Spanish passenger rail firm Renfe has been inundated with applications for its latest train driver training course, receiving more than three times the number of requests as available places.

In total, the Renfe Professional Technical School of Driving and Operations (ETPCO) received 944 applications with only 305 places on offer. The school operates nine training centers in different Spanish cities and is one of the largest rail training organisations in the country.

Due to the oversubscription, Renfe held additional entrance examinations in early November, holding sessions at the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid, and at the Faculty of Law of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Of the total applications, 136 were specific to Barcelona with 38 places available at the Barcelona training center.

“Since it began in 2007 with the calls for aspiring train drivers by the free competition procedure, more than 3,300 people have completed the Renfe training course through ETPCO [allowing] them to obtain the title or license and diploma of driving of railway vehicles,” a spokesperson for the firm said.

With a network of more than 280 approved trainers and recognised examiners, ETPCO utilises Virtual Training Stations in its classrooms to simulate generic driving cabins, offering full simulation of signalling, locking systems, communication systems, and train protection systems.

Last month, Renfe announced it would take on an additional 400 train drivers under its Public Employment Offer (OPE) for 2022. Headquartered in Madrid, Renfe is one of the largest train operators in Europe, operating over 11,000 passenger-kilometres per year.

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