Do train drivers earn £70k a year?

Some experienced drivers get there with overtime and unsocial hours. Trainees do not. It depends on the operator, the depot, and how much night and weekend work you actually do.

£70k is a headline, not a starting salary. Treat a round number on a forum like a postcard from someone else's roster, not a contract.

The shape of the pay, not a fake payslip

You are paid as a trainee first, then as a qualified driver. The trainee year is the lower figure. Qualified basic pay is higher, and still not the same as take-home after nights, rest days, and London weighting.

• The vacancy and the operator's deal set the basic rate. That is the number to read.
• Overtime, Sundays, and nights can lift experienced drivers toward the £70k conversations. They can also mean you are rarely home.
• A screenshot from one depot in one year is not what another operator will pay you in training.

Deals change. Blogs that freeze a figure for five years are selling a feeling. Ask the recruiter. Read the pack. If someone promises £70k from week one, they are not describing trainee pay.

What the number does not buy you

You still have to get in. Selection is aptitude and psychometric tests, then interview and medical. The pay on the far side of that door is irrelevant if you spend the scarce attempt on surprise.

If £70k is why you are looking, be honest about the roster that often sits under it. Then practise the battery. The job is shift work and attention. The salary is what that operator pays people who already got through.