Search results

During a handover with WMT drivers, you may see the red tail lights illuminated, sometimes not. It's entirely down to the driver's preference whether they leave the key in or not. Some feel they (or their family) are at more risk from Covid so retain their key, and totally understand that.

I don't think that should be much of an issue. I passed my OPC assessments for Overground LOROL but didn't subsequently pass their DMI. I later applied to WMT, and with previous OPC test results, was invited straight to a DMI, passed, and offered a job. Each TOC pays for the OPC tests, and the...

I stand corrected ;) When I used to do a bit of volunteering up at the NRM in York, I used to tell the youngest kids that if they looked very carefully, they'd see a little plaque on the side of the Eurostar power car that says where it was based, 'North Pole'. So they would jump to the natural...

North Pole was chosen because it was a derelict site, built near what was the North Pole pub. It was accessible from both Waterloo and St Pancras (initially Kings Cross was to be the terminus) via the North London Line. There was a time when they weren't sure if Waterloo International would...

We're the same at LNWR. Weekly home covid self-test kits for both DI and trainee in their bubbles. It is less of a risk now that the industry has trialled new ways of working in 2020, but there are still delays to training. DI or trainee could get an alert to self-isolate from the NHS app. And...

Well done @Stigy must be amazing relief :) I'm about 180 hours away from the dreaded qualifying exams. I'd echo what others have said. Traction was hardest for our training group. Rules had specific material and handouts. Traction was mornings of projection slides of technical jargon...

Barnt Green

I might have the old ticket pricelist from around that time. Worked 15 years at Waterloo and St Pancras, and collected lots of memorabilia along the way. Never occurred to me to keep timetables! I just got them out of boxes and shoved them in the ticket office racks :lol:

Very loud blowers on 373 power cars. Sounds like a giant hoover. As an employee, I got invited to the cab by a kind train manager. Walking through the loco, at speed, in a tunnel. Now that is LOUD. With 140mph hurricane coming through the side vents :lol:

The requirement was removed as it was seen to be age discriminatory. So there is no set driving experience when they recruit, but a senior driver manager told me they were looking for a minimum of 3 years experience with clean safety of line record. And if you speak french already, it's a...

Also, Sundays are inside the roster, in order to cover Sun afternoon/evening where the peak demand is (in normal non-pandemic times!) for returning weekenders. When I worked for them in the station, I asked a driver what it was like compared to his previous TOC (Virgin WC). He said a bit boring...

Sounds like you were well prepared for the other questions. Just need to perfect your answer for that 1, or come up with a stronger example.

I know exactly what that feels like, having had the same situation. Passed it all and was 1 mark short of passing the CBI. 2nd time passed it all, but unsuccessful at DMI. 3rd time lucky for me, and now being instructed at the mainline handling stage. Did they tell you which question you fell...

I think they're well beyond that. Was driving past Newton Longville in the summer, and saw engineering crews on the embankments. I don't know if they were doing earthworks or tree clearance, but they had already set up a worksite for lorries etc.

I know how you feel. I was in the same position many years ago. Was told I got 19/20 for the psychometric interview and failed it. So gutted, I didn't apply again for 8 years, and had to do the whole thing again. To cut a long story short, I'm now a trainee driver. You're nearly there. And...

I've read this thread with intrigue. No one's mentioned what happens when they change the standards for the tests, which is what I experienced. In 2010, I passed all the old tests at OCP except I failed the interview by 1 mark (it wasn't called MMI, but was broadly similar interview). Was so...

Sounds like @peters passenger/customer perspective is a beef with Northern over a reduction in services really. Absolutely @ComUtoR . It is to protect employees and stop it spreading like wildfire through the TOC. The capacity and facilities are just not available anymore to train the required...

There's trainees and instructors family members to also think of. Maybe they live with or look after a vulnerable person. A colleague of mine, a trainee, has had to self-isolate because her instructor's wife got Covid, then he got Covid. Now she is waiting for him to recover or to have an...

Oh absolutely. Praise where it's due, they are being really conscientious about the bubble system. It is frustrating but we'd all rather be safe than sorry.

We were getting comms saying our group of trainees would be going back soon, as the previous group had already gone back. However, we also get news that trainees have had to be sent home to self-isolate because their DI's wife contracted Covid. Then the DI got Covid. Then trainee is told they...