A £600,000 centre to teach people to become train drivers has opened in Bolton.

Trainee drivers from across the North-west are made ready for life on the railways using computer programmes and the latest teaching aids.

Problems are reproduced for them to solve, including skid pan - the rail industry's equivalent of black ice - caused by leaves on the line.

The centre was opened yesterday by train operator First North Western at offices in Deansgate, Bolton.

Rail chiefs have spent the last 18 months developing the centre, and former train drivers have become instructors for the courses.

Dave Hooper, operations director for First North Western, said: "Our company is continually working to provide the best driver training possible, and our new training centre will provide our drivers with the most up-to-date and thorough training methods available."

Up to 80 students will be taught at the centre each year. Currently, 35 trainee drivers are taking the course.

The course lasts for 32 weeks and drivers do a series of exams. After passing the course, they do not become fully-fledged drivers for another two years. The reward at the end is a salary of around £24,000 a year.

One trainee train driver who will graduate in November is Stephen Pindard.

Mr Pindard gave up his job as a librarian to become a train driver and will spend the final weeks of his course at the centre in Bolton.

"It's handy to have a dedicated centre open in Bolton," he said. "In the past, we have had to travel around to get to various training centres. The course is intensive but there is a good mixture of theory and practice.

"The job is a real challenge. You have a lot of responsibilities and you have to think on your feet."