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No reason to think that. I only applied once, and quite a few others I work with got in first time too. You’ve got just as much chance as everyone else. All I’ll say is if you get to interview, research and prepare. This forum is very, very helpful.

It actually looks like they’re not designed to be replaced with the way the battery is held in, which if true is hideously wasteful. I may be wrong send they’re all just sent off for replacement but it seems strange that it wouldn’t just clip in and out like pretty much all other watches.

The batteries in a TOCwatch are easy enough to replace, just a bit fiddly and held in with a few metal clips. This! Don’t draw attention to yourself when you’re new, just do everything as you’re supposed to. I don’t wear a smart watch but I do wear a watch for activity tracking (heart rate...

It would be the last phone call we’d make as a driver that’s for sure. o_O:lol:

Plenty of TOCs (including mine) have a rule you can’t use GSMR whilst moving, so you’d just stop when convenient (Usually at the next signal, but if that signal isn’t very far away, has reverted and you’re doing 70mph then you’re probably buggered). 3 months and you haven’t contacted a...

195 most reliable 2nd gen new DMU - was it the only one in the category? :lol::lol:

Sorry to hear you failed. It’s one of the tests that you think should be easy, as how hard can staring at a square be? But your mind really does start playing tricks and you realise it’s actually a very good test of concentration. As others have said, I think it’s all the computer tests again...

I know, in those circumstances I’ll press SG straight away as per regulations, or sometimes you just know something is wrong so I’ll just call the signaller as soon as I’ve come to a stand. Otherwise I’ll call them after a few minutes and find out the reason, again as per regulations -...

195’s are absolutely useless when it’s slippy. Worst units in our fleet by far.

Most of the time your knowledge of routes and timetables tells you why you’re being stopped, so there’s no point pressing SG straight away.

When I applied a couple of years ago I didn’t hear a thing for 5 months. Not one email. Then in a 6 week period I went through every stage and started a course. They tend to run several courses from one lot of applications, so some hear back in a shorter space of time than others.

Age isn’t a barrier. There were people on my course from 22 to over 50, and I know several 21 year olds who have fairly recently qualified. The hardest thing is getting through the sift, which does seem to be pot luck.

Surprising how all these people still don’t have mobile phones capable of buying tickets.

5 years! What on earth is going on? The average at my depot (East) is around 18 months. How can it take another 3 1/2 years? o_O

Those driver vacancies get filled, there is no shortage of takers. But it takes time to train, qualify, then learn and sign all the relevant routes. Northern has had a big recruitment push over the last 18 months or so and there are loads of new drivers coming through. So without being...

It depends on the station. Over 20 units are stabled in Sheffield overnight for example. As for siding space, there is plenty knocking around. Loads of 142’s are in Worksop yard currently as they go OOS and are replaced with 195’s.

Yeah, but what I suppose I meant is that I don’t care what it means. It’s just more made up nonsense to identify people as different, when that shouldn’t even be an issue.

Not if the signal has an associated position light.

I don’t even know what BAME means. I don’t see any point in actively recruiting certain groups of people - the vacancies are open to anyone, just put the best candidates through regardless of sex, age, colour or anything else.

There are only a couple of semaphore signals after the shunting disc leaving platform 2 (and only one coming in from Retford), so I would imagine that they’ll re-signal all of those with colour lights.