Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Hi everyone, just wondering if there’s anyone that’s been taken on in a role similar to below? Wondering how long it was until you got a permanent role and if it was in the location you were training at?
Thank you
You will join as a permanent employee, as a Grade 2 trainee signaller. You will not be allocated to a specific signal box until you finish signalling school, at which point you will begin to train at locations local to you where we have vacancies. When permanent signaller vacancies arise, you will be invited to apply for these to secure a permanent location
Hi everyone, just wondering if there’s anyone that’s been taken on in a role similar to below? Wondering how long it was until you got a permanent role and if it was in the location you were training at?
Thank you
You will join as a permanent employee, as a Grade 2 trainee signaller. You will not be allocated to a specific signal box until you finish signalling school, at which point you will begin to train at locations local to you where we have vacancies. When permanent signaller vacancies arise, you will be invited to apply for these to secure a permanent location
If you have a read of this thread you will see this style of recruitment has been done for a little while now. You will see lots of posts about it and what people have done etc.
Hiya, just a quick question about shift start times. I'm due to be starting as a relief on the North London Line in the new year. I've been told the shifts are 7-7 but does anyone know what time the changeover typically happens at for these boxes? Is it around 6.30 or even earlier? Just trying to work out if public transport is feasible for arriving at the day shifts.
Hi everyone, just wondering if there’s anyone that’s been taken on in a role similar to below? Wondering how long it was until you got a permanent role and if it was in the location you were training at?
Thank you
You will join as a permanent employee, as a Grade 2 trainee signaller. You will not be allocated to a specific signal box until you finish signalling school, at which point you will begin to train at locations local to you where we have vacancies. When permanent signaller vacancies arise, you will be invited to apply for these to secure a permanent location
I was employed like this in Feb 20. Started school May 20 and finished August 20 and managed to secure a permanent role Sept 20 after applying for numerous positions. After finishing school, I trained at one location for a short while but this was curtailed due to COVID.
Hiya, just a quick question about shift start times. I'm due to be starting as a relief on the North London Line in the new year. I've been told the shifts are 7-7 but does anyone know what time the changeover typically happens at for these boxes? Is it around 6.30 or even earlier? Just trying to work out if public transport is feasible for arriving at the day shifts.
Anyone that's waiting on the Haslemere/Farncombe/Woking decision - did you receive a random template email with nothing in it from recruitment over the course of the last week?
Anyone that's waiting on the Haslemere/Farncombe/Woking decision - did you receive a random template email with nothing in it from recruitment over the course of the last week?
I've got grade 2 hearing and was a little worried myself all they said at the medical was that they would want to see me again in a years time to check no further lose had occured, if your scores are to high on the hearing test it is a fail but your hearing really needs to be quiet bad for that to happen.
Hi I'm new here.
I have just applied for grade 2 position at scarborough. Its a 12 month fixed term position.
Can anyone help me understand what happens after the 12 month fixed period? I work offshore so I'm not in a hurry to change career if its not guaranteed after 12 months.
Also info on the training grade salaries, overtime etc would be appreciated. I'm on a very good salary but I'm after a better home life.
Thanks in advance
Hi I'm new here.
I have just applied for grade 2 position at scarborough. Its a 12 month fixed term position.
Can anyone help me understand what happens after the 12 month fixed period? I work offshore so I'm not in a hurry to change career if its not guaranteed after 12 months.
Also info on the training grade salaries, overtime etc would be appreciated. I'm on a very good salary but I'm after a better home life.
Thanks in advance
So pay in training for a grade 2 is around 26.5K, 12 months is the standard contract offered at the moment, after that a new offer will be made. Overtime is paid at 110% nights, 150% sundays, free day worked 125% and bank holiday 250% or 150% with day in lieu
Hi everyone I have finished all my checks (medical etc ) and am due to start my course in September in Birmingham, I’ve got a few questions hopefully you’ll be able to help with .
1. Is there anything I can revise before the course starts? (Books, Training manuals , Videos etc)
2. With the Exams do questions need to be answered Verbatim and are they short answers or large paragraphs ( I’m used to large paragraphs Verbatim as this was what most exams required when I was in the Navy not that I enjoyed that)
Hi everyone. Just got my medical on Friday now. Was wondering if someone could actually go through the average day? I’m gonna be grade three, be nice to get an idea of what the first thing y’all do and after if that makes sense?
Hi everyone I have finished all my checks (medical etc ) and am due to start my course in September in Birmingham, I’ve got a few questions hopefully you’ll be able to help with .
1. Is there anything I can revise before the course starts? (Books, Training manuals , Videos etc)
2. With the Exams do questions need to be answered Verbatim and are they short answers or large paragraphs ( I’m used to large paragraphs Verbatim as this was what most exams required when I was in the Navy not that I enjoyed that)
1. Don’t bother revising anything before you go, just enjoy the last few weeks where you’re not having to fill every minute of your day trying to remember occasions to authorise a wrong direction move and similar Railway factoids.
I did buy a copy of LTC Rolt’s ‘Red for Danger’ though, it’s an interesting book about loads of railway accidents and what caused them. If you’re doing an Absolute Block course some of it will even make sense after a while!
2. The exams are a mixture of multiple guess and written. The written answers have a substantial element of verbatim writing of certain bits of the rule book, the rest is writing what actions you would take in the scenario presented to you.
Good luck with the course, and with the job once you pass
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Hi everyone. Just got my medical on Friday now. Was wondering if someone could actually go through the average day? I’m gonna be grade three, be nice to get an idea of what the first thing y’all do and after if that makes sense?
Get into the box, do a handover with the person you are taking off for 3 minutes.
Have an extended chat with them if you get on well and they aren’t in a hurry to go home.
Get the kettle on.
Make a few trains go backwards and forwards, making sure they all go in the direction they are supposed to. Move some trains out of the way if they are holding other trains up.
Read a book with a cup of tea when there are no trains on.
Maybe do a few line blocks if there is work that needs to be done on track.
Continue running trains as they come.
Give the box a bit of a clean.
Your relief turns up, do a little hand over and stop for a chat or go home.
Get home and forget about your day because you’re in a job where you almost never have to take your work home with you.
I have just been invited to the Signaller Scenario Assessment and interview for a Grade 2 posting for Sheffield, Worksop and Ferrybridge areas. I was just wondering if anyone knew if those boxes are 8 or 12 hour shifts? And also as the position is a Fixed Term, how often permanent positions come up for this area, ideally in Sheffield.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!
I've just received an email saying I've been put on the reserve list for one of the recent Scotland roles. Anyone had any experience of this? Should I feel hopeful or is it unlikely?
" Thank you for taking the time to apply to apply for Signaller Grade 2-5 - Scotland (multiple locations). The competition for this role was high and you were within the pool of top scoring candidates. It was a tough decision to make as your skills and experience make you a good fit for the role. However, after much consideration, we’re not going to be able to offer you a position for this cohort.
We’ve been really impressed by your overall performance, so we’d really like to add your details to our reserve list in case a position does become available. This means that if a place on this campaign becomes available, (for example, if someone withdraws their application), we will contact you again to make an offer to you.
If you don’t want a place on the reserve list for this route, just let us know by e-mailing us at: "
I've just received an email saying I've been put on the reserve list for one of the recent Scotland roles. Anyone had any experience of this? Should I feel hopeful or is it unlikely?
" Thank you for taking the time to apply to apply for Signaller Grade 2-5 - Scotland (multiple locations). The competition for this role was high and you were within the pool of top scoring candidates. It was a tough decision to make as your skills and experience make you a good fit for the role. However, after much consideration, we’re not going to be able to offer you a position for this cohort.
We’ve been really impressed by your overall performance, so we’d really like to add your details to our reserve list in case a position does become available. This means that if a place on this campaign becomes available, (for example, if someone withdraws their application), we will contact you again to make an offer to you.
If you don’t want a place on the reserve list for this route, just let us know by e-mailing us at: "
I just had the same email saying I was put on the reserve list for the Scottish roles. If you don't mind what location did you apply for?
From looking through the forum there has been a number of people who have been on the reserve list and been offered jobs at a later date so there's still hope
We have had a number of issues with members trying to set up duplicate accounts in this forum.
Please note that we only allow one account per person, but if you find yourself in a situation in which you'd like a separate identity for this section then please contact us directly and explain your reasoning or concerns rather than setting up a separate new account.
We are aware of an issue with emails from the Forum to Microsoft-based email accounts (hotmail/outlook/live.com email addresses). This is being looked into currently, thanks for your patience meanwhile.
