Eurostar - Qualified Train Driver - St Pancras (11/09/24)

[Lee898]

Dutch is irrelevant but if you’re already B1 in French in theory you shouldn’t need the French course, as that’s the level it aims to get people to.

Thanks for that. I was thinking about Dutch die to NMBS/SNCB stretch.

 

[martin2345uk]

UK drivers don't drive to Amsterdam and in Belgium they are meant to use French... (not saying having Dutch wouldn't help!)

 

[Lee898]

UK drivers don't drive to Amsterdam and in Belgium they are meant to use French... (not saying having Dutch wouldn't help!)

Thanks for the info. Learn something new everyday.

 

[Janerz]

Anyone heard back after the video interview yet?

Not yet

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Rough figures....

- Start on 73k for around 3 months
- 80k once domestically qualified
- 82k after language training
- After 18 to 24 months from start date, 89.5k once fully qualified
- After 3 years or SNCB validation, 92.5k

5 years is quite a long old slog to get full wack. When is their next pay deal due?

Is there any penalties for leaving the job at certain points? Say within the first 5 years etc to cover training costs etc?

 

[martin2345uk]

Not yet

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5 years is quite a long old slog to get full wack. When is their next pay deal due?

January. Though after 18-24 months you'd be on more than pretty much any other TOC/FOC so I really don't think it's that bad!

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Is there any penalties for leaving the job at certain points? Say within the first 5 years etc to cover training costs etc?

No, don't believe so.

 

[craigybagel]

Bear in mind the top salary is only once you sign Brussels or 3 years post-international-validation, whichever comes first.

Is it common to sign Brussels inside 3 years? I knew only some drivers sign it, but I'd assumed it was something like the most senior 50%.

 

[Janerz]

January. Though after 18-24 months you'd be on more than pretty much any other TOC/FOC so I really don't think it's that bad!

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No, don't believe so.

Cheers Martin

 

[LoonyToon]

Is it common to sign Brussels inside 3 years? I knew only some drivers sign it, but I'd assumed it was something like the most senior 50%.

It didn't happen much in the past but there has been/will be a fair few retiring, so it will become more common, at least for a few years.

 

[craigybagel]

It didn't happen much in the past but there has been/will be a fair few retiring, so it will become more common, at least for a few years.

Thanks. Is movement to that link voluntary or purely based on seniority?

 

[LoonyToon]

Thanks. Is movement to that link voluntary or purely based on seniority?

Usually seniority. If they run an SNCB course and you're next on the list you're expected to be on it....unless you have a good excuse.

 

[PAD]

Are you able to do rest day work?

 

[martin2345uk]

Are you able to do rest day work?

You are, once you’re in the domestic roster, yes.

 

[State]

Do Eurostar favour those with experience (10 years +) or is it more based on merit / performance at interviews etc.?

 

[LoonyToon]

Do Eurostar favour those with experience (10 years +) or is it more based on merit / performance at interviews etc.?

They take drivers with 3yrs + mainline experience. The rest is down to you.

 

[State]

Great. Already do a bit of French to keep my brain healthy but this certainly ups the motivation to learn!

 

[Rush]

Any who’s had their video interview, have you heard anything back yet?

 

[alex101]

Any who’s had their video interview, have you heard anything back yet?

Nothing yet...

 

[Janerz]

Nothing

 

[miyagi]

Nothing yet

 

[anglian96]

Check your emails they have sent out some responses today

 

[Janerz]

Check your emails they have sent out some responses today

Thanks for the heads up. Language assessment in the second week of December

I don’t speak French, and stated so on my application. What type of questions/exercises should I expect during this interview? Memory tests of some French sentences? Pronunciation?

Thanks

 

[Flange Squeal]

Thanks for the heads up. Language assessment in the second week of December

I don’t speak French, and stated so on my application. What type of questions/exercises should I expect during this interview? Memory tests of some French sentences? Pronunciation?

Thanks

Is this by phone or in person? When I did mine during my recruitment process (although this was a few years ago so may have changed)…

The telephone one was primarily to see if you are a beginner/intermediate with very basic knowledge or at a more advanced/fluent level. I guess to decide which next step you’d take. It was essentially just asking what you know already (eg numbers, basic things like Hello/Goodbye, any other knowledge). It didn’t last that long.

If you’ve already done that and/or it’s the in person one, then it was a day at their offices in London. I was put on the Beginner level day as my knowledge at the time was very basic ‘getting by’ sort of conversation. It started with a driver trainer talking to us about Eurostar, what the job entails, and how the language is used in your day to day duties. The more advanced level people went off one way and 8 or so of us beginners went another. The majority of it was then spent in a classroom with a teacher teaching us words and then putting these into basic sentences. We then learnt a bit about genders. At the end of the day we were then individually called in where we were recorded responding to questions and speaking about the things we’d learnt during the day. Those recordings were then evaluated to decide who got through to the next stage.

 

[Janerz]

Is this by phone or in person? When I did mine during my recruitment process (although this was a few years ago so may have changed)…

The telephone one was primarily to see if you are a beginner/intermediate with very basic knowledge or at a more advanced/fluent level. I guess to decide which next step you’d take. It was essentially just asking what you know already (eg numbers, basic things like Hello/Goodbye, any other knowledge). It didn’t last that long.

If you’ve already done that and/or it’s the in person one, then it was a day at their offices in London. I was put on the Beginner level day as my knowledge at the time was very basic ‘getting by’ sort of conversation. It started with a driver trainer talking to us about Eurostar, what the job entails, and how the language is used in your day to day duties. The more advanced level people went off one way and 8 or so of us beginners went another. The majority of it was then spent in a classroom with a teacher teaching us words and then putting these into basic sentences. We then learnt a bit about genders. At the end of the day we were then individually called in where we were recorded responding to questions and speaking about the things we’d learnt during the day. Those recordings were then evaluated to decide who got through to the next stage.

It’s a phone call with potential for a face to face interview in London. I imagine the process will be identical to what you went through. Thanks for the info

 

[Rush]

Anyone else had to rearrange the date of the telephone interview? Mines in the last week of December

 

[Chrisjohn1982]

Does anyone have updated roster they could share on here, I’d be interested to know the shift pattern etc….thanks in advance

 

[Janerz]

I’ve got a few other questions if people are in the know…how does the annual leave work? Is it rotating blocks over the years? And you can swap with people I imagine? What’s the ad hoc entitlement? Are bank holidays & Sundays paid at different rates? Can you get lieu days for working bank holidays?

 

[S-Car-Go]

Spoke to 3 drivers recently and put a couple of questions to them. Sundays are paid at normal rate, as its in the roster. Any overtime is time and a half (Inc. when a train is 15+ min late and you're late going home).

 

[Janerz]

Spoke to 3 drivers recently and put a couple of questions to them. Sundays are paid at normal rate, as its in the roster. Any overtime is time and a half (Inc. when a train is 15+ min late and you're late going home).

Cheers

 

[Rush]

Anyone heard back after the telephone assessment yet the outcome or dates?

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Anyone still here in progress at the moment?
Cheers

 

[Janerz]

Anyone heard back after the telephone assessment yet the outcome or dates?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jan 2025 ==

Anyone still here in progress at the moment?
Cheers

I received a phone call after the telephone assessment saying I would be progressing to the next stage w/c 10th Feb and that there would be an email this month to confirm details