This is a blog written by a new recruit to 'One' railways in West Anglia (now National Express East Anglia) who joined the railway in March 2005 after several years in other jobs. The experiences are typical of what can be expected at a passenger TOC and cover his experiences from interview to passing out nearly a year later, then his first few months as a qualified driver. It was written both to illustrate the training process and to provide information and encouragement to other trainees and people considering train driving as a career.
Many thanks to the author for allowing me to display this blog
In order to work as a train driver, it’s essential that you are able to concentrate for extensive periods of time. Driving trains is a dangerous job. You are responsible for the lives of your passengers, and this means that concentration is one of your top priorities. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that concentration is given enormous focus during the train driver selection tests. Whether you are taking the Group Bourdon test, or the WAFV vigilance examination; it’s essential that you can demonstrate your ability to concentrate.
So how can you improve your concentration, in time for the train driver selection tests? Read on, and find out!
Exercise is possibly the number 1 tip on this list. It is a scientific fact that exercise makes you fit and healthy, which has huge benefits for your mental competency. Exercise helps you to focus your mind on a task, and builds physical and mental stamina. It’s a good way to focus on a specific target or goal; which is something you’ll be doing a lot as a train driver. Ensuring that your mind doesn’t wander or lose focus is imperative.
It might sound cliché, but it really is true that you are what you eat. And if you eat badly, you’re going to perform badly! A balanced diet is essential, and that doesn’t just extend to food either. It’s crucial that you are drinking plenty of fluids. Dehydration has severe negative effects on your mental capacity, and can hinder qualities such as memory and concentration; as well as hurting your focus.
These days, we live in a world where multi-tasking is accepted. The problem is, this isn’t positive multi-tasking. Every time you check your phone or start procrastinating from work on an external website; you are distracting yourself. It’s true that train drivers need to multi-task but they are required to multi-task without distraction. That is to say, every task that they perform is important. As humans, we have trained ourselves to accept that distractions are okay, when they aren’t! Train drivers need to concentrate 100%. The best way to prepare for the examination is to ensure that you are able to concentrate on all of the tasks at hand, to your maximum ability. Spend time perfecting your focus and working without idle distractions, such as your phone or the Internet. Your career hopes will be far better in the long run.
Train driver recruitment experts How2Become have created a fantastic product, which will help you to improve your Train Driver memory test scores and general concentration by 500%! If you are serious about becoming a great train driver then check out The Train Driver Dots Concentration test package!
Includes:
Recently, we’ve been getting a lot of requests from readers to make a quickfire guide on how to guarantee yourself a job as a train driver. So, to satisfy popular demand; here are our 4 top tips on how you can secure your dream job!
Have you started looking up trainee train driver jobs on the Internet? If not, it’s time to start. Many people wrongly assume that the only way to really get a train job is to either start from the bottom in the industry; or to know someone on the inside. That’s just not true! Almost every single TOC now advertises jobs directly on their own website; so keep browsing!
One huge mistake that many people make is that they don’t start preparing for the psychometric side of the assessment until it’s far too late. Don’t wait until you’ve had your application form accepted to start practicing; don’t even wait until you’ve filled it in! If you want to become a train driver then you need to start practicing for the psychometric tests IMMEDIATELY, to improve your train driver job search chances.
Just like any other company, you’ll need to ace the interview if you want to get the job. This doesn’t just mean being friendly, amicable and professional either. In order to work as a train driver, you’ll have to pass The Driver Manger Interview; where you’ll be tested directly on the job competencies and your past experience. With this in mind, it’s essential that you prepare yourself thoroughly BEFORE the interview. Practice answering competency based questions and delivering structured responses to interviewers. Your overall technique will be far better in the long run!
If you want a train driver job, you’ll have to move fast. It’s well known that TOCs get enormous numbers of applicants, and therefore there are many TOCs who operate on a first come, first seen basis. That is to say, they’ll only look at the applications of the first 200 or so candidates, before cutting off the process and rejecting all other applications. With that being said, you need to be extremely quick in your train driver job search. Some TOCs deliberately only open job vacancies during the middle of the week, in the middle of the day. This means that only the most vigilant candidates will spot the vacancies; in contrast to opening a vacancy at the weekend where hundreds will apply. On our website, we offer job alerts; which will give you immediate access to these positions! Sign up and you’ll be given an alert whenever something opens up. Stay ahead of the competition, and secure your dream job TODAY.
Once you’ve passed the theoretical element of your train driver assessment, you’ll move onto the practical side of the assessment. At this stage, you get to actually drive trains. For 6 months, you will be conducting intensive practice sessions in the carriage, behind the wheel; preparing for your future job as a train driver. In this blog, we’ll outline the process of train driver practical training, and what it involves!
On your first day as a practical trainee, you will be paired up with a qualified Driver Instructor. After being given a run through of his jobs for the day, you’ll go out on a real passenger train – in the driver’s cabin alongside the instructor – just as a real driver would.
For the next 6 months, this will be your life. You’ll need 250 hours driving experience, and 50 of these hours will need to be spent in darkness/tunnels. Your instructor will teach you fundamental skills, such as:
Route learning is one of the most important qualities that a train driver can have. Naturally, route learning will come as you drive more and experience different routes; but you will be examined on this during your final exams. Essential information such as where signals are, the location of junctions, speed restrictions in specific zones all count towards ‘knowing’ your route. You’ll take detailed notes, draw maps and observe the instructor driving the route; to help with your final exam.
Once your 250 hours of training have ended, it’s time to move on to the final assessment. This is an incredibly in-depth process of testing; which will last for an entire day. You will answer questions on what you have learnt. You’ll identify and fix problems on the train; and you’ll be observed whilst driving the train. You will need to demonstrate extensive route knowledge – of all your routes – by answering questions based on these routes. This is known as signing off.
Once you’ve successfully signed off, you will move up to a full salary; and will be qualified as a Train Driver. Congratulations!
I recently read a report about how a spanish train driver decided to abandon his passengers, and jump ship the minute that his shift ended.
The incident in question occurred on Tuesday night, at 9:15pm. The train stopped outside Osorno, a small village; with the passengers initially being told that the train had stopped for technical reasons. 15 minutes later, they were informed that the train had stopped because the driver had ‘gone over his limit’ and got off. The majority of passengers were then forced to wait for 2 hours until a replacement bus service arrived to take them to Madrid.
The train company, Renfe, have opened an official investigation into the incident and have promised to reimburse all of the fares of the passengers who were involved.
So, why am I writing about this? Well, mostly it was just shocking to me that a driver could behave like this, and there’s something really important to be learned from this for all of us. As a driver, your passengers are your main priority. On this occasion, the driver behaved really badly. The rail union released a statement saying that the driver requested to be relieved; and that’s fair enough – nobody should have to work against their will, but when you enlist as a train driver you take an unspoken oath that the passengers come first. Unless there was a medical emergency, it seems to me that this driver gave up just a little too easily. Although we don’t have all of the details, Renfe might also be to blame. If the driver had finished his shift then they should have had a substitute lined up to replace him; which was clearly not the case.
Obviously this is all just speculation, but it seems like a spectacular failure on both the part of the driver, and the train company; with passengers suffering the consequences.
Major developments have been made in the past 2 weeks, regarding the Scotrail strikes. Finally, after months of dispute; Scotrail seem to have reached an agreement with the RMT Union. In this blog, we’ll lay out the details of the Scotrail disruptions agreement
On this occasion, it appears that the Union has been successful. Scotrail have agreed to guarantee that conductors will be retained as second members of staff on board new trains, and are drawing up a proposal adhering to this; which will be presented by the Union to its members. They haven’t just reached an agreement with RMT, but with Aslef (the train driver’s union) too. The Scotrail disruptions have come to an end!
Both sides appears to have reached a compromise, with Scotrail and the Unions each benefitting from this. On Scotrail’s side, new trains will have driver’s opening the doors, whereas guards will have control over their closing.
On the Union’s side, this means that the current number of guards will be retained, the status of these professionals won’t be reduced and jobs won’t be lost. It’s win win.
Both ScotRail and RMT have released statements, expressing their relief that such an exhausting process is finally over. The managing director of ScotRail stated this will ensure they can deliver the best possible service for Scotland, and that the proposals will make the service more efficient and effective. Along with all this, the long term aim is also to make the trains greener/more environmentally friendly.
The Union have been slightly more coy, claiming they will release a statement after the proposals have been made; but that they are satisfied and happy with the fact that the Scotrail disruptions appear to be coming to a close.
As you might be aware, there has been conflict between Southern train drivers and Southern for quite some time now. The RMT Union is in disagreement with Southern over their plans to have drivers, rather than conductors, operating carriage doors at certain times. The RMT is determined to ensure that conductors are retained, and work in addition to drivers on trains.
Strikes took place throughout the summer, and have continued well into the autumn. Now, the RMT Union has announced that drivers are to be balloted on what actions to take.
The RMT have made a statement, declaring that its members will be asked to vote on striking, and other protesting action. This is a move that is also being taken by Aslef, the main drivers’ union. The joint decision raises the possibility of joint strikes in December; potentially causing even more chaos on British railways.
The ballot will open on the 4th November, and will close after a period of 2 weeks – finishing on the 18th November. Aslef will be conducting their own ballot at the same time. RMT have released a statement declaring that Southern are putting their drivers in a dangerous position by removing conductors; and that this will also seriously endanger passengers. They believe that the consequences could be horrendous.
Southern believe wholeheartedly that the ballot move is ‘unnecessary’, and have refused to budge from their position. Passengers have already suffered through many months of delays/cancellations; and things certainly don’t look like they are set to improve. This is the first time that drivers have been put to a vote.
If you are a passenger on Southern trains, who has already been put through the ringer with strikes, you’ll be delighted to learn that there are 3 more strikes planned before Christmas. The dates of these are as follows:
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the disputes are going to be resolved anytime soon. If you are a Southern rail passenger who has been impacted by the strikes, then rest assured we’ll keep you up to date with all the latest news.
In the past 2 weeks, more than 15,000 people applied for train driver jobs, in a recruitment drive launched by Virgin. This was the biggest Virgin Trains recruitment campaign on their East Coast route since the 1980s! The campaign was an enormous success, it showed conclusively that train driving jobs are now more popular than ever before.
In total, there were 78 train driving jobs advertised by Virgin. Virgin have revealed that they received a staggering 200 applications for every vacancy! In part, this was down to the salaries on offer; with qualified drivers being estimated to make up to £60,000. However, it’s also down to the fact that there remains a fascination amongst the working public with trains. Train operating companies frequently receive similar numbers of applications, even those smaller than Virgin. This means that recruitment drives are very short and far between. Often, companies will open their application process mid-week, and then close it before the weekend starts. This rules out all but the most dedicated of candidates. The sheer volume of applications means that if TOCs did keep job postings open at ‘peak times’, they would receive more applications than they could ever process. On this basis, the majority of train driver job openings are treated on a first-come first-serve basis. They’ll assess the quality of all their applications, but once the closing date has passed then that’s it.
In order to apply for a job, candidates had to meet certain Virgin Trains recruitment criteria. These included:
New drivers for Virgin will work on brand new Azuma trains, which are set to be launched in 2018. Successful candidates will start their training programme in January, and work in depots across the country. However, it won’t be easy to get the job. Along with classroom based learning, assessment centres and exercises, drivers will need to prove themselves in critical areas such as track safety, operational risks and emergency scenarios. Along with all this, route learning is essential. The new Azuma trains will be the most advanced trains in the country, meaning that the new drivers have extra skills to learn.
The government has announced plans for a new HS2 stage. This will allow rail services of up to 250mph, to operate on routes such as Crewe to Manchester, the West Midlands to Leeds.
Currently, the line is forecast to open in 2033. The result of this is projected to double the number of services running between cities such as Manchester and Birmingham. The government have listened to customer complaints regarding the limited number of seats available on today’s trains, and therefore the new service will increase this number to almost 15,000 extra seats. This is a huge figure compared to today, which sits at around 5000. Furthermore, it is estimated that almost an hour of time will be spent on long distance journeys. Almost 300,000 people more will be able to use the services per day, tripling the number of seats from Euston in the rush hour.
Finally, it is projected that the new HS2 stage will bring about a significant boost to employment, with over 25,000 jobs opening up in construction, and another 75,000 jobs (including apprenticeships) opening elsewhere. This will contribute almost 100,000 new positions, an enormous figure!
Although the new HS2 stage is not scheduled for quite some time, plans are already afoot to start preparing for the project. The Transport Secretary has announced a £900 million contract award for anyone who can take on the job. The contract has been taken up by:
Along with those mentioned, the new high speed trains will also serve locations such as Glasgow, Stafford, Preston, Wigan, Carlisle, Darlington, Durham, Liverpool and Edinburgh. The government originally laid out plans for the new HS2 stage in 2013, but the plans have undergone numerous setbacks. Now, it seems, they are finally getting somewhere.
More news on the Southern rail strikes today, as Govia have taken desperate measures to try and stop the drivers’ strike. Govia have now gone to the High Court, in a last ditch attempt to put a halt to the chaos engulfing the company.
Govia have gone to court under the basis that they believe the strikes breach customers’ rights. Whether they have a case, will be decided at 14:00 GMT today (Thursday) as the result of the hearing will be announced. A separate Southern strike is already underway, and moves into its 2nd day today. Along with this, Aslef members have refused to take any overtime, meaning that (combined with the strike action), approximately half of all Southern services were cancelled on Tuesday 6th.
At the moment, it looks as if the dispute is set to run well into and beyond the Christmas period. The Aslef strike is set to go ahead next Tuesday; the result of this would be that Southern customers’ will find themselves without any trains at all in areas where only Southern trains run.
Southern have again spoken out on the issue, claiming that they have led the way in trying to resolve the problems, but that RMT are refusing to negotiate or engage in serious discussions with them or Govia. The RMT responded to this by claiming that Southern haven’t spoken to the RMT in several months, and that they wouldn’t be stopping the strike until their demands are met.
Unfortunately, readers, it doesn’t look as if this one is going to be solved anytime soon. We’ll keep you posted.
A rare piece of positive news coming out of the rail industry in the last week, as the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) have revealed that they are introducing a new system – designed to simply the process of buying fares, and save cross-country passengers hundreds of pounds.
The reducing rail fares system has come about through an acknowledge by the RDG that current fare purchasing systems are simply not clear enough, and at many times, this is resulting in passengers paying far more than they should be. The new system will initially be conducted under a trial period, starting from May onwards. The initial beneficiaries of the system will be passengers travelling between Scotland and the south of England. Eventually, CrossCountry Trains – the operator of the new system – will be aiming to offer the same savings to passengers on other routes.
Much of the problem with the confusion around fares comes from the currently used ticket machines. Where a ticket desk worker will generally give the customer the price for the cheapest journey available, machines don’t always do this, and many customers have found that the fares on offer via machines are extremely confusing. The RDG is aiming to create a more transparent system, with station ticket machines showing the cheapest fares possible. A statement released by the RDG declared that they are determined to cut out all of the complication and red-tape from the process of buying fares, and make it easier for customers to trust in the system.
The reducing rail fares news has been welcomed with open arms by passenger groups across the country. Many of these groups have long since claimed that the ticketing system is far too complex, and that machines hiding cheaper fares from customers reduces from the trust levels of rail companies.
That being said, not everyone is thrilled about reducing rail fares. The founder of MoneySavingExpert, claimed that this won’t resolve things. He believes that passengers still can’t have faith in train companies to provide them with the best price, and that there should be a law in place to guarantee that people are given the cheapest price possible at that time for their journey.
Here at TrainDriver.org, we welcome the news of a less complex and cheaper fare system. The UK has by far the highest fare rates of anywhere else in the world – and up to now, this has shown no signs of slowing down. Here’s to more positive changes in the future.
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