National Express Group’s ‘one’ railway, has unveiled its new £1.2m Train Driving Simulators based at the company’s Customer Service Academy in Stratford, East London.

The simulators were officially unveiled by David Lammy MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills in a visit to ‘one’s academy on 4 October 2007.

The two simulators were manufactured in Germany by KMW and the £1.2m investment by ‘one’ includes their installation, with the units purpose built to replicate the driving cab operation of a Class 315 EMU and a Class 170 Turbostar DMU.

Driver simulation training at the Academy complements the extensive practical training programme for new train drivers and ongoing training for ‘one’s 720 existing train drivers, including areas such as route knowledge, energy efficient driving techniques and regular refresher training. By replicating the operation of existing types of ‘one’ trains, the training programmes more accurately reflect day-to-day driving techniques and operations.

Andrew Chivers, Managing Director for ‘one’ railway said: “This is a significant investment by ‘one’ in ensuring that our new and existing train drivers can benefit from the most modern technology available, enabling them to have the highest level of skills and training in their role as highly professional train drivers.”   

Unveiling the new train driving simulators at 'one' railway's Customer Service Academy Skills Minister David Lammy said: "Providing the best possible skills training for train drivers is a key element in their continued professional development. This significant investment by 'one' and National Express in the most modern technology available, demonstrates a huge commitment to training and development and I fully endorse their approach to skills training and employee development. This Government is helping employers close general skills gaps in every key sector too, making sure employer's needs are met and giving them a voice in where and when people can train in the workplace. There is free provision for any employee without the literacy or numeracy they need or vocational qualifications equivalent to 5 GCSEs. No one needs to lack the skills they need for good careers.”