Assessments & Medicals discussion

[math0]

A time where you have had to deal with an emergency or pressurised situation?

A time where you have had to follow strict rules and procedures?

A time where you have had to persevere whilst learning something/A time where you were on a course for 2 weeks.?

A time where you have demonstrated skills similar to that of a train driver?

A time where you had to do something important and not make a mistake?

A time where you have had to do a job to a high standard although you were faced with difficulties?

Much appreciated JJBH. Did you face these questions recently? Very similar to what I was asked a year ago, although the emergency situation question seems to have been altered from 'leading' to 'deal with'.
Thanks!

 

[JJBH]

Much appreciated JJBH. Did you face these questions recently? Very similar to what I was asked a year ago, although the emergency situation question seems to have been altered from 'leading' to 'deal with'.
Thanks!

Yes these were the questions I was asked. I done my MMI early January. I have heard they like to re-word some of the questions so it may not be the same every time.

 

[math0]

Yes these were the questions I was asked. I done my MMI early January. I have heard they like to re-word some of the questions so it may not be the same every time.

Brilliant. I hope it went well & you passed! Thanks for that.

 

[amalek]

Hi, after reading some posts it seems most people's OPC is split in stages. I have mine tomorrow and it will be all in one day with progression only as you pass each stage. If I do well and lucky enough to get through the tests I will have the MMI on the same day. Has anyone been through the same experience?

Practiced as much as I can, after reading many forums it seems everyone struggles mostly on the group bourdon.

 

[benpaulbaker]

Hey guys, thought i’d share my journey from start to finish with Greater Anglia for anyone that has also applied. For trainee depot driver role.

May 2025- applied online & sat the tests, passed

August 2025- Sat my stage 1, had to do fault finding, crossing out dots (the key is accuracy, not speed! don’t rush it, they know its impossible to finish 4 pages in the given time) & also listened to some noises on the speaker & counter high pitched and low pitched noises (multitasking). Got confirmation I passed this 27th August

September 2025- My stage 2 was booked, received an invite 2 days after passing my stage 1. Stage 2 was a bit more tough as I was not prepared, first 3 excercises were easy, the first one you had to just sit at a computer and stare at the screen, and press a button every time the black box would flash grey, tested concentration. Done this for 30 mins straight. Second exercise was briefly shown an image on the computer screen and had to select what you saw. Third one was controlling a ball through a maze, but it tested your hand coordination, was very sensitive i must say. After passing all three, I had an interview, the MMI. was not aware there would be an interview the same day! Anyways, they help you out a lot as it is, just ask you questions like have you ever gone above & beyond, name a time where safety was important etc. They prod you and ask questions like what was the outcome, how did it make you feel, etc. Lasted over a hour and a half

September 2025- 2 weeks after doing the stage 2 assessments received confirmation that I passed

December 2025- invitation for DMI

January 2026- Attended DMI, manager was really cool, nothing like the MMI at all. Far more relaxed, just a chance to get to know each other. Couple things he asked me was 1) what I knew about the company 2) safety questions again 3) Time where I was under pressure. There was 10 questions total and it was really relaxed.

January 2026 3 days later- Confirmed that passed & onboarding begins. Medical booked in, dbs check done & right to work request sent.

January 2026-7 days from attending DMI went to do medical, medical was a bit tough, checked eye sight, hearing, mobility, ECG, blood pressure & also urinated in a cup for drugs test. Passed the medical except for drugs test had to wait for results from lab.

January 2026- 7 days after completing medical, received my official offer & onboarding began, sent me contract & filled out some details. Start date 23rd Feb training.

Keep at it guys, i’ve been applying since 2022 & never had a chance to attend the assesments as i’ve always been busy or away, keep applying & you’ll be successful!

Thanks for the detailed rundown. I'm surprised how quickly each stage followed after the DMI.
What particular aspects of the medical did you find tough?
Thanks.

 

[I2026]

Can someone help me - Yesterday I failed Stage 2 of the Assessment Centre for GA. Failed the joystick computerised test. I had previously failed enhanced standard at Stage 1 with Avanti in Dec 2023 but passed national. So now I have 2 failed attempts at stage 1 and stage 2 of the assessment centre. 1st on3 was prior to Dec 2024. So does that mean I have blown my two attempts l. The assessor yesterday told me I have to wait for 1 year and reapply and have to only do that 1 computerised test but he didn't know about my previous failed attempt. I am absolutely gutted and feel like a total failure. It's not great if I don't have any more chances

This seems really unfair, wait a year to redo 1 test and the all the others are valid... you have already got further than many so don't feel down.

What happened in your test - did you deviate out the lines often and when you had to navigate the sharp bottleneck bit did you manage to stay in the lines etc? How consistent were you across the test etc

 

[voyagerdude220]

To save starting a new thread, please could anyone confirm which TOCs happily recruit Conductor/Train Managers without insisting that they pass the OPC SCAAT assessment?
I know Cross Country don't insist on it. Are there any others? Thanks in advance.

 

[agileflea63]

Massive congrats!!!! I assume you are flying in joy!!! Got my MMI booked by the end of this month, hope I can share your words!

Good luck and congrats again!!

Congratulations mate any advice on DMI Please thanks

DMI is the easiest one, super chill, manager was really nice & sound. He just asked me what do you know about the company, what routes do you know, then we just went through 10 questions using the STAR format, probably answered around 6/7 as sometimes the questions were similar and he just skipped them.

Thanks for the detailed rundown. I'm surprised how quickly each stage followed after the DMI.
What particular aspects of the medical did you find tough?
Thanks.

The hearing & eye sight test was a bit tough. Hearing one was when I was in a boxed room with earphones and had to press a button whenever heard a noise, but the noises was so quiet was ridiculous. Eye sight as well a bit tough. Apart from that was okay.

 

[Moonraker007]

Hello. I have recently been successful in my application to Northern as a trainee train driver. I have my assessment day coming up in the next couple of weeks and a face to face interview, should I pass the assessment.

Has anyone been through this process recently with Northern and can advise what the process was? What questions are likely to come up on the interview?

Thank you!

I have mine coming up also with northern in Leeds and not quite sure what to expect. Any information would be very much appreciated and good luck with your assessment

 

[math0]

Hi, after reading some posts it seems most people's OPC is split in stages. I have mine tomorrow and it will be all in one day with progression only as you pass each stage. If I do well and lucky enough to get through the tests I will have the MMI on the same day. Has anyone been through the same experience?

Practiced as much as I can, after reading many forums it seems everyone struggles mostly on the group bourdon.

Amalek, how did you get on? Did you get your result today? Also, can you recall your MMI interview questions?

 

[hawkster26]

Hello, today I did my stage one I did 5 tests all together, I’m confident in all apart from the fault finding test. If I fail 1 out of the 5 is that my journey with the TOC I tested for now over ?

 

[traineesw]

Hello, today I did my stage one I did 5 tests all together, I’m confident in all apart from the fault finding test. If I fail 1 out of the 5 is that my journey with the TOC I tested for now over ?

Unfortunately yes

 

[mickeyC]

Hello, today I did my stage one I did 5 tests all together, I’m confident in all apart from the fault finding test. If I fail 1 out of the 5 is that my journey with the TOC I tested for now over ?

Unfortunately you need to pass all tests to proceed onto the next stage.
Fingers crossed for you.
I thought that I failed the enhanced test for southeastern but passed, you never know.

 

[MVit]

I have mine coming up also with northern in Leeds and not quite sure what to expect. Any information would be very much appreciated and good luck with your assessment

I have been through all this very recently and start my training at the beginning of March. Which stage are you at, assessment day or psychometric testing?

 

[Madisuperstar]

DMI is the easiest one, super chill, manager was really nice & sound. He just asked me what do you know about the company, what routes do you know, then we just went through 10 questions using the STAR format, probably answered around 6/7 as sometimes the questions were similar and he just skipped them.

The hearing & eye sight test was a bit tough. Hearing one was when I was in a boxed room with earphones and had to press a button whenever heard a noise, but the noises was so quiet was ridiculous. Eye sight as well a bit tough. Apart from that was okay.

Thanks ☺️

 

[dtr1989]

I’ve passed everything to enhanced apart from the 2hand which I passed to National. The OPC said that not all companies require 2hand. Does anyone know which companies require enhanced but don’t require 2hand? Thanks in advance.

 

[mld]

I’ve passed everything to enhanced apart from the 2hand which I passed to National. The OPC said that not all companies require 2hand. Does anyone know which companies require enhanced but don’t require 2hand? Thanks in advance.

TOCs have different requirements and nobody really knows what each’s pass marks are. I do however know that Northern require enhanced on the paper tests but only national on the computer tests.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Feb 2026 ==

https://www.theopc.co.uk/files/ADVICE_Train_Driver_Standards.pdf

Whilst most TOC’s say enhanced some of them will only be part enhanced, and all ‘enhanced’ criteria are different (example, TOC A may require 95% accuracy for a specific test to meet their enhanced score, where TOC B only require 89% to meet their enhanced score, and the national pass mark is set to say 80%)

So, whilst you have passed 2hand to national you don’t actually know your score compared to the requirements of other TOCs, it could be that you do meet someone else’s enhanced score.

There’s no harm in applying to other TOCs with your current scores and see how you do. Good luck.

 

[dtr1989]

TOCs have different requirements and nobody really knows what each’s pass marks are. I do however know that Northern require enhanced on the paper tests but only national on the computer tests.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Feb 2026 ==

https://www.theopc.co.uk/files/ADVICE_Train_Driver_Standards.pdf

Whilst most TOC’s say enhanced some of them will only be part enhanced, and all ‘enhanced’ criteria are different (example, TOC A may require 95% accuracy for a specific test to meet their enhanced score, where TOC B only require 89% to meet their enhanced score, and the national pass mark is set to say 80%)

So, whilst you have passed 2hand to national you don’t actually know your score compared to the requirements of other TOCs, it could be that you do meet someone else’s enhanced score.

There’s no harm in applying to other TOCs with your current scores and see how you do. Good luck.

Makes sense, thanks mld.

 

[NSEWonderer]

I’ve passed everything to enhanced apart from the 2hand which I passed to National. The OPC said that not all companies require 2hand. Does anyone know which companies require enhanced but don’t require 2hand? Thanks in advance.

All companies require 2 hand coordination. Its part of the standard suite of tests, what they meant was that not every company requires an enhanced score in 2hand coordination. In that case, most National standard TOCs like SWR, GWR, C2C to name a few would be best to look at.

 

[Moonraker007]

I have been through all this very recently and start my training at the beginning of March. Which stage are you at, assessment day or psychometric testing?

Hi. Congratulations on passing. It’s an assessment day I have been invited to in Leeds. What was the assessment day like for you? Was there many other candidates that were with you. I’ve tried to research how many trainee roles are currently available but can’t find any answers.

 

[nelly.k]

This seems really unfair, wait a year to redo 1 test and the all the others are valid... you have already got further than many so don't feel down.

What happened in your test - did you deviate out the lines often and when you had to navigate the sharp bottleneck bit did you manage to stay in the lines etc? How consistent were you across the test etc

It is unfair. I am not sure I was that consistent. I was slow trying to be accurate then involuntary hand movements just took the ball out of the line.. I did quickly got it back in. This was the last test with the square one really mentally exhaustting. I think I didn't do too well on the pictures but clearly passed that one.

I am gutted and would do anything do pass. I can't find the exact joystick unit online to practice.

Also, I cannot recall how many practice gos I had and how many you are allowed.

 

[Ben7677]

Hello all, I have recently passed the 2nd assessment for KeolisAmey Metrolink and have been informed that the medical company will contact me soon to book me into the medical.
I must admit, I am quite frankly over the moon, this is a job I've dreamt of for a long time.

I was just curious, what tests will be conducted during the medical and how far back do they want medical history? Like should I tell them every little detail from the past 24 years or do they just want recent medical info from the past 3-5 years or something?
I have already viewed posts on this site and others regarding this subject however some were from 2012, 2020, and 2023, so I just want to ask incase any changes have been made in that time as the information may be outdated.

I am also kinda worried about a fail because I did have acid reflux in august and I am currently on self-medicated HRT (I get regular blood tests and dr comments to make sure its still going well and to ensure there's no ill health or side effects)

Any information you can give about the tests I will be given would be an absolute lifesaver.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a good day!

 

[dalesrail]

Hi, all. Does anybody know how long you get to cross out the matching symbols on the psychometrics?

 

[I2026]

Hi, all. Does anybody know how long you get to cross out the matching symbols on the psychometrics?

Pretty sure 1 or 2 mins

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Feb 2026 ==

Pretty sure 1 or 2 mins

Initially thought 30 seconds. Inly did them in November and can't remember - its not long though!

 

[Brickz]

Hi, all. Does anybody know how long you get to cross out the matching symbols on the psychometrics?

I cant remember if they told us how long we had ect but If you can count tones in your head that your listening too whilst at same time looking for the matching symbols to mark off then its plenty off time. It is a very simple exercise just the added information they add to it that isn't relevant to the answers can make people over complicate it. Its same with the tests really.

 

[mickeyC]

I cant remember if they told us how long we had ect but If you can count tones in your head that your listening too whilst at same time looking for the matching symbols to mark off then its plenty off time. It is a very simple exercise just the added information they add to it that isn't relevant to the answers can make people over complicate it. Its same with the tests really.

I did southeastern assessments in November and I’m pretty sure it was no more than 1 min max, maybe even 45 sec’s.
The whole day is designed to put you under pressure to see if you make mistakes, the genius part is that nobody really knows the pass or fail rate.

 

[juspassingby]

Hi can anyone clear something up for me as the online guidance doesn't seem to apply to someone passing pre 2024 then failing after.

First sat Psychometric test Nov 2018 and passed (failed at DMI)

Never tried again until April 2025, failed psychometric, had a brain fart!


Am I bound by the 6months between attempts or the new 12 months.

3 attempts apply to you, which means you'll have to wait 12 months to sit your test again. If you fail the 2nd time then you've got to wait 5 years (from the date you failed the first attempt) to sit your 3rd and final attempt.

 

[Chaz15]

3 attempts apply to you, which means you'll have to wait 12 months to sit your test again. If you fail the 2nd time then you've got to wait 5 years (from the date you failed the first attempt) to sit your 3rd and final attempt.

Getting conflicting information on this with others saying I'm on the 6months because of my first test date. Anyway i'm almost at the 12 months and would be an dmi before psychometrics with the toc so hopefully timings work out.

 

[juspassingby]

Getting conflicting information on this with others saying I'm on the 6months because of my first test date. Anyway i'm almost at the 12 months and would be an dmi before psychometrics with the toc so hopefully timings work out.

After reading your message I did some digging and sadly, you heard right. If you sat your first tests before 7th Dec 2024 then the 2 lifeline rule applies. So based on that, you have another attempt left. I believe you have to wait 6 months and not a year since the old rules apply to you.

If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to PM, I've been through it in the past week so it's fresh in my head, so I'd be more than happy to help/answer questions.

 

[Chaz15]

After reading your message I did some digging and sadly, you heard right. If you sat your first tests before 7th Dec 2024 then the 2 lifeline rule applies. So based on that, you have another attempt left. I believe you have to wait 6 months and not a year since the old rules apply to you.

If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to PM, I've been through it in the past week so it's fresh in my head, so I'd be more than happy to help/answer questions.

Thanks I appreciate that,

I failed the tea occ section, passed the bourdon etc. I passed it the first time and it will sound crazy but this time the guy next to me was whistling out his nose and I swear that caught my attention for the tones

Also probably a bit of compliancy because I passed it with no issues before!

I'll be well prepared the next time!