West Midlands Trains (inc. LNWR) - Trainee Driver - Recruitment Discussion

[jamziig]

same to be honest, I thought I had good answers to the questions although I don't honestly believe someone has sat down and read them at this point, this must be an automated sift at this stage due to the numbers involved so that would suggest something automatable like a postcode / distance from depot check, I'm 40 minutes away from the depot I applied for but if they have 2000 other applicants that live closer then I could understand being pushed out, would be nice if they could tell you that if that is the case, but I'm amazed that a valid psychometrics pass didn't at least get me in a room with a driver manager, they would rather pay to put someone else through the tests (who might fail and thus wasted money) just insane... 2nd knockback for west mids (1st time was without my psychometrics) and I've honestly no idea what they want to be honest, it's no wonder there's a driver shortage



Maybe, but as long as it fell under the hour commute it shouldn't have been an issue

I believe there I is a cooling period before u can apply again, so It not always about how far u live, I have done assignments for TOC which are 60+ min away,

 

[mr_ixolite]

I believe there I is a cooling period before u can apply again, so It not always about how far u live, I have done assignments for TOC which are 60+ min away,

Yes, 6 months, last time I applied was October 25 so it's not that

 

[ST88]

Hi All, hope you are well, i am new to this and can see a lot of helpful posts from people which is lovely to see. I have my Stage 1 OPC assessment soon in 2 weeks, i have done the practice materials provided by OPC however was wondering if anyone recommends any sites to help with the Group Bourdon, TEA-Occ and TRP1 and TRP2 tests. Slightly concerned as on the Group Bourdon practice test, searching for both letters at the same time i completed 9 out of the 20 lines in the 1 minute allowed so not feeling at all confident :-/ any help and advice would be very much appreciated

 

[magicflash]

Dot test for sure. Make sure you practice on paper/pencil and not on a PC/laptop.

The last test involves circling certain symbols as well as counting tones that are played out loud. If you can find some videos on YouTube maybe that'll play tones and at the same time, complete the dot test. That's what I did.

Thank you!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 May 2026 ==

Hi All, hope you are well, i am new to this and can see a lot of helpful posts from people which is lovely to see. I have my Stage 1 OPC assessment soon in 2 weeks, i have done the practice materials provided by OPC however was wondering if anyone recommends any sites to help with the Group Bourdon, TEA-Occ and TRP1 and TRP2 tests. Slightly concerned as on the Group Bourdon practice test, searching for both letters at the same time i completed 9 out of the 20 lines in the 1 minute allowed so not feeling at all confident :-/ any help and advice would be very much appreciated

I’ve got mine beg of July. I am worried about it to be honest. I could do with some help too!

 

[andrewguk]

Hi All, hope you are well, i am new to this and can see a lot of helpful posts from people which is lovely to see. I have my Stage 1 OPC assessment soon in 2 weeks, i have done the practice materials provided by OPC however was wondering if anyone recommends any sites to help with the Group Bourdon, TEA-Occ and TRP1 and TRP2 tests. Slightly concerned as on the Group Bourdon practice test, searching for both letters at the same time i completed 9 out of the 20 lines in the 1 minute allowed so not feeling at all confident :-/ any help and advice would be very much appreciated

The group bourdon test is crossing off 4 dots, not letters.

It's 2 minutes per section too. 5 sections so 10 minutes in total to complete the task.

 

[Twin82]

Hi All, hope you are well, i am new to this and can see a lot of helpful posts from people which is lovely to see. I have my Stage 1 OPC assessment soon in 2 weeks, i have done the practice materials provided by OPC however was wondering if anyone recommends any sites to help with the Group Bourdon, TEA-Occ and TRP1 and TRP2 tests. Slightly concerned as on the Group Bourdon practice test, searching for both letters at the same time i completed 9 out of the 20 lines in the 1 minute allowed so not feeling at all confident :-/ any help and advice would be very much appreciated

Like the gentleman said, the group bourdon will be the 4 dot test. The practice material from OPC, prepares you for the 4 dot test ( group bourdon). A simple google search will show you what it looks like. Think of it like domino pieces. Simplest way I can describe it to you. Somewhere on this forum (perhaps on the assessment and medical thread, is a link to free practice material for the group Bourdon test. Try and find that link.

 

[Matteo1988]

Like the gentleman said, the group bourdon will be the 4 dot test. The practice material from OPC, prepares you for the 4 dot test ( group bourdon). A simple google search will show you what it looks like. Think of it like domino pieces. Simplest way I can describe it to you. Somewhere on this forum (perhaps on the assessment and medical thread, is a link to free practice material for the group Bourdon test. Try and find that link.

They don't use VSE test?

 

[Twin82]

The practice material sent to you should tell you all the tests you will be doing on the day.

 

[mr_ixolite]

The practice material sent to you should tell you all the tests you will be doing on the day.

The practice material is not entirely accurate and does indeed give an example group bourdon test using letters, not dots so they were right to ask

 

[Twin82]

The practice material is not entirely accurate and does indeed give an example group bourdon test using letters, not dots so they were right to ask

It's not supposed to be accurate. It draws on the same skills required to complete the group bourdon. Same for the rest of practice material. You won't ever get like for like with the practice material.

 

[chris2288]

Morning all. Can I ask roughly how long people waited from passing their stage 2 assessments before they received an invite for the DMI?
Just curious as I passed mine 11th and haven't heard anything yet other than they won't take place for sometime. Anyone else in the same boat? I understand that courses may not be available for a while so they may have halted the interviews for now.

 

[BHMGuard]

Morning all. Can I ask roughly how long people waited from passing their stage 2 assessments before they received an invite for the DMI?
Just curious as I passed mine 11th and haven't heard anything yet other than they won't take place for sometime. Anyone else in the same boat? I understand that courses may not be available for a while so they may have halted the interviews for now.

Got my stage 2 passes end of April. A colleague at work who recently had their DMI said the next course after the June one is November, so everyone in the same boat will probably hear back around end of August if I had to guess. After November it’s January and March course wise.

 

[electricdreams]

Hello all. I'm used to waiting indefinite periods, so I'm not in a rush but out of interest, how long did it take for you to hear back following the initial online application?

I applied for Coventry a couple of weeks back (with an OPC pass from a different application/TOC if that matters), but have only had the automated email confirming receipt of my application.

 

[mr_ixolite]

Hello all. I'm used to waiting indefinite periods, so I'm not in a rush but out of interest, how long did it take for you to hear back following the initial online application?

I applied for Coventry a couple of weeks back (with an OPC pass from a different application/TOC if that matters), but have only had the automated email confirming receipt of my application.

I got the email last Friday informing me I hadn't been successful, same as you, Coventry depot and with an opc pass under my belt, So the fact you haven't heard anything yet could be a positive

 

[HH24]

Morning all. Can I ask roughly how long people waited from passing their stage 2 assessments before they received an invite for the DMI?
Just curious as I passed mine 11th and haven't heard anything yet other than they won't take place for sometime. Anyone else in the same boat? I understand that courses may not be available for a while so they may have halted the interviews for now.

Passed stage 2 in first week of April. Received DMI invite 2 weeks after finding out I'd passed stage 2. Had DMI at the start of May.

 

[chris2288]

Got my stage 2 passes end of April. A colleague at work who recently had their DMI said the next course after the June one is November, so everyone in the same boat will probably hear back around end of August if I had to guess. After November it’s January and March course wise.

Thanks for that mate. Yeah hopefully that's the case. Don't mind the wait and in all fairness have researched how long this can take all things considered my application process has been pretty swift. As long as we aren't forgotten about that's all. Which depot you applied for? Bletchley is mine

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 May 2026 ==

Passed stage 2 in first week of April. Received DMI invite 2 weeks after finding out I'd passed stage 2. Had DMI at the start of May.

OK thanks were you successful?

 

[Jobey]

Has anyone heard back from Worcester? I know it can take a while, I believe when i applied to chiltern in birmingham i did a VSE about a month after applying and invited to OPC a few weeks after that, hopefully WMT is the same. I've not been told it's a no yet so I will take that.

Does anyone know if DMI is successful how long it usually is before a start date, or is there not a fixed time?

Thanks

 

[electricdreams]

I got the email last Friday informing me I hadn't been successful, same as you, Coventry depot and with an opc pass under my belt, So the fact you haven't heard anything yet could be a positive

Thanks mate, and sorry you didn't make it past the sift (I may be the same yet).

It's all an interesting guessing game if nothing else...

 

[Thegolfer]

Just messaged you

Hi cwww, would you be able to share any info on stage 2 testing with me please?

 

[Jonmanunited]

Thanks mate, and sorry you didn't make it past the sift (I may be the same yet).

It's all an interesting guessing game if nothing else...

I haven’t heard if I am been successful, and submitted the application 2 weeks ago with the depot being Bletchley.

 

[mr_ixolite]

It's all an interesting guessing game if nothing else...

you can say that again, while I didn't expect the opc pass to be a golden ticket into the job, you would have at least thought it warranted a Dmi, being a fairly safe gamble from their point of view

 

[electricdreams]

I haven’t heard if I am been successful, and submitted the application 2 weeks ago with the depot being Bletchley.

Thanks for that, seems there's plenty in the sift bucket then.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 May 2026 ==

you can say that again, while I didn't expect the opc pass to be a golden ticket into the job, you would have at least thought it warranted a Dmi, being a fairly safe gamble from their point of view

Agreed, that was my line of thinking. But I think with the sheer number of applications TOCs receive, the sift is a lottery no matter what

 

[akaMcMonagle]

Thanks mate, and sorry you didn't make it past the sift (I may be the same yet).

It's all an interesting guessing game if nothing else...

I also applied a couple of weeks ago and haven't heard anything. I only have a stage 1 pass under my belt as I failed a question on the MMI last time. I always take no news as good news until proven otherwise

 

[electricdreams]

I also applied a couple of weeks ago and haven't heard anything. I only have a stage 1 pass under my belt as I failed a question on the MMI last time. I always take no news as good news until proven otherwise

Brill, thanks. Glad I'm not the only one.

 

[Penguin80]

When I applied back in 2025 it took about a month before I was told I passed the online application. I have always found that no news is good news

 

[electricdreams]

When I applied back in 2025 it took about a month before I was told I passed the online application. I have always found that no news is good news

That's useful, thanks! Best of luck with your training.

 

[Penguin80]

That's useful, thanks! Best of luck with your training.

Thank you

 

[ST88]

Thanks for the advice folks, i have my Stage 1 tomorrow. Just a tad worried i am not completing enough lines for the Group B Test. I believe each page is 25 columns and 21 rows with 2 mims per page, for those already passed, can you remember roughly how many lines you completed? :-/

 

[BHMGuard]

Thanks for the advice folks, i have my Stage 1 tomorrow. Just a tad worried i am not completing enough lines for the Group B Test. I believe each page is 25 columns and 21 rows with 2 mims per page, for those already passed, can you remember roughly how many lines you completed? :-/

I did about 11. It’s accuracy over how many you completed at the end of the day. If you get 7 lines and get them all right, you’ll score better than someone with 13 with multiple mistakes.

 

[DaveChooChoo]

I've failed

Just had the email off LNWR

Sorry to hear that mate