Hi I know there's a few here...
I'm seriously thinking of applying to be one but I know the training takes a long time and you have to probably be seriously good but its still worth a try as its something I've wanted to do all my life.
What sort of tests are they? Isn't it reaction tests, concerntration, eyes, hearing etc? Is there any more or even any sites that show demo tests or is that cheating?
Can you still do it if say your eyes are only good with glasses?
Thank you to anyone!

 

Training takes about a year

You are correct in all the above tests are required

You can wear glasses

I am a Train Driver but i quailified in 1991 so things have changed but i know the above is required

Graceland (Paul) would be the best person to ask as he is just finishing his Driver training.

Steve.

 

Ok thanks for that! I'm sure I remember emailing you about a year ago asking these questions!

 

Yes you did, i remember now.

Good luck

Steve.

 

I'll put some more info up after the weekend, but goto www.railchat.co.uk and ask on there aswell - the biggest railway employee based forum on the net

As for the pyscometric testing, do a google for "Group Bourdon Test" and you can download a piece of software that allows you to practice the concentration tests

The other tests are mechanical aptitude, co-ordination/reaction and trainability.

For the re-action/co-ordination, playing computer games helps a LOT as it is computer based using a special keyboard and foot pedals - your shins will kill you with pain after it aswell

The trainability test is you get to read a paragraph about a railway related subject and it is read out on a machine at the same time, you get to make notes on important stuff on the paragraph. You then get 5 mins to study your notes and the paragraph and then you have to answer a series of questions on the paragraph. - this tests your ability to retain knowlege

Mechanical aptitude, nothing out of the odinary really, questions on the lines of "if I pull this lever down, what way will the gears turn to raise the bucket" etc etc - easy enough.

But be warned - get it right first time, as you only have 2 attempts in your lifetime.

If you pass the tests, make sure you get on a training course within 12 months as the test is only valid for 12 months.

The railway is a very rewarding place to work and you will not regret joining. The driver training is very intense and each TOC has their own training programme which vary in length, but anything from 9 months to 18 months depending on the company, type of traction and route knowlege. It can be very difficult at times to take all the information in, but persevere and all will be golden.

Have a look at www.rgsonline.co.uk then goto Group Standard Rule Book Modules - not all of them are driver specific, but 70% are, and you will need to know these rules off the top of your head - and by the end of a 5 week intensive course you will do - you'll be amazed at how much you learn in such a short space of time


I've put most of what I wanted to here instead of on monday - I got carried away

Good luck and keep checking on your local TOC website for vacancies. and just to clarify, you need to be over 21 to become a driver

 

Graceland

paul A+ for the reply

some people on here really do help pf users..

 

Cheers

If Orion boy wants to add me to msn he can and I will go thru all of the training programme on there with him

 

How much are train drivers earning theese days?

 

I passed all the tests and i'm thick, just fluffed the interview in the end i think training its about £19000, average pay £27000, Intercity guys about £37000 but i may be wrong

I'd like another crack at it but never see anything advertised locally

 

I'll second that
Very good reply

I drive for Arriva Trains Wales,we are the worst paid train drivers in the country on just over £30 grand a year for 35 hour average week over 4 days

Direct Rail Services(freight trains) were advertising jobs in crewe recently for qualified drivers,£38 grand a year + a £4 grand a year retainer,so £42 grand a year before overtime

 

Thanks I really appreciate all the replys! Top people!
I managed to download that dot programme and had a little play on it.
My msn is david_1210mk2@hotmail.com

 

jesus!! Good money then.... Almost not worth me doing the CAA engineer licences to be a licenced aircraft engineer when I leave the RAF

 

The TOC I work for pay structure is as follows (eastern ex-atn conditions)

Training wage - £13500 basic
PQA (Post Qualify Assessment) (initial pass out) - £31600 year one
1st Bi-Annual Rules assessment (1 year driving on your own) - £33400

the figures are give or take £500 either way as we have just been awarded a 4.6% rise

For training, I was luckily enough to stay on conductors pay rate of £19235 - which, itself isn't bad at all

My working week is 35 hours over 4 days, but sundays are included in that. However, with the annual leave and rest day pattern, I only work 5 months of the year


What you will find is if you want to go freight or long distance passenger work (IE, GNER, Virgin West Coast, Arriva XC (ex Virgin XC), Midland Mainline and FGW that they will only employ drivers who have had 2 years incident free driving, but its swings and roundabouts - I couldn't be happy going to london and back each day, I much prefer my routes from Leeds to Skipton (including the Bradford and Ilkley branches), Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Selby, York, Sheffield - quite a lot of route miles which is varied enough to keep the interest there

I would love to work for DRS tho, they use some fantastic traction - 20's, 33's, 37's, 47's, 66's - thats a range right from the first type-1 loco's introduced in 1957 (the class 20 - which I also drive on a preserved railway ) right thru to modern day loco's that are only a few years old - 66's Altho the prospect of having 2 heads and glowing in the dark from hauling nuclear waste is not to my liking

I'll add you to MSN when I get home on sunday evening as I'm at my other halfs all weekend and forgot my laptop

 

www.northernrail.org

We have just taken on another 30 trainee drivers to be based at various depot's, and I'm pretty sure that Leeds and Sheffield are wanting to take a few more drivers on aswell Craig

 

Thanks Paul, i saw it in the Star for Arriva about 3 years ago last time, i'll keep an eye on there now

 

Northern used to be 2 companies - Arriva Trains Northern (East of the Pennines) and First North Western (West of the Pennines).

Keep an eye on the webby, and I'll keep an eye on the vacancy listings that are published at work

 

Chances are good if your local TOC trains people up. Medical restrictions - aslong as you aint blind or deaf and don't have a phyiscal impairment that stops you from climbing up and down the side of a unit then you are fine.

But you need to remember, that for every 1 place adverticed, there are, on average, 500 people applying for that one job

 

Yeah there were 1500 applications last time and i got to the last 32 for 20 jobs

 

Hi Paul,
Interested to know your shift pattern working 4 day weeks including Sundays if you got a minute????

At the minute Sundays aren't included in the 4 day week for us at ATW,but it has been mentioned in the pay talks

Ours work out like this:
Week1=work mon,tues,wed,thurs.
off fri,sat.
Week2=off sun,mon,tues.
work wed,thurs,fri,sat.
Week3=off sun,work mon,tues.
off wed,thurs.
work fri,sat.

So every third week we get a long weekend,off fri,sat,sun,mon,tues

 

I went for it with the new non-existant Wessex Trains.

Pissed the interview, had to do 3 days of tests, said they that hard most fail, so anyone who passes is through.

I pissed the tests but 1 more than usual passed so they couldnt take us all, and as i was the youngest, i missed out

Was something like 10.5k for the year training which would be hard, then 30k after that, which would be lovely

Bearing in mind one of the questions in the interview was "would you have a problem with long times doing nothing as you can often spend 4hours of your shift waiting for your next train to drive" id say it was a pretty easy job

 

Kev - Sundays are every 3rd and you get rest day allocated elsewhere for it, so over the 22 week link it works out as 4 day week

 

the drivers mess room at the depot i work at, used to have sky tv, pool table, dart board etc, for them long waiting periods!

they have now bind the lot and booted the drivers out, to a crappy portacabin, and converted it to offices

 

Fil - I'm surprised ASLEF havn't moaned at that

There would be hell on if our sky TV, DVD player, Pool Table, Sleeping Room, Quiet Room, Entertainment Room and Main Mess Room went

 

Also, Stav, the longer you wait about doing nothing (IE - Spare turn) before going to drive, then the higher risk you are out on the road due to fatigue and tiredness - doing nothing is harder than doing something

 

You two have it easy

Our RD pattern is crap, Sundays are part of the working week but you get time + 1/8th for working them.

it seems to average out at 3 RDs one week and 2 the next.

We only have 3 long weekends off out of a link of 46 (5 days off)

Steve.

 

I think i want to be a train driver now!!

 

All we do is sit on our bums all day

Money for nothing (until the $hit hits the fan)

Steve.

 

They don't want to employ women at the moment. a couple of reasons (allegedly - this has nothing to do with the TOC I work for, its a rumour I heard!)

1 - they are a higher risk of operational incidents

2 - they get employed, get on the job, get the 33k, and then get up the duff

 

Bet it is a cool job bet it can be scary at times too.

I'm spending 5 years in education to earn just over half of what you's get lol!



Bet that is annoying thou, the train companies have paid x amount to train you etc then they get pregnant.

Do you see many women train drivers? I dont think i've ever seen one.

 

We have a few in the company i work for.

Steve.

 

Jemma

It is a cool job, the only time I shit myself was when I was doing 90mph round a sweeping left hand curve with a wall inches from the side of the unit and saw a roadcone in the middle of the track

Luckily it wasn't filled with concrete unlike some



We have a few female drivers where I work aswell, but a lot of the older hand drivers (especially ex-BR men) have a chip on their shoulders about women not working on the railway They rekkon on that it costs somewhere in the region of £150,000 to train a driver so thats a lot of money to spend on someone who wants to get up the duff once they qualify and toss it off for 6 months

 

a few here, but not many

 

OK ta

Not too bad then,have to see what sort of offer comes out of the pay talks to include sundays

 

Aye, I like my pattern, 5 days off every 4 weeks, long weekends galore and allsorts

We've just had 4.6% rise, but harmonisation STILL isn't sorted between the 2 companies that became the TOC I work for

 

4.6% with no strings attached???????

Would harmonisation put you on more money,or not affect you???????

Wondering now if ATW will be our TOC for much longer,lot of people reckon now they have won the XC franchise they won't mind loosing the Wales franchise when its up for review next year

 

the 4.6% was pending harmonisation within 3 months, but that fell thru so 4.6% with no strings

Harmonisation will be difficult to thrash out, ex-FNW and ex-ATN conditions are a minefield to make it cost neutral between the 2 sides - remember, its not just drivers, its guards, station staff, booking office staff, fitters, cleaners, gaffers and everyone - good luck is what I say

 

I went on a train being driven by a lady today ...whislt jotting down things to put or questions etc to answer or possibly get asked should I be lucky enough to even get an interview!
Lol at the road cone!

 

harmonisation crap, we (maintance staff) got a bit shafted with that, but the drivers walked away without it and a bigger pay rise , no strings.