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I think it would have been beneficial if the Relief lines between Hatton and Tyseley were re-laid. Most of the required structures such as bridges, platforms etc. are still in existence. Doing so would have allowed fast Chilterns to avoid the WMR suburban stoppers and freights. As things...

XC are on £65k, Sundays outside but committed, there's booking on/off payments for early starts and late finishes. I believe working the booked roster (including around 20 Sundays) brings in £73-£75k. Qualified entrants are on full salary after 12 months, trainees after 2 years PQ IIRC...

My intercity TOC used to recruit only qualified drivers and whilst it still does recruit qualifieds, trainees make up the majority. Personally, I consider myself very lucky to have gotten in after nearly five years on suburban DOO, including time as a DI. A few years ago, intercity work was...

Regarding the references to pilots and merchant marine officers, whilst these roles have a very high level of responsibility, they're not in charge from the day they qualify. Train Drivers are in charge from the first day they're qualified, it's not like a qualified train driver's promotion to...

Best of luck in the move to the railway, I worked in the office world before moving to train driving seven years ago, so far it's been the best career move I've made. Thanks mate, much appreciated.

I believe LNER Leeds have drivers' links organised by start times, early, middle, late and very late. I swapped with a colleague at the end of last year, he does earlies, I do lates, I've enjoyed the best sleep I've had in years. Personally, I'd rather it was the default with people submitting...

If the OP doesn't mind being in an office, ATC might be an option. The training pay is low but it's one of a few careers which can pay more than train driving without training debt. It's not easy to get into and training has quite a high failure rate, I've been told by an ATC instructor that...

Some of the airline schemes only require GCSEs now, you could probably smash 5 at grades 9-4 (A*-C in old currency) including Maths and Double Science in a year or two around the job. Alternatively self-funding modular may be an option.

Is the OP driving suburban, intercity or regional routes? I used to be 80-90 stops a day DOO suburban work before moving to an intercity operator where all trains are guarded. So far, I've enjoyed it a lot more. Workload isn't as intense, I live in a cheaper part of the country (though not by...

I'd have suggested to take a look at BA's Speedbird Academy or the Aer Lingus equivalent but they've both just closed. You wouldn't earn any money during training but you'd likely be flying an airliner for a living after 18-24 months. It would be a bit of a pay cut including once productive...

At this stage it's a protest, the current government have no intention of trying to reach a settlement but if we stopped industrial action it would encourage the government to try it on with other T&Cs etc. Personally, I'd have much preferred ASLEF leadership to have made it clear in December...

I'm surprised First Group didn't take the DfT to court over that, talk about being set up to fail. Makes one wonder who would actually want to run a rail franchise/concession these days.

This is, as far as I can tell, the first increase in any form of driver pay and/or conditions at an operator in the national dispute not agreed before March 2020.

Do we reckon a government might try and force a contract on us before they leave office?

At this stage I think the strikes are very much a form of protest, the government's position in the dispute is a purely ideological one and I don't expect any progress to be made until a change of government. The most important thing to me as a driver and I presume it's the same for other...

Regularly absolutely rammed in my part of the world, four and five car sets for long-distance intercity work doesn't fit the bill. I've noticed that the car parks are quieter on Mondays and Fridays but any peak or weekend service is usually full and standing and First Class is often...

I've seen Trainer/Assessors who have both Guard and Driver competencies, having worked as both during their career. Controversially, quite a few TOCs have trained Driver Managers as "Contingency Guards" who can carry out a Guard's dispatch responsibilities on an RMT strike day.

It never ceases to amaze me how many colleagues are a couple of weeks from falling behind on bills despite the driving salary, I can understanding expensive divorces and emergencies but the idea of regularly living for years without any substansive savings is bonkers. Three months living...

The first ASLEF EC strategy in a long time I strongly approve of. Avoid MSLs and we'll only disrupt a single day, play daft and try and implement them and you'll get a week of your services at 40%. Your choice, pick wisely. That said, ASLEF should have emphasised the importance of every train...

The narrators of decades past were far better, they had a very sober, almost distant, form of elecution and the scripts they used certainly didn't shy away from quite a high level of detail when compared with today. The alternative would be for staff involves to narrate such a programme...