Little more than ten years after signing up its first members for training, the Institution of Railway Operators has just recorded its 3,000th recruit – train driver Isaac Evans.

In the best traditions of train driving, Isaac started his career aged 18 as a cleaner – at First Capital Connect’s Hornsey depot, and then moved on to become a shunter at Welwyn

Garden City carriage sidings.

But as soon as he reached the qualifying age of 21 Isaac was accepted for driver training, becoming the youngest recruit at FCC’s Kings Cross depot.

Now aged 23, he is already into his two-year-long post qualifying assessment period and is passed out to drive electric multiple units of classes 313, 317, 321 and 365 on the lines from Kings Cross to Stevenage, Hitchin and Peterborough and to Cambridge. He is also passed out to drive over the Hertford Loop and into Moorgate in the City of London.

Keenly enthusiastic about the future of Britain’s railways, Isaac has now signed up to the IRO and is aiming for the highest level of qualification – a BSc (Bachelor of Science) degree in railway operations from Glasgow Caledonian University.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Isaac Evans as our 3,000th member,” said IRO chief executive Fiona Tordoff. “He is a great example of people in front-line railway operations whom the Institution was set up to help with their personal and professional development.”

The IRO was originally founded by a group of former British Rail operations managers who believed that operations required a dedicated institution on similar lines to those that already existed for the railway engineering functions. It was formally set up in 2000.

Today the IRO is keenly backed by Network Rail and all the major train operating employers, most of which provide funding through corporate subscriptions. Jo Kaye – ‎Strategy and Planning Director at Network Rail and former London North Western route director – now chairs the Board of Directors. Mark Hopwood, First Great Western’s managing director, represents FirstGroup, which employs Isaac Evans, on the Board.

The IRO’s objectives are to advance and promote safe railway operations, and to ensure the Institution acts as the custodian of best practice in railway operational management.

As well as the BSc degree level course, the IRO offers two other levels of qualification – one is a Certificate of Higher Education and the other a Diploma of Higher Education in Railway Operational Management.