East Midlands Trains Shunter job

[stjimmy87]

Operations Team Member (Shunter)
Fleet Manager 15x
Location:*
Derby - Etches Park
Contract*Type:*
Permanent
Salary:*
£23,075 plus 20% shift allowance
Closing*Date:*
Monday 07 November 2016
Interview*Date:*
Wednesday 23 November 2016
Reference:*
2016-186
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join East Midlands Trains as an Operations Team Member based at the Etches Park Depot in Nottingham. The Etches Park Depot is an East Midlands Trains engineering and fleet maintenance facility. The depot team pride themselves on excellence and efficiency that drives support of the East Midlands Trains Right Time Railway target.
The Operations Team Member will:
• Be responsible for the safe operation and movement of rolling stock within the Depot and associated sidings
• Be accountable for all train movements, including moves involving the maintenance shed using the Depot Protection System
• Complete train formations as required
You will be an excellent communicator with the ability to remain calm in a pressurised environment. You will be ideally be competent in Safety Regulations and the Depot Protection System, and be certified in Rules and Regulations and Personal Track Safety, however for the right candidate we will offer training in all of these areas.*
Please note this post requires shift working on a 3 shift rotational system of mornings, afternoons and nights.
The successful candidate will enjoy a wide range of benefits including a defined benefit pension scheme and free travel on the East Midlands Trains network. You will also receive subsidised travel across the rail network with other train operation companies.
To apply please complete the online application form and upload your CV. As we operate a blind screening process please remove all personal information including your name from your CV.



So at this moment in time I have no experience but have passed the psychometric tests.....Can I apply for this job and be in with a shout or do you need experience?

Also can anyone elaborate on what the job involves? I guess it is mainly moving trains around.....

Thankyou.

 

[Clip]

You can and should apply for it if thats what you want to do.

Theres a few folk on here who are shunters so hopefully they will be aong to give you some advice as to what the role requires and is as it changes from toc to toc but good luck with yoru application.

 

[Andy-mc]

experience would be a good thing to have but as with most jobs on the railway full training would be given, as said "for the right candidate we will offer training in all of these areas"

as a shutter you would be a member of ground staff who would direct trains into the right locations for maintenance, fuelling and stabling, possibly remarshaling HST stock if coaches need knocking out although I think most of the HST stuff is done up at Neville hill

so you'd basically be out on the ground in any weather pulling hand points and directing drivers using radios and hand signals

as it says any experience in communication would be a massive bonus in this type of role

 

[whoosh]

Shifts are something like:

Weekdays
07:00-13:00
13:00-20:00
20:00-06:00
21:00-07:00

Weekends
07:00-19:00
19:00-07:00

It's a busy depot on nights with all Meridians (apart from two 5 car units and one 7 car unit), and I think about five HSTs. They all need fuelling, washing, and stabling, and some will need to go into a maintenance shed for an exam. The depot isn't ideally laid out in terms of the amount of room or it's track layout. Lots of pulling points, and walking. HSTs may need splitting and remarshalling, and if an HST needs an exam in the shed it will need splitting into two and examined on two roads as the sheds aren't long enough for them (although Neville Hill at Leeds is mostly used for HST maintenance).

There are also a number of 153s, and 156s, with possibly 158s which also need fuelling and washing too.

 

[Raul_Duke]

Shifts are something like:

Weekdays
07:00-13:00
13:00-20:00
20:00-06:00
21:00-07:00

Weekends
07:00-19:00
19:00-07:00

Do the depot drivers work similar shifts?

 

[whoosh]

From memory there were two AMs (04:00-12:00 and 06:00-14:00), one PM (13:30-22:00) and about six to eight night turns, for Depot Drivers at Etches Park.

 

[ExMover]

Whoosh is right about the driver shifts. It's normally in a 6 on 4 off pattern with about 2/3 nights 1/3 days. It's worth noting that a lot of shunters get the chance to progress to Depot Driver (subject to passing the tests) and subsequently the main line after about a year to 18 months. East Mids only recruits trainee drivers into the Depot Driver grade, unlike most other TOCs.

 

[whoosh]

I know that one EMT Depot Driver (who started at Eastcroft at Nottingham), went on to become a Mainline Driver at St Pancras, and I have heard he has since become a Driver with Eurostar. A thoroughly nice bloke too!

Providing you are sensible, reliable, stay off the radar of Management, and are a nice person to work with, the railway can be a good career. The above is an example of this.

 

[Kev.]

Whoosh is right about the driver shifts. It's normally in a 6 on 4 off pattern with about 2/3 nights 1/3 days. It's worth noting that a lot of shunters get the chance to progress to Depot Driver (subject to passing the tests) and subsequently the main line after about a year to 18 months. East Mids only recruits trainee drivers into the Depot Driver grade, unlike most other TOCs.

Sorry if I sound a little thick, but what's the difference between shunter and depot driver?

 

[whoosh]

Shunters uncouple trains (HSTs), and control movements on the depot (pulling points, opening shed doors, switching 'depot protection systems' on and off), Depot Drivers drive trains on the depot and to and from the station.

 

[Kev.]

Shunters uncouple trains (HSTs), and control movements on the depot (pulling points, opening shed doors, switching 'depot protection systems' on and off), Depot Drivers drive trains on the depot and to and from the station.

Thanks mate. Seems that the shunters role is much more involved and they have more tasks than a depot driver, yet the salary of a shunter is much less than that of a depot driver. Why is this?

 

[whoosh]

Depot Drivers also prep trains - I forgot to mention that bit.

The training for Depot Drivers is longer than that for Shunters, and is more involved as it includes the actual handling of trains. Also the rôle was created to provide cheaper Driver resources for depot movements. It was negotiated with ASLEF as part of the Drivers' pay review a few years ago, providing a separate pool of 'Depot Drivers' for Depot work, and meaning that Mainline Drivers could be deployed on Mainline turns of duty and overtime saved.


Shunters were always paid less than Drivers, but the grade of Depot Driver was negotiated from the position of Driver and by the Drivers' union.

 

[Kev.]

Depot Drivers also prep trains - I forgot to mention that bit.

The training for Depot Drivers is longer than that for Shunters, and is more involved as it includes the actual handling of trains. Also the rôle was created to provide cheaper Driver resources for depot movements. It was negotiated with ASLEF as part of the Drivers' pay review a few years ago, providing a separate pool of 'Depot Drivers' for Depot work, and meaning that Mainline Drivers could be deployed on Mainline turns of duty and overtime saved.


Shunters were always paid less than Drivers, but the grade of Depot Driver was negotiated from the position of Driver and by the Drivers' union.

Wow thanks for answering that very clearly and precisely, it has definately given me a better understanding of the roles.

Was new role of depot driver just at EMT or was in introduced at all toc's?

 

[stjimmy87]

Thank you for the great info guys, so basically its not a driving job as such you are a ground soldier. I applied for a depot job and failed to get past the interview earlier this year so I am basically looking for a way in and this seems like a good bet. My main aspiration is to be a mainline driver one day.

Just one more question, what does shift allowance mean?

 

[ExMover]

EMT Depot Drivers are now trained to full mainline rules and are passed out on all of the traction. This means that when they move to the mainline they only need to do 'high speed handling' and then they are straight onto route learning. Most other TOCs employ Service Drivers to move trains around the depot. They are not full mainline rules qualified and cannot therefore drive trains on Network Rail track. I think also (but I may be wrong) that Service Drivers do not need to pass the RSSB tests.

Bottom line is that starting as a shunter with EMT is a good well trodden route to becoming a driver, particularly if you currently don't have the experience or background that recruiters of train drivers like to see.

 

[Kev.]

EMT Depot Drivers are now trained to full mainline rules and are passed out on all of the traction. This means that when they move to the mainline they only need to do 'high speed handling' and then they are straight onto route learning. Most other TOCs employ Service Drivers to move trains around the depot. They are not full mainline rules qualified and cannot therefore drive trains on Network Rail track. I think also (but I may be wrong) that Service Drivers do not need to pass the RSSB tests.

Bottom line is that starting as a shunter with EMT is a good well trodden route to becoming a driver, particularly if you currently don't have the experience or background that recruiters of train drivers like to see.

ExMover, thank you so much for that insight. It really is very interesting to find out about these positions and the different roles they each have to play within the operations of the toc.

 

[whoosh]

Wow thanks for answering that very clearly and precisely, it has definately given me a better understanding of the roles.

Was new role of depot driver just at EMT or was in introduced at all toc's?

That particular negotiation was just at EMT, however other companies may have similar arrangements. Others do have 'Shunter Drivers' which are Shunters allowed to drive on the depot only (not Network Rail infrastructure, which EMT need to do when going to and from the station at Derby). This difference usually means a lower wage than EMT Depot Drivers.

Just one more question, what does shift allowance mean?

An extra enhancement to your basic pay, from British Rail days, for working irregular and unsocial hours (sometimes called IUP - Irregular and Unsocial hours Payment) , or a payment called VRP - Variable Roster Payment, which is an historical payment for having the flexibility of different length shifts instead of them all being eight hours.
In some cases, one or both of these payments has been consolidated into basic pay - it has with Drivers and Depot Drivers at EMT -(in fact Drivers everywhere!) the basic wage is all you'll get except if you work overtime in those rôles, but it still exists in some jobs on the railway. It depends what has been negotiated in any 'Restructuring' for the various grades in each company.

Edit: I think VRP may have just been for Traincrew)

 

[stjimmy87]

I hear that the tests they use for this role are the SCAAT and another one that escapes my memory...would they not accept the group bourdon test as I have already passed this one!....similar tests