As a layman, I can understand why a driver would have to be "type-rated" to a specific train but not why the driver would have to be cleared on a given line. After all, buses can be chartered to anywhere you like without a prior visit, as can aircraft.
I'm sure there's a good reason for it - stuff like acceleration/deceleration profiles so you stop accurately on the platform, who to ring when the LC operator hasn't got out of bed, that sort of thing...
It just seems a lot like
Mark Twain's book on apprenticing to be a Mississippi steamboat pilot. I mean, feck there seems to be more automatic guidance in private cars these days with all the GPSes being sold, you'd think Garmin could come up with an equivalent to assist train drivers
