Recruitment drive! Up to 80 train driver positions available as investment set to see service expansion

Padraig Conlon 30 Jan 2023
Pic Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX

Iarnród Éireann has launched a new recruitment campaign for train drivers, which will see a panel established to recruit up to 80 drivers.

Investment in Iarnród Éireann’s network, fleet and customer service is set to see the role of rail expand significantly, as the backbone of Ireland’s sustainable transport network.

The Driver roles will be based at locations including Dublin (DART, Connolly and Heuston), Cork, Limerick, Galway, Portlaoise and Waterford.

The company is asking women to consider driving roles, with an increasing number of women in recent trainee classes.

It also highlighted the diverse range of previous careers from which recent driver recruits have come, from banking to airlines, from defence forces to archaeology and much more.

The company’s investment programme, part of the National Development Plan 2021 to 2030 and funded by the National Transport Authority and Department of Transport, is set to see our rail services grow and customer service enhanced over the coming years, with investment including:

A record fleet investment, with 185 carriages of the largest, most sustainable rail fleet investment in Irish history on order, and up to 750 carriages planned over the coming decade

The DART+ Programme, set to treble the electrification and double the capacity of the Greater Dublin Area, with infrastructure works to extend the DART to Maynooth / M3 Parkway, Drogheda and Hazelhatch

Major investment confirmed in rail services for our regional cities, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford

An ambitious strategy to increase the number of freight trains five-fold

Network investment to improve speeds and service frequency on the Intercity network

Speaking about the recruitment drive, Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann, Jim Meade said: “Iarnród Éireann is a dynamic organisation, which offers excellent progression opportunities. With the planned expansion of services as part of the National Development Plan, it is an exciting time to become part of a growing organisation.

“We are also seeing great interest in careers in Iarnród Éireann from a range of backgrounds – we are a diverse and inclusive employer, and in particular we urge more women to apply for driver roles, and are encouraged by the increasing interest from women in recent recruitment drives.

“We don’t just offer jobs, we offer careers and opportunity.  I myself joined the railway as an Apprentice, and with a European Railway and CIPD-award winning Talent Management function within Iarnród Éireann, we believe we stand alongside any organisation in enabling our people to make the most of their potential.”

Driver recruitment will be live at www.irishrail.ie/careers for information and applications

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