jobfacts

Rail travel assistants

SOC 2020 6214

Rail travel assistants issue, collect and inspect travel tickets, provide information and assistance to railway passengers, operate train doors, and perform a variety of duties on station platforms in connection with the arrival and departure of trains and the movement of goods and passengers, and on trains to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers.

Also calledTrain station workerRailway station assistantTrain conductorTrain guardTrain crewSenior conductorand 39 more titles
Typical full-time pay£46,1002025 Provisional
People in the job24,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month348↓ 1.8%on last year · 299th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time rail travel assistants earn between £40,400 and £53,900 a year.

What full-time rail travel assistants earn, 2025
£46,100 typical£31,900lowest 10%£40,40025%£57,000top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£40,400–£53,900)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£31,900
Lowest 20% earn less than£38,300
25%£40,400
Median£46,100
75%£53,900
Top 20% earn more than£57,000
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £46,100
London!£49,500
South West!£46,500
Wales!£46,400
North West!£46,100
West Midlands!£46,100
South East!£45,700
Scotland!£38,800
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £46,100
London£49,500 (small sample)
South West£46,500 (small sample)
Wales£46,400 (small sample)
North West£46,100 (small sample)
West Midlands£46,100 (small sample)
South East£45,700 (small sample)
Scotland£38,800 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £36,200
  • 2024 £41,400
  • 2025 Provisional£46,100
↑ 27% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 348 jobs for rail travel assistants are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026340
Jul 2026356
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026284
Apr 2026273
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026347
Jan 2026356
Dec 2025339
Nov 2025542
Oct 2025339
Sept 2025303
Aug 2025366
Jul 2025383
Jun 2025353
May 2025397
Apr 2025386
Mar 2025361
Feb 2025359
Jan 2025399
Dec 2024238
Nov 2024275
Oct 2024393
Sept 2024345
Aug 2024453
Jul 2024457
Jun 2024415
May 2024451
Apr 2024397
Mar 2024406
Feb 2024426
Jan 2024476
Dec 2023309
Nov 2023312
Oct 2023336
Sept 2023439
Aug 2023412
Jul 2023426
Jun 2023543
May 2023546
Apr 2023440
Mar 2023521
Feb 2023477
Jan 2023564
Dec 2022513
Nov 2022627
Oct 2022694
Sept 2022637
Aug 2022640
Jul 2022647
Jun 2022611
May 2022623
Apr 2022522
Mar 2022598
Feb 2022510
Jan 2022641
Dec 2021454
Nov 2021649
Oct 2021675
Sept 2021818
Aug 2021594
Jul 2021606
Jun 2021435
May 2021477
Apr 2021346
Mar 2021437
Feb 2021218
Jan 2021244
Dec 2020215
Nov 2020208
Oct 2020287
Sept 2020300
Aug 2020279
Jul 2020240
Jun 2020203
May 2020135
Apr 2020169
Mar 2020297
Feb 2020420
Jan 2020479
Dec 2019329
Nov 2019370
Oct 2019521
Sept 2019420
Aug 2019494
Jul 2019507
Jun 2019475
May 2019500
Apr 2019361
Mar 2019395
Feb 2019351
Jan 2019421
Dec 2018257
Nov 2018404
Oct 2018489
Sept 2018423
Aug 2018429
Jul 2018374
Jun 2018445
May 2018383
Apr 2018286
Mar 2018373
Feb 2018340
Jan 2018384
Dec 2017289
Nov 2017358
Oct 2017357
Sept 2017430
Aug 2017406
Jul 2017374
Jun 2017388
May 2017380
Apr 2017329
Mar 2017372
Feb 2017303
Jan 2017359
Is there a shortage of rail travel assistants?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsWell above usual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
20%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for leisure and travel services, which includes rail travel assistants. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London202
Manchester22
Birmingham20
Buckinghamshire18
Glasgow City18
City of Edinburgh17
Mole Valley15
Wiltshire15
Bristol, City of15
Cornwall15
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where rail travel assistants are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of rail travel assistants
n/p
31%!
29%!
16%!
25%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3431% (small sample)
35–4429% (small sample)
45–5416% (small sample)
55–6425% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!21%
Higher education below degree!17%
A levels or equivalent!31%
GCSEs or equivalent!33%
Other qualifications!3.6%
No qualifications!2.6%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent21% (small sample)
Higher education below degree17% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent31% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent33% (small sample)
Other qualifications3.6% (small sample)
No qualifications2.6% (small sample)

Main employers: passenger rail transport, interurban (62%), urban and suburban passenger land transport (17%), service activities incidental to land transportation (14%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
21%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 33%
Apprenticeships
1
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically

Routes in

Train station worker

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course in customer service, which would teach you some of the skills you need in this job. This may help when you apply for work.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, for example:

  • Passenger Transport Operative
  • Customer Service Practitioner

These take around a year to complete and combine on-the-job training with study in the classroom with a training provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Apply directly

You can apply directly to train operating companies. Employers will expect you to have a good standard of English and maths, with some GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C).

Experience of working with the public in retail or customer service could give you an advantage when applying for jobs.

If your application is successful, you'll be invited to an assessment day, where you'll:

  • be tested on your maths, communication and customer service skills
  • have an interview

What you’ll need

  • pass a medical check
  • be screened for drugs and alcohol

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

It's a good idea to check out a train operating company's passenger charter so that you are familiar with the company's standards and values, before making an application.

Further information

You'll find train operating companies through the Rail Delivery Group.

You can also get more information about careers in the rail industry from Routes into Rail.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for train station worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Train conductor

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course in customer service, which may help when you apply for jobs as a trainee conductor.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You can apply to do a Passenger Transport Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship with a train operating company.

This takes around 1 year to complete and combines on-the-job learning with time spent at a company's training centre.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You may be able to work as a member of platform or ticketing staff at a train station before moving into a conductor job through training and promotion.

Apply directly

There are no set entry qualifications if you want to apply directly to train operating companies, although employers will expect you to have a good standard of English and maths.

If selected for interview, companies will usually test you on your maths, communication and customer service skills.

What you’ll need

  • pass a medical check
  • be screened for drugs and alcohol

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Experience of working with the public in retail, hospitality or customer service could give you an advantage. It will also help if you have good knowledge of UK geography and the rail network.

Further information

You can find out more about a career as a conductor from train operating companies listed with the Rail Delivery Group.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for train conductor. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • examines and collects tickets at the ticket barrier of a railway station
  • helps with passenger enquiries and makes announcements over a public address system at stations
  • loads and unloads mail, goods and luggage, operates lifts and hoists and drives small trucks
  • assists passengers with special needs to board and leave trains
  • attends to the safety, welfare and comfort of passengers on trains and manages train crew
  • checks control panel operation before start of journey, operates train door controls and signals to driver to start or stop train
  • inspects and issues tickets on trains, deals with passenger enquiries, and takes charge of goods being transported on train

Skills

  • provide information to passengers
  • speak different languages
  • tend to passenger belongings
  • act reliably
  • answer questions about the train transport service
  • assist disabled passengers
  • assist passengers in emergency situations
  • check carriages
  • communicate clearly with passengers
  • communicate reports provided by passengers
  • ensure passenger comfort
  • handle petty cash
  • handle stressful situations
  • manage the customer experience

Knowledge

  • passenger transport regulations
  • railway framework legislation
  • train routes
  • customs regulations for passengers

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for leisure, travel and related personal service occupations, a group of 11 jobs that includes rail travel assistants.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 5.6%about 41,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035421,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.