Trainee train drivers wanted...

[wobman]

valiant said:

Tube driver here. Hold my beer…


which I can’t drink due to rulz init

Hold your perrier water you mean lol

[wobman]

r44flyer said:

I definitely don't miss 153s, particularly in this weather! They are painful. Much respect to anyone pulling a shift in one at the moment.

A few years ago I had a 153 with the heating stuck on in the summer, the local fitter taped up the vents and solved the problem. Then it went onto the depot and they reinstated it ! Even though I booked it in the book they said NFF on depot....

[wobman]

ChocolateFrog said:

My first unsociable start tomorrow

Welcome to the world of the railway 🚂 I'm up at 1.45am Wednesday morning 😳 people are baffled that trains are running around at 2am. You then explain that they need cleaning and fueling or travelling to start services at remote depots.

[wobman]

The depot I'm based at has 6-7 jobs starting before 4am, plus the 2 night shed drivers one finish at 4am the other 6am. It's the variation in shifts that I find the hardest, one day 3am next 9am then 11am then a 4am !
In one week I can finish 11am one day then start 11am the next but finish at 8-9pm......
It wrecks your body clock, then there's the change from earlies to lates.

Nobody can prepare you for the shift patterns and having you lunch at 7am lol

[wobman]

There's nothing to lose by applying, it's just a case of once a vacancy pops up apply quickly as they get filled not long after the vacancy appears nowadays.

[wobman]

Pebbles167 said:

What's everyone doing for route learning these days?

External companies such as mine are not allowed in most driving cabs, seemingly because of covid.

I've bought Train Simulator 2021 to keep the routes in my head, and it's surprisingly decent!

My TOC are having minder drivers running route learning trains / diagrams using covid bubbles, it actually works better than going out with random drivers.

Unfortunately the powers in charge, want to revert back to the old ways to save cash. The new method works so much better .

It's the route refresh days that need to return to normal, the TOC I work for have a lot of PQA drivers so getting in cabs is going to be challenging once we are allowed to route refresh

[wobman]

Glenn63 said:

wobman said:

The depot I'm based at has 6-7 jobs starting before 4am, plus the 2 night shed drivers one finish at 4am the other 6am. It's the variation in shifts that I find the hardest, one day 3am next 9am then 11am then a 4am !
In one week I can finish 11am one day then start 11am the next but finish at 8-9pm......
It wrecks your body clock, then there's the change from earlies to lates.

Nobody can prepare you for the shift patterns and having you lunch at 7am lol

Is there a reason why they don’t have drivers on rotating shift starts like a week of early starts a week of later starts etc?

We have a week of spare turns, so you can be moved 2hrs forward or 3hrs after your spare turn, this is to enable the covering of the depots trainplan.

Most weeks we have at least 2 days of the 4 day week being spare, it's the way the TOC I work for want to cover the work. It's a consequence of having so many new drivers that don't sign all routes unfortunately.

[wobman]

itcaptainslow said:

I’d be very surprised if that was the case after eight weeks-every TOC I’ve ever heard of or experienced only pays a trainee a full salary once they’ve qualified, and sometimes not even until they’ve been fully qualified for a year, or two (completed their PQA, basically).

Edited by itcaptainslow on Tuesday 21st September 23:36

I like you have never heard of trainees going on full pay after just 8 weeks, the trainees are non productive for at least 2 years. That's why tocs structure the pay in that way and once out on their own they are still PQA and on probation.

[wobman]

demic said:

Well now you have Everyday is a learning day on the railway, it’s the first thing you learn on your first day seven weeks and six days before you go on full pay!

I agree it’s highly unusual, even qualifieds often have pay increments when moving, but trust me it is the case.

No wonder TPE are in a financial mess then, they have units sitting idle in sidings as they can't afford to run them apparently.
It's a shame about the stock sitting idle as they are nice the Mk5 sets

[wobman]

demic said:

My reply seems a little flippant now I’ve re read it in the cold light of day without a Leffe fug. Apologies it was meant to be tongue in cheek.

The mk5’s are awful and still riddled with faults, in fact the last rake has only just been accepted into traffic some 4yrs late. Given the current COVID situation I think only 2 or 3 sets are required daily (most are on the Scarborough turn backs) hence them being sat around idle. Nothing to do with finances.

Paying trainees full whack after 8 weeks is pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

It's still a rare thing in the industry, good on the aslef reps that got the deal.

[wobman]

There's been a dumbing down of the mechanical side of the drivers role by HR departments as too many applicants have been failing, for me it's an important element of being a train driver.
I disagree with this agenda but HR departments over rule the driver managers nowadays and as a result we have had more trainees failing than ever before !

[wobman]

Len20 said:

I'm due to start a trainee role next year so feel free to send me a PM.

Also have a good read if the sticky threads in this forum https://www.railforums.co.uk/forums/railway-jobs-c...

Also this thread has some useful information. Which company are you applying to?

I use that forum and a word of warning about many of the posters, they hate traincrew. As long as you bear that in mind and ask the right questions it's a valuable source of information.

The toc I work for are in the midst of a big recruitment drive and its been a bit chaotic due to covid, so trainees have had large delays after finishing the school elements before getting DIs.
It's a case of being patient the the poor trainees effected but it's worth the wait.

[wobman]

In what context is fighting for your rights a 1980s thing ???

The anti traincrew agenda on that particular railway forum is quite shocking to be honest and I find it comes from a minority of people that don't work in the industry or have any knowledge of how it works unfortunately.

[wobman]

couzens said:

Hi all,

Just before christmas I was asked to attend a assessment day with DB Cargo. Does anyone know what the assessment will entail?

I'm due to be given info a week before the assessment, but thought I'd try and do a bit of research just to prep myself a bit more.

Thanks.

If you go through your practice material and use the railforums for more information, people also take their own stationary and I used a watch with a timer ⌚️ to save me wasting time looking at the clock.

Dress smart and be professional are always plus points and listen very carefully to what the assessor says, if unsure ask the question otherwise you will regret no asking.

Good luck

[wobman]

Please explain what's outdated then?

[wobman]

Vasco said:

Perhaps have a look at that group to see the range of issues that is raised by various people - if you need further clarification.

I'm intrigued as to what YOU think is outdated that's all ?? What industry do work in then ???

You say things are outdated from the 80's but don't actually say what is........

Edited by wobman on Wednesday 29th December 18:13

[wobman]

Just woke up at 2am today, this week of earlies is a rough on. Its a 8.30hr job aswell......

Regarding assessments I would always wear smart clothes, the hr dept at tocs do watch the applicant's at all stages of the process.

[wobman]

Stedman said:

That's not how it works.

That's why I put a warning about that rail forum, the attitude towards train crew is shocking I've experienced on there.

[wobman]

Vickers_VC10 said:

I'm not sure glib, dismissive remarks about how shift work can seriously drain you help. Sure you'll get home at 9am ( TOC dependant) most of our proper earlies i.e the ones that book on at 3am finish between 11am/12pm, so time you get home you get what 4/5 hours before you really need to start preparing for the next day, making sure you eat and try to get sleep and rest before the next day. Two weeks of doing that and when you get home after an early and you are absolutely fked. Which just happens nicely as you can switch into two weeks of lates.

I personally find the shift times the hardest part of the job as it's so inconsistent, I've been a shift worker for 18 years, in a previous job a rotational 12 hour shift which was on balance way easier to deal with due to the fixed times. It was so much easier to fit in around.

Railforums is only useful if you know your onions and can pick out the tidbits of useful information from the mountains of chaff and downright complete bullst posted on it.

It's refreshing to see a common sense post about Railway shifts compared to outside world shift patterns, I've been on the railways nearly 20yrs and will never get used to the shifts.
Before the railways I worked static shifts and they were so much easier, it's the 12hr 1 min between shifts sometimes that's a killer and in at 2am working until 11am with your main break 1hr into your job !
After a long day I just usually try and rest before it all starts again, the shifts also effect your family life and social life.

It's not all doom and gloom but it's best to be aware of how the real railway runs and not the perception of some opinionated people on Railway forums.

[wobman]

CoolHands said:

As someone with a regular job ans hours, can anyone say why aren’t shifts split into 3 rather than 2? Ie the day I split into 3. Surely that’d be easier for each individual to manage, and still the same number of man-hours for the company?

The railways run 24/7 especially busy depots, were I work there's always drivers about the station every day even Christmas day and boxing day.
I work permanent earlies as its better for childcare for my family, many people like permanent swaps for routine.

The rostering of traincrew is quite complex and we're I work we work varied routes and shifts every day, sometimes 9-10hr jobs other times 6-7hr jobs averaging out as a 4 day 35hr week.