you can treat it like a car , drive/ride a train . depends on what you want to say

The train operator would be the best word to use in English, in my opinion.

Conduct a train. The person who "drives" the train is a Train Conductor in American English and a Guard in British English. See more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conductor_(rail)

To conduct a train , to manage ...

The Conductor on a train manages it movement, but the person who is actually at the controls in the cab is the Engineer. The Engineer is "operating" the train. Operating is the verb that you are looking for.