapter in his career on the railway!
“We’ve invested heavily in training more drivers to support our plans for growth in the years to come, and it’s great to see that this investment is resulting in a large number of newly qualified drivers joining the ranks of their driver colleagues over the next few weeks and months.”