EMR - Trainee Train Drivers - Recruitment Discussion

[coasting8816]

Just finished it. There are three exercises, which are basically mini games (nothing to do with trains at all).

One was about focusing on an arrow surrounded by other arrows/dashes/crosses and picking the right direction in time using two keys.

Next one was similar but there are two boxes where a number inside a shape will come up. You have to press a certain key depending on which box it's in and whether it's an odd/even number or rounded/non-rounded shape.

The last one was absolute torture, it was basically a test of your reaction time. You have to crack a safe by hitting the space bar when the right number is highlighted. This gets progressively more ridiculous in terms of speed and it's quite likely you will want to give up before getting all the numbers! (I did and it didn't seem to affect my score)

Don't bother preparing for any of these but maybe don't do it when you're tired or distracted.

 

[Chippychips]

Just finished it. There are three exercises, which are basically mini games (nothing to do with trains at all).

One was about focusing on an arrow surrounded by other arrows/dashes/crosses and picking the right direction in time using two keys.

Next one was similar but there are two boxes where a number inside a shape will come up. You have to press a certain key depending on which box it's in and whether it's an odd/even or rounded/non-rounded shape.

The last one was absolute torture, it was basically a test of your reaction time. You have to crack a safe by hitting the space bar when the right number is highlighted. This gets progressively more ridiculous in terms of speed and it's quite likely you will want to give up before getting all the numbers! (I did and it didn't seem to affect my score)

Don't bother preparing for any of these but maybe don't do it when you're tired or distracted.

Thanks for the insight, sounds like a trip to the arcade!

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many KX positions EMR are looking for?

Additionally, I note on the advert it says:

• Part 1 - Application and online testing
• Part 2 – Driver testing Stage 1
• Part 3 – Assessment Day
• Part 4 – Strength based interviews
• Part 5 – Driver testing Stage 2

What are these stages? I'm guessing Driver Testing Stage 1 and 2 are probably the OPC Psychometrics and MMI, but part 3 "Assessment day" is throwing me off? Any ideas anyone? maybe someone who's gone through the process before could clarify?

 

[PufferFish]

Name is in the hat and have received assesment invitation, good luck everyone!!

 

[Twin82]

Wow that was quick! Nice one!

 

[VSKrey]

Name is in the hat and have received assesment invitation, good luck everyone!!

What kind of assesment? is it the one online, or an in-person one?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2026 ==

Just finished it. There are three exercises, which are basically mini games (nothing to do with trains at all).

One was about focusing on an arrow surrounded by other arrows/dashes/crosses and picking the right direction in time using two keys.

Next one was similar but there are two boxes where a number inside a shape will come up. You have to press a certain key depending on which box it's in and whether it's an odd/even number or rounded/non-rounded shape.

The last one was absolute torture, it was basically a test of your reaction time. You have to crack a safe by hitting the space bar when the right number is highlighted. This gets progressively more ridiculous in terms of speed and it's quite likely you will want to give up before getting all the numbers! (I did and it didn't seem to affect my score)

Don't bother preparing for any of these but maybe don't do it when you're tired or distracted.

Cheers, appreciate your help this was needed before I completed it. I'm assuming now we just wait until after the 23rd deadline?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2026 ==

Wow that was quick! Nice one!

Admittedly it felt a bit torturous, like coasting said above, I managed to get to the last safe continuously on the 3rd task but nothing ahead of it. Got pretty decent scores, for response to change I was on the far distinctive end of the scale and it stated I'm best working in stable environments and may be best suited to tasks or situations where predictability enables you to thoroughly prepare for new, emerging details or information. Did say I'm best in immersive tasks. Not sure if that's good, but google AI said its desired!

 

[coasting8816]

Got an email at 2.50am from someone in the recruitment team to say I've been shortlisted! That was quick, I thought they would only be in touch after the assessment deadline date. I wonder if it's an automated decision based on the assessment results?

 

[Chippychips]

Got an email at 2.50am from someone in the recruitment team to say I've been shortlisted! That was quick, I thought they would only be in touch after the assessment deadline date. I wonder if it's an automated decision based on the assessment results?

I received that too but just received another email confirming that email was sent in error (in terms of timing). They've sent a mass email out not long ago saying:

Dear Candidate,

We appreciate that, due to the high number of applications we have received, some candidates have received emails at different times. We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

We wanted to provide a clear update on where we are in the recruitment process and what you need to do next.

1. Shortlist email – Initial sift
If you have received an email confirming that you have been shortlisted, this relates to the initial application sift. It means you have successfully progressed through this stage of the recruitment process.

2. Arctic Shores online assessment
The next stage is the Arctic Shores online assessment.
If you have already completed your Arctic Shores assessment, you do not need to do anything further at this stage.
If you have not yet completed your assessment, please ensure that you do so by 23 August 2026. Please check your emails, including your junk/spam folder, for the assessment invitation.

3. What happens next?
We expect to have the results of the Arctic Shores assessments during the week commencing 24 August 2026.
We will then contact candidates to confirm whether they have successfully progressed to the next stage of the recruitment process.
Therefore:

• Already completed Arctic Shores? You don't need to do anything further – we will be in touch w/c 24 August.
• Not yet completed Arctic Shores? Please complete the assessment by 23 August 2026.
• Received your shortlist email? This confirmed that you successfully passed the initial sift and progressed to the Arctic Shores stage.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through the high volume of applications. We appreciate that receiving communications at different times may have caused some uncertainty, and we hope this email provides clarity on where you are in the process.

Kind regards,
Talent Team
The Talent Team
East Midlands Railway

 

[coasting8816]

Do you reckon the initial sift would have included filtering people out by location? I wrote above I was concerned about being 50-55 mins away by car from St Pancras (less by public transport). Presumably they would have checked that before getting people to do the Arctic Shores thing?

 

[Chippychips]

Do you reckon the initial sift would have included filtering people out by location? I wrote above I was concerned about being 50-55 mins away by car from St Pancras (less by public transport). Presumably they would have checked that before getting people to do the Arctic Shores thing?

I reckon you have nothing to worry about. The fact you received the initial sift email, and then the assessment invite is a sure sign you've passed the initial 'vetting' of whatever needed to be vetted (including location I would presume).
Its just that THAT email was supposed to come before the Assessment invite, judging by the sound of things.

 

[JC108]

Just finished it. There are three exercises, which are basically mini games (nothing to do with trains at all).

One was about focusing on an arrow surrounded by other arrows/dashes/crosses and picking the right direction in time using two keys.

Next one was similar but there are two boxes where a number inside a shape will come up. You have to press a certain key depending on which box it's in and whether it's an odd/even number or rounded/non-rounded shape.

The last one was absolute torture, it was basically a test of your reaction time. You have to crack a safe by hitting the space bar when the right number is highlighted. This gets progressively more ridiculous in terms of speed and it's quite likely you will want to give up before getting all the numbers! (I did and it didn't seem to affect my score)

Don't bother preparing for any of these but maybe don't do it when you're tired or distracted.

Hello mate.

Did you have to do the situational judgement tests also or is this another day

 

[coasting8816]

This is only my second ever trainee driver application but no situational judgement test this time (yet). I did have to do one for GWR as part of the application.

 

[Twin82]

This is only my second ever trainee driver application but no situational judgement test this time (yet). I did have to do one for GWR as part of the application.

How did you get on with gwr?

 

[coasting8816]

How did you get on with gwr?

I didn't do well enough on the online fault finding test unfortunately so didn't make it very far

 

[Twin82]

I didn't do well enough on the online fault finding test unfortunately so didn't make it very far

I wish u all the best for this opportunity

 

[JC108]

This is only my second ever trainee driver application but no situational judgement test this time (yet). I did have to do one for GWR as part of the application.

Thank you ☺️

 

[lhupann]

Hello!
New to this thread, re the recent St Pancras recruitment campaign, and the salary starting approx 50k. Does anyone have any further information on fully qualified salary and what this looks like? Thank you

 

[dan1w]

I think someone clarified this further back in the thread.

 

[rob99]

Hello!
New to this thread, re the recent St Pancras recruitment campaign, and the salary starting approx 50k. Does anyone have any further information on fully qualified salary and what this looks like? Thank you

62k once qualified. Overtime paid at 1.5. payrise is on the table practically and also new trains in service soon so should see a hefty increase to.

 

[Chippychips]

Non London driver is £73098.00. London I believe get £3k more. Full rate is 12 months after your PASS OUT date.

Post #411 said this?

62k once qualified. Overtime paid at 1.5. payrise is on the table practically and also new trains in service soon so should see a hefty increase to.

Are you a driver because it would be nice to know if this is the accurate figure.
All we know for certain is the training salary said 50k on the advert.

 

[Aspen90]

Post #411 said this?

Are you a driver because it would be nice to know if this is the accurate figure.
All we know for certain is the training salary said 50k on the advert.

It’s £50377 when in the classroom, then £58479 when you’re out and about learning with your mentor/instructor (approx 4/5 months in), then £73098 12 months after your pass out date. To confirm that’s non London rates - I’m not sure what the London enhancement is exactly.

 

[baz962]

It’s £50377 when in the classroom, then £58479 when you’re out and about learning with your mentor/instructor (approx 4/5 months in), then £73098 12 months after your pass out date. To confirm that’s non London rates - I’m not sure what the London enhancement is exactly.

About 4k . Puts you on roughly £77200.
Pay claim is January and obviously the 810's are the new units that the above poster was probably on about. No hefty raise anywhere. Got the rest day rate wrong too.

 

[NorthBoundEcho]

What kind of assesment? is it the one online, or an in-person one?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2026 ==


Cheers, appreciate your help this was needed before I completed it. I'm assuming now we just wait until after the 23rd deadline?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2026 ==


Admittedly it felt a bit torturous, like coasting said above, I managed to get to the last safe continuously on the 3rd task but nothing ahead of it. Got pretty decent scores, for response to change I was on the far distinctive end of the scale and it stated I'm best working in stable environments and may be best suited to tasks or situations where predictability enables you to thoroughly prepare for new, emerging details or information. Did say I'm best in immersive tasks. Not sure if that's good, but google AI said its desired!

What kind of assesment? is it the one online, or an in-person one?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2026 ==


Cheers, appreciate your help this was needed before I completed it. I'm assuming now we just wait until after the 23rd deadline?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2026 ==


Admittedly it felt a bit torturous, like coasting said above, I managed to get to the last safe continuously on the 3rd task but nothing ahead of it. Got pretty decent scores, for response to change I was on the far distinctive end of the scale and it stated I'm best working in stable environments and may be best suited to tasks or situations where predictability enables you to thoroughly prepare for new, emerging details or information. Did say I'm best in immersive tasks. Not sure if that's good, but google AI said its desired!

Was this the far left or far right dot for response to change?

 

[Twin82]

I managed to do my online assessment early this morning somewhere between half 2 and half 3 this morning after having a long day at my daughters friends birthday do and then going back to theirs till late, so feeling exhausted was an understatement. I've done an online assessment with arctic shores for Southeastern, which I'm currently awaiting a starting date pending upcoming medical, and the first 2 tasks as well as the initial practice task were the same. The last task, the security lock, was new to me. I managed to unlock 4 of the 5 locks, and kept tripping up on the 3td number. Felt impossible to do as the radar was so fast and small. Lol. I don't think that particular task was timed so I tried and tried until I ended the task.

My Feedback showed all dots in the far right. I did make a few errors in the first 2 tasks but I got on with with. Hopefully that's enough to get me through.

I'm sure I read in this thread that someone got e-mail that they're though to the test centre stage. He must of cleared the last task with the security lock. Kudos to him.

As I've passed my psychometrics to enhanced standard with Southeastern, would I go straight to DMI or would I have an extra test to do with EMR? Is it safe to say EMR uses the national standard pass?

 

[VSKrey]

Was this the far left or far right dot for response to change?

Far left for change. What was yours? for challenge approach and response to task/decisions it was the 3rd one towards the right.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Sunday at 16:33 ==

I managed to do my online assessment early this morning somewhere between half 2 and half 3 this morning after having a long day at my daughters friends birthday do and then going back to theirs till late, so feeling exhausted was an understatement. I've done an online assessment with arctic shores for Southeastern, which I'm currently awaiting a starting date pending upcoming medical, and the first 2 tasks as well as the initial practice task were the same. The last task, the security lock, was new to me. I managed to unlock 4 of the 5 locks, and kept tripping up on the 3td number. Felt impossible to do as the radar was so fast and small. Lol. I don't think that particular task was timed so I tried and tried until I ended the task.

My Feedback showed all dots in the far right. I did make a few errors in the first 2 tasks but I got on with with. Hopefully that's enough to get me through.

I'm sure I read in this thread that someone got e-mail that they're though to the test centre stage. He must of cleared the last task with the security lock. Kudos to him.

As I've passed my psychometrics to enhanced standard with Southeastern, would I go straight to DMI or would I have an extra test to do with EMR? Is it safe to say EMR uses the national standard pass?

Dont think this is right, EMR results come out tomorrow starting week 24th August. Probably a different thread. I believe Southeastern has one of the highest enhanced standards - most likely straight to DMI.

 

[echLAS]

Completed my Arctic Shores assessment.

For the feedback report, you get three scales of 4 points each (how you attend to tasks and decisions, how you respond to change, how you approach challenges)

I got 4/4, 3/4 and 4/4 - not sure if this is actually going to be used to decide if we are the right candidate though.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[Chippychips]

As I've passed my psychometrics to enhanced standard with Southeastern, would I go straight to DMI or would I have an extra test to do with EMR? Is it safe to say EMR uses the national standard pass?

Not sure if you will go to DMI, but the stages of the process according to the original advert are:

• Part 1 - Application and online testing
• Part 2 – Driver testing Stage 1
• Part 3 – Assessment Day
• Part 4 – Strength based interviews
• Part 5 – Driver testing Stage 2

I'd assume Part 4 is "DMI" for Drivers (unless this is some other type of interview!), but Part 3 takes place before this. I did ask in post #422 if anyone had any idea what 'Assessment Day' was, but no response to it yet...

 

[Twin82]

Not sure if you will go to DMI, but the stages of the process according to the original advert are:

• Part 1 - Application and online testing
• Part 2 – Driver testing Stage 1
• Part 3 – Assessment Day
• Part 4 – Strength based interviews
• Part 5 – Driver testing Stage 2

I'd assume Part 4 is "DMI" for Drivers (unless this is some other type of interview!), but Part 3 takes place before this. I did ask in post #422 if anyone had any idea what 'Assessment Day' was, but no response to it yet...

Ok well I would think the strength based questions would be the MMI which is part of the national standard testing. And yes. There are 2 interviews. If you fail the mmi then would lose a life and will have to wait 12 months in order to apply to any TOC. Cannot apply before then. DMI is for the depot you are applying to. You do not lose lives if you fail this. Normally on assessment day you do the driver testing whether it's stage 1, stage 2 or both the same day. Many have to query this.

 

[coasting8816]

I also only managed to unlock 4 of the 5 locks and gave up but I did try a lot of times (I think that's actually part of what they look at to decide your score). I still got 4/4 so I don't think unlocking all the locks is a requirement. Also intrigued how they will use this to sift further

 

[Unobrow]

Not sure if you will go to DMI, but the stages of the process according to the original advert are:

• Part 1 - Application and online testing
• Part 2 – Driver testing Stage 1
• Part 3 – Assessment Day
• Part 4 – Strength based interviews
• Part 5 – Driver testing Stage 2

I'd assume Part 4 is "DMI" for Drivers (unless this is some other type of interview!), but Part 3 takes place before this. I did ask in post #422 if anyone had any idea what 'Assessment Day' was, but no response to it yet...

When I applied for EMR around 4/5yrs ago, assessment day was interactive group exercises with other candidates. Can‘t remember how many were there on the day, maybe around 40 of us?

 

[NorthBoundEcho]

right.

I got the 4th dot (far right dot) on all three tasks.
It’s the first time I’ve applied to a train operator, I know it’s a long process.
I’m hopeful, but I’m not expecting too much as I know they always have a very high number candidates.
But fingers are firmly crossed.

We can all compare the feedback from ArcticShores but the problem we have is that nobody knows what the standard is that EMR have set.

What might look good in this ArcticShores feedback, might not be what EMR are looking for…