A system and method for link training of a backplane physical layer device operating in simplex mode. In one embodiment of the present invention, a backplane training system includes a backplane device coupled to a first end of a backplane and at least one retimer device at a second end of the backplane. During a training process, a receiving device is configured to forward a training frame (e.g., DME frame) to a second device for use by a transmitter in the second device.