BOTH TransPennine (TPE) and Northern have announced recruitment schemes, which together will create 220 jobs.
Northern is aiming to improve diversity levels within its workforce, and is recruiting 160 staff for a variety of roles, including station staff, drivers, conductors, engineering and support functions.
The company is particularly seeking the next generation of black, ethnic minority, female and younger employees, especially people who have not considered rail as a career.
Neil Stephenson, head of learning and talent at Northern, said: “Northern has many career opportunities, and last year alone we had nearly 54,000 applications for 600 vacancies.
“As an industry we are keen to deliver a diverse workforce which represents the communities we serve and attract the next generation to rail.