GNER has unveiled the latest train to join its fleet – yet passengers will never see it in action.

GNER has invested £1.5 million in four new high-tech train driving simulator machines which replicate the full range of real-life train driving experiences on the busy East Coast Main Line, linking London King’s Cross with the East Midlands, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland.

The machines have been installed at GNER’s driver depots in Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and London King’s Cross – with the latest, in Leeds, officially unveiled on 27 November 2007.

The machine features a mock driver’s cab, an exact replica complete with all of the controls and gauges of the real thing. The cab can be adapted in seconds to depict either of GNER’s two types of motive power – the Class 91 electric locomotive or the Class 43 diesel High Speed Train.

In front of the machine, a large projector screen shows an accurate reproduction of key sections of the East Coast Main Line.

As driver simulator manager Paul Lartey explains, one of the simulator’s most impressive features is its ability to reproduce real-life driving scenarios – right down to producing fog, rain or snow on the line ahead!

Paul says: “Driving a modern train is a highly responsible job which calls for a combination of skills, all of which need to be kept up to date. The simulators will be used to train new drivers before they go onto the railway for the first time, and also ongoing refresher training with more experienced drivers at the controls.

“From the simulator’s control desk, we can recreate every hazard a train driver might face in real life – from adverse weather such as snow or fog through to emergency speed restrictions. In addition, over 200 complex on-train faults can be replicated and dealt with, using a touch screen to navigate around the entire train. It provides an extremely valuable training experience for train drivers both old and new”.

GNER’s new machines have been built by French manufacturer Corys T.E.S.S. which also specialises in constructing simulators for the nuclear power industry worldwide.