Northern - Trainee Train Driver - Recruitment Discussion

[Adam Bezance]

So I had my Assessment Day last year around August so they might have changed it now, just so you're aware that yours could be different to this. Also I had my Assessment Day before my psychometric test. There were 17 candidates and 6 DTM's. The first task was a group task where we were split into groups of 4. Each group was given the same task where we were given platform numbers, driver names, destinations, etc all mixed together. We basically had to work out the departure time of a certain train from the information provided. NONE of the groups got the right answer. The DTM's were walking around each group taking notes, they basically wanted to see how each individual worked in a group. So every time one of the DTM's walked past I just started talking to the others in the group and started writing something down. Just make yourself look busy when one of the DTM's is around your table but also don't interrupt if others are talking.
For the 2nd task each group was taken into another room where we were all given a piece of plain paper and some different coloured blocks of Lego. A video was played of a train from the front of the vehicle driving on a route. We would be asked questions about things we saw during the video whilst it was still playing, like "what was the colour of the signal we just passed" or "what was the time on the clock at the platform". After each question the next thing he would ask us to do was pick up some Lego blocks and put them together a certain way. So like "pick up 4 blue blocks and put them on top of each other". You would need to do this whilst also still watching the video that was playing. I guess they wanted to see how good you are at multitasking. I would say that when you are given your Lego blocks then I would group them depending on colour, so they are not mixed together. This was an individual task, not a group task.
Next out of the 17 people they told 8 people that they had not got through and they were sent home. So there were 9 of us left.
We next had to watch another train video from the drivers point of view which was 28 mins long. We had to write down the number of red signals, yellow signals, green signals, and speed boards we saw in the video. So every time you saw any of the above you would put a mark in its box on the piece of paper they gave. At the same time the DTM's were at the back of the room making noises, talking to each other or making banging noises or talking on the phone, trying to distract you. I think this task was to see how good your concentration skills are.
Again after this task they got rid of 3 more people and we were left with 6 candidates.
Then we went for a 30 mins meal break and then they did the DMI interviews. The interviews lasted for around 25 minutes, each had 2 DTM's but one was mainly just writing down what I said. First they just asked me to say a little about myself, what I had done in my life and what my interests were. They told me a bit about Northern. After that they showed me on a piece of paper the questions they would ask me which were only 2 questions (sorry I can't remember what the questions were) and they gave me a choice of whichever order I wanted to answer them. After that they asked me if I wanted to ask any questions which I did and that's it, interview over. They called me the next day that I had passed and through to the next stage.
Hope this helps

This is great, thanks for sharing your experience. I have a group assessment day and DMI coming up after passing my Psychometric test and MMI earlier this week. Are you able to give details of the questions you asked please? I have a few in mind but want to make sure they would be relevant.

 

[Colly103]

Good luck with the rest of your journey. I sat the psychometrics in Leeds today with 3 other lads - unfortunately I failed the ATAVT test which I’m annoyed about as I aced the rest! Now the whole year long wait and a life lost! Gutted is an understatement. 2 of the lads were in to MMIs as a couple of us left. Brutal but a lesson I suppose! Not sure how I can perform better next time but will have to lick my wounds for now! Good luck all those still in for the position

 

[Patrick001]

Good luck with the rest of your journey. I sat the psychometrics in Leeds today with 3 other lads - unfortunately I failed the ATAVT test which I’m annoyed about as I aced the rest! Now the whole year long wait and a life lost! Gutted is an understatement. 2 of the lads were in to MMIs as a couple of us left. Brutal but a lesson I suppose! Not sure how I can perform better next time but will have to lick my wounds for now! Good luck all those still in for the position

Sorry to hear this - still 2 lives left!

I've got mine in Leeds next week, do you have any tips for any of the psychometrics, in particular the ATAVT?

 

[Jonners00]

Sorry to hear this - still 2 lives left!

I've got mine in Leeds next week, do you have any tips for any of the psychometrics, in particular the ATAVT?

With the ATAVT only select what you see, don’t try and guess as this will go against you. Look for the smaller things like signs or traffic lights as your likely to see big thing likes cars in your peripheral vision.

 

[Colly103]

Sorry to hear this - still 2 lives left!

I've got mine in Leeds next week, do you have any tips for any of the psychometrics, in particular the ATAVT?

Firstly I'm not sure how much use I will be for the ATAVT as that was my downfall!!!! I can only assume looking back that I wasn't sure of what I had seen so either guessed or became too cautious with my submissions. For the rest, I got through them all and they are well explained beforehand - I passed all the others at enhanced - One obvious tip would be to ask any questions you have even if you think they are obvious and listen to the instructions carefully as they are important - the ladies running the day were great to be honest and were very helpful. My downfall I fear was all on me! The annoying thing is there isn't much I can do in preparation - all I could find beforehand for the ATAVT was a 2 minute video on YouTube - there are some software options to purchase online but my experience with the one I bought for around £15 was that although they are similar the test - the real test was MUCH harder - for me anyway lol - Best of Luck - the hardest part for me now is the year long wait for another go!

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With the ATAVT only select what you see, don’t try and guess as this will go against you. Look for the smaller things like signs or traffic lights as your likely to see big thing likes cars in your peripheral vision.

Good Advice! If I get another attempt at it in the future then something I will be strictly following!

 

[Patrick001]

With the ATAVT only select what you see, don’t try and guess as this will go against you. Look for the smaller things like signs or traffic lights as your likely to see big thing likes cars in your peripheral vision.

That's very useful, thanks!

Firstly I'm not sure how much use I will be for the ATAVT as that was my downfall!!!! I can only assume looking back that I wasn't sure of what I had seen so either guessed or became too cautious with my submissions. For the rest, I got through them all and they are well explained beforehand - I passed all the others at enhanced - One obvious tip would be to ask any questions you have even if you think they are obvious and listen to the instructions carefully as they are important - the ladies running the day were great to be honest and were very helpful. My downfall I fear was all on me! The annoying thing is there isn't much I can do in preparation - all I could find beforehand for the ATAVT was a 2 minute video on YouTube - there are some software options to purchase online but my experience with the one I bought for around £15 was that although they are similar the test - the real test was MUCH harder - for me anyway lol - Best of Luck - the hardest part for me now is the year long wait for another go!

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Good Advice! If I get another attempt at it in the future then something I will be strictly following!

You'd be surprised - sometimes it's easier to look back at a situation like that and see where you went wrong (so next time you know how to smash it!) compared to the other tasks that you passed. It sounds like you are already doing this so as hard as the years wait will be, it is just the ATAVT & MMI for you to do now so you can purely focus on these! Appreciate all the tips, I have a fair few questions to ask on the day regarding specifics for all of them. Whilst we're on the topic of the ATAVT, do you know if the rear of signs count as signs, or the pedestrian crossing part of traffic lights? And if street names are signs? I've been practising using Google Maps street view for Vienna, as the software uses these images. You can buy a software online that replicates it fairly well I believe too (maybe more so than the one you got) it sounds like its on the screen for 1 second exactly.

Any advice for the other 2 computer based tests?

 

[Colly103]

I was really worried about the day too to be fair. For the WAFV I tried not to hover my finger over the button as I was worried about false clicks. I also put headphones on at that point to try and block out some of the noise around me. Moving a little in my chair also helped me retain focus. For the joysticks I would say don’t go extremely slow but also don’t panic when you go outside of the lines just try and recover quickly. I flew drones in a previous job and found the joysticks quite similar in sensitivity. I didn’t really practice beforehand and still managed okay. If you’ve played games consoles in the past you should get the hang of it - although the sticks are a little more sensitive. Try and relax (easier said than done right) and enjoy the day! Good Luck!

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That's very useful, thanks!


You'd be surprised - sometimes it's easier to look back at a situation like that and see where you went wrong (so next time you know how to smash it!) compared to the other tasks that you passed. It sounds like you are already doing this so as hard as the years wait will be, it is just the ATAVT & MMI for you to do now so you can purely focus on these! Appreciate all the tips, I have a fair few questions to ask on the day regarding specifics for all of them. Whilst we're on the topic of the ATAVT, do you know if the rear of signs count as signs, or the pedestrian crossing part of traffic lights? And if street names are signs? I've been practising using Google Maps street view for Vienna, as the software uses these images. You can buy a software online that replicates it fairly well I believe too (maybe more so than the one you got) it sounds like its on the screen for 1 second exactly.

Any advice for the other 2 computer based tests?

Apologies I don’t know all of the answers on that - I do believe street signs count - I did click traffic lights when I was looking at the green man on pedestrian crossing but honestly don’t know if that would count - it may be why I failed!!! If in doubt ask the invigilator - I do wish I’d clarified a few things before rushing into it.

 

[Patrick001]

I was really worried about the day too to be fair. For the WAFV I tried not to hover my finger over the button as I was worried about false clicks. I also put headphones on at that point to try and block out some of the noise around me. Moving a little in my chair also helped me retain focus. For the joysticks I would say don’t go extremely slow but also don’t panic when you go outside of the lines just try and recover quickly. I flew drones in a previous job and found the joysticks quite similar in sensitivity. I didn’t really practice beforehand and still managed okay. If you’ve played games consoles in the past you should get the hang of it - although the sticks are a little more sensitive. Try and relax (easier said than done right) and enjoy the day! Good Luck!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Apr 2026 ==


Apologies I don’t know all of the answers on that - I do believe street signs count - I did click traffic lights when I was looking at the green man on pedestrian crossing but honestly don’t know if that would count - it may be why I failed!!! If in doubt ask the invigilator - I do wish I’d clarified a few things before rushing into it.

Thanks - sounds like I'll need it!

I'll get a list together of questions to ask them to clarify for all the tests, hopefully that will avoid the ambiguity of some things

 

[D20RSP]

Hello, is anyone going through or have done the recent Northern recruitment process for trainee driver for Manchester?

My partner has gone through the paper sift and is awaiting a MAKI test.

The reason I ask is I did the process last year but I didnt do a maki test. Please can any one give me some advise regarding this or point me in the right direction to look online to research this?

Thanks in advance and good luck to all that is in the recruitment process

 

[NM1111]

Hello, is anyone going through or have done the recent Northern recruitment process for trainee driver for Manchester?

My partner has gone through the paper sift and is awaiting a MAKI test.

The reason I ask is I did the process last year but I didnt do a maki test. Please can any one give me some advise regarding this or point me in the right direction to look online to research this?

Thanks in advance and good luck to all that is in the recruitment process

Hi i have the same thing, hopefully someone on here can shed some light?

 

[freddie93]

Hi, can I just ask when the closing date was for your application? I spoke to someone from Northern in early December about a telephone interview and I've not heard anything back yet. Was assuming it was just a backlog due to Christmas and New Year.

Best of luck! I've not had the telephone interview before but I have had a DMI and done the psychometrics so if you need any tips, let me know.

Hi, just sent you a PM. I have my DMI this week, hoping for a quick chat

 

[wan8]

Hi just wanted to ask if anyone has gone through thjs same process recently so I applied then did the online assessment then did the psychometric tests and now have been invited for the assessment/manager interview I just wanted to ask if anyone could give more details of the day and if you have followed the same process as I have so far?

 

[pilbocat]

Hey everyone, I've done a maki test for the trainee driver role. Is this the psychometric test? It felt like it could be one but I expected it to be more in depth

 

[alliekt]

Has anyone else been invited to an assessment day / interview on Friday 24th for Manchester?

 

[IanDav12]

I’ve not had an assessment day invitation, but have a Maki online assessment instead. Only have a few days notice, so feeling a little rushed. Has anyone done this recently and if so, can they shed any light on what I should expect?

I’ve seen a few recommendations for the RailPrep website and their paid packages. Does anyone have experience with this material?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[CarlG]

Invited to group assesment & interview. I seen an older post on here regarding the group assessments, just wondered if anyone has done it more recently and any information on what to expect?

Also regarding interview, I've been getting together a bank of scenarios that should cover a lot of questions but has anyone had any questipns pop up which maybe threw them off, or weren't necessarily expecting?

Any help/info will be massively appreciated!

 

[Flood89]

Hi does any one work for northern trains in the north west and know if the Sundays are contracted to you our over time and how the shifts are planned ie week of lates and the following week is early
Last question
is the work to family time balance good as I have two young children
Thanks

 

[whoosh]

Northern as a Train Operating Company has seen some lumping together of other TOCs over the years. With regards to staff, there are two parts to Northern Trains (well actually three!), and staff have different Terms & Conditions depending on whether they are 'East' or 'West' (or former Trans-Pennine as some staff have been absorbed from some routes over the years). Counterintuitively, Carlisle is an 'East' depot as it was part of the TOC which the other East depots were part of.
Then you have differing T&Cs depending on job role as well - so there are differences between Drivers and Guards even within the same former TOC divisions.

In essence, you'll need to give more information regarding role and location for your question to be answered.

 

[Flood89]

Northern as a Train Operating Company has seen some lumping together of other TOCs over the years. With regards to staff, there are two parts to Northern Trains (well actually three!), and staff have different Terms & Conditions depending on whether they are 'East' or 'West' (or former Trans-Pennine as some staff have been absorbed from some routes over the years). Counterintuitively, Carlisle is an 'East' depot as it was part of the TOC which the other East depots were part of.
Then you have differing T&Cs depending on job role as well - so there are differences between Drivers and Guards even within the same former TOC divisions.

In essence, you'll need to give more information regarding role and location for your question to be answered.

Thanks for the reply It’s for a train driver in the north so

 

[driver9000]

Thanks for the reply It’s for a train driver in the north so

You'll need to narrow it down to North West or North East? Different conditions apply depending on which side of the hills you'll be based.

 

[godfreycomplex]

West conditions - Manchester (Picc & Vic), Liverpool Lime Street, Buxton, Wigan Wallgate, Blackburn, Blackpool North, Barrow, Workington
East conditions - Leeds, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Sheffield, York, Doncaster, Hull, Darlington (drivers only), Middlesborough (guards only), Newcastle, Skipton, Carlisle, Ashington (guards only)
Ex-TPE conditions - some at Blackpool & Barrow

 

[Flood89]

You'll need to narrow it eownctNorth West or North East? Different conditions apply depending on which side of the hills you'll be based.

North west

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West conditions - Manchester (Picc & Vic), Liverpool Lime Street, Buxton, Wigan Wallgate, Blackburn, Blackpool North, Barrow, Workington
East conditions - Leeds, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Sheffield, York, Doncaster, Hull, Darlington (drivers only), Middlesborough (guards only), Newcastle, Skipton, Carlisle, Ashington (guards only)
Ex-TPE conditions - some at Blackpool & Barrow

North west

 

[freddie93]

Invited to group assesment & interview. I seen an older post on here regarding the group assessments, just wondered if anyone has done it more recently and any information on what to expect?

Also regarding interview, I've been getting together a bank of scenarios that should cover a lot of questions but has anyone had any questipns pop up which maybe threw them off, or weren't necessarily expecting?

Any help/info will be massively appreciated!

I’m in same boat. DMI & assessments on Friday. When are yours?

 

[Horizon22]

Hi does any one work for northern trains in the north west and know if the Sundays are contracted to you our over time and how the shifts are planned ie week of lates and the following week is early
Last question
is the work to family time balance good as I have two young children
Thanks

One thing to bare in mind for any train driver job is that the shifts will be hard and will be anti-social. You will have shifts where you will have to manage childcare accordingly and will have to leave the house very early and get home very late. There may be days you may not really see them at all. You may be able to do mutual swaps to arrange, but others will be in the same situation. It may be balanced out by rest days at other times everything else is working.

This is not to shoot you down or anything, just some of the gritty realities of the job.

 

[driver9000]

Northern West has a 3 week link cycle giving a long weekend every 3rd week with the rest day pattern being

1. Monday/Tuesday.
2. Wednesday/Thursday.
3. Friday/Saturday.

Unless things have changed since I was at Northern, you are expected to work your booked Sunday if it can't be covered despite them being outside the working week. How the jobs were laid out would be depot dependent, my depot would do a couple of weeks of earlies, middles or lates bunched together but for me the hardest part was coming off a late turn Saturday (01:20 finish on the Sunday morning) and going into an early turn Monday (say 03:30 start). As with any driving job you will end up making some sacrifices but once you get into a groove you'll hopefully adapt to it. There's always the possibility of swapping shifts with someone or carefully placed daily leave to increase your time off by extending a long weekend or leave block.

 

[coxxy]

Hi does any one work for northern trains in the north west and know if the Sundays are contracted to you our over time and how the shifts are planned ie week of lates and the following week is early
Last question
is the work to family time balance good as I have two young children
Thanks

I have an 18 month old.

The shifts have been brutal tbh. Im having days where between Nursery and the shifts etc I see my little one for about 30 minutes.

But at Northern its earlies/lates/earlies/lates.. and there is some night work ag Piccadilly as well.

 

[RiverDon]

This mirrors my experience. The shifts are much much harder than any previous job I've done, even the police. The random start times are really hard to build a routine round. Brutal is the correct word for it. It's the one bit that makes me regret the move.

 

[trainnewbie25]

This mirrors my experience. The shifts are much much harder than any previous job I've done, even the police. The random start times are really hard to build a routine round. Brutal is the correct word for it. It's the one bit that makes me regret the move.

What is a usual 2/3 week period
Like for you?Similar to northern?

 

[RiverDon]

Yes my depot does the same rest day pattern and early/late week rotation but we also have nights. The bit in post 9 about finishing a back shift in the early hours of Sunday morning and starting again in the early hours of Monday morning is also the same for us.

They gave us big lectures in the training academy about how seriously the company takes fatigue and the importance of sleeping properly and being well rested for work then you go out on the line at the depot and you're given a roster that would make Rip Van Winkle cry!

 

[trainnewbie25]

Yes my depot does the same rest day pattern and early/late week rotation but we also have nights. The bit in post 9 about finishing a back shift in the early hours of Sunday morning and starting again in the early hours of Monday morning is also the same for us.

They gave us big lectures in the training academy about how seriously the company takes fatigue and the importance of sleeping properly and being well rested for work then you go out on the line at the depot and you're given a roster that would make Rip Van Winkle cry!

I didn’t think that would be allowed the early hours of Sunday finishing the shift then start early hours the following day in such a safety critical environment.
They must take a bit of getting used to!