I hear training to be a train driver is not possible if someone has had laser eye surgery. Is this true? Thanks

Hello there,

This will likely depend on the timing of when any laser eye surgery occurred, as in recent years there have been significant advancements in this area. Your best bet is to contact the specific train operator of whom you are considering applying to, as although they all follow the same guidance from the RSSB, they may have different decision-making processes. You can find contact emails for the FirstGroup train operators below.

Avanti West Coast

Great Western Railway

South Western Railway

Other vision related standards include the following:

• Visual acuity must be 6/6 both eyes together, with the worse eye no more that 6/12. This is with or without prescription glasses. Contact lenses are permitted if the visual standard is also met with prescription glasses
• Prescription lenses must not exceed +5 for hypermetropia (long sighted) and - 8 for myopia (short sighted)
• Applicants who have not had an eye test with an optician for more than 2 years are advised to do so
• Colour vision must be "normal" (your optician can define this) as assessed by the Ishihara test plates.

Note that you can also contact the RSSB directly with any queries (standards or other) you may have via their Customer Self-Service Portal - https://customer-portal.rssb.co.uk/

I hope this helps.