Assessments & Medicals discussion

[jmcculloch674]

When is your interview?
See your messages.

Hi, interview is a week tomorrow up in Aberdeen. Thanks again

 

[Adubbaya]

Hi - I've been successful in my application to become a train driver (great news, and I'm glad the hard bit is out of the way!!). The last thing outstanding is my medical - I feel pretty well, although I am a bit overweight and my blood pressure is on the higher side.

I've been speaking to my doctor about it and they've said that it should be controllable with lifestyle changes as I'm still relatively young, but I'm just wondering what the protocol is during the medical i.e. if my blood pressure is still high?

I have the option of moving onto blood pressure tablets to get it under control but I'm keen to not move onto medication that I'm going to have to take for the rest of my life if it's something that I am able to get control of myself.

Any guidance on this would be appreciated as I feel it's the only thing potentially standing in the way for me...

 

[Burrowl]

Hello,

I'm about to take a train driver assessment centre in 10 days.

Does anyone know how the vienna test system component is scored? Is it holistic, or a set of 3 different pass/fails for each test?

For example, If I achieved very well on the 2Hand, would that help me if I was marginally weak in the ATAVT?

Many thanks

 

[NSEWonderer]

Scored individually

 

[Sheffcaster202]

Hi all, for Stage 1 assessments is there a visible timer in the room or are you allowed a stopwatch?

Thank you.

The assessor for my assessments offered to put a clock up on the screen if we wished but she did say we won’t have the time to be looking at it and it’s a distraction so not really worth it

Definite no to stop watch, any watch infact as all 3 of us had to remove our watches before starting our tests and leave them with everything else in another room!

 

[Spider1806]

Thank you so much. This is the exact information I’ve been looking for in the forum. So far you’re the only one that’s managed to explain this clearly

Another thing I wanted to ask is which test you found most difficult and during the MMI did you provide examples and if so were they personal or work experience related?

I feel much clear and confident now about the assessment day . Many thanks!

I did one for LNER a couple of weeks ago! It’s usually paper tests first.

Group Bourdon dots test (google it) you can practise for free.

Then it’s “how many floors?” You count the low tones out of a sequence of different high and low tones. Each low tone represents a floor. There’s about 8 questions on this, asking you how many floors?

Part 2- You then an A3 piece of paper with names on it, next to the names are symbols. Like XO XX +- ++. You have to circle all two symbols that match.

Then the 3rd part of the test is counting a sequence of tones, whilst circling all the matching two symbols. My best advice for this one is, circle the symbols in between each sequence of tones you count.

The next part of the test is a listening/reading test. You’ll have an A4 piece of paper with information or instructions with a photo. Mine was about the braking system. You listen to the audio version of it first, and then you have 5 minutes to read it. You can take notes on a scrap piece of paper. They take the information away and the notes. You wait a through minutes and then have 18 questions to answer in 7 mins. I managed to answer all of them.

The second part of this test is cables and dials. It’s pretty straight forward. Just make sure you listen to the instructions,

Once you’ve done this, they’ll mark the papers. If you are successful you have to do the computer tests.

The computer tests- the first test was vigilance. There’s a small grey square, it is flashing slowly, it turns darker every now and again, every time it turns dark you press the button as quickly as possible. The best tip I can give is, don’t keep your hand on the button. They are quite sensitive. Make sure it’s hoovered over, or to the side of the button. I ended up with a hand spasm and hit it at the wrong time. I still passed though! You have to do this for 30 mins.

The second test is basically a photo that flashes up on the screen for 1 sec. It asks you what you see. It’s the same options for every photo. The 5 options are pedestrian, motor vehicle, bicycle/motorbike, traffic sign, traffic light. There’s 20 questions on this. Tip- only click what you see, don’t guess. You get marked down for the wrong answer.

Third test is hand coordination test, left hand toggle goes left to right, right hand toggle goes up and down. The aim is to get the red ball along the track without it going off. If it goes off the line, it makes a beep. You probably will go off, and it will beep, the aim is to recover quickly. Tip- use the base of the toggles. It’s easier to control as it’s very sensitive,

After that, I had a SJT, there’s no wrong or right answer, it’s just a personality test, they use this information for your interview at the end.

You have a break, then go back and they tell you if you’ve passed.

If successful, you have an interview with the assessors. There’s usually 7 questions, you write brief answer. Then they’ll ask you to tell them about it in more detail. They ask you questions like… how do you feel about rules? Do you think you followed the rules? What was the outcome of following the rules?

I passed first time, it’s not hard, it just hurts your brain. Best advice, if you mess up, don’t worry, keep going. No one is perfect. You might surprise yourself.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Jun 2024 ==


Mine was on braking systems

Hi there

Thanks for your post very helpful I am going to be doing testing for EMR soon do you think the tests will be similar?

Any advice on practicing? Online mock tests?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Aug 2024 ==

I did one for LNER a couple of weeks ago! It’s usually paper tests first.

Group Bourdon dots test (google it) you can practise for free.

Then it’s “how many floors?” You count the low tones out of a sequence of different high and low tones. Each low tone represents a floor. There’s about 8 questions on this, asking you how many floors?

Part 2- You then an A3 piece of paper with names on it, next to the names are symbols. Like XO XX +- ++. You have to circle all two symbols that match.

Then the 3rd part of the test is counting a sequence of tones, whilst circling all the matching two symbols. My best advice for this one is, circle the symbols in between each sequence of tones you count.

The next part of the test is a listening/reading test. You’ll have an A4 piece of paper with information or instructions with a photo. Mine was about the braking system. You listen to the audio version of it first, and then you have 5 minutes to read it. You can take notes on a scrap piece of paper. They take the information away and the notes. You wait a through minutes and then have 18 questions to answer in 7 mins. I managed to answer all of them.

The second part of this test is cables and dials. It’s pretty straight forward. Just make sure you listen to the instructions,

Once you’ve done this, they’ll mark the papers. If you are successful you have to do the computer tests.

The computer tests- the first test was vigilance. There’s a small grey square, it is flashing slowly, it turns darker every now and again, every time it turns dark you press the button as quickly as possible. The best tip I can give is, don’t keep your hand on the button. They are quite sensitive. Make sure it’s hoovered over, or to the side of the button. I ended up with a hand spasm and hit it at the wrong time. I still passed though! You have to do this for 30 mins.

The second test is basically a photo that flashes up on the screen for 1 sec. It asks you what you see. It’s the same options for every photo. The 5 options are pedestrian, motor vehicle, bicycle/motorbike, traffic sign, traffic light. There’s 20 questions on this. Tip- only click what you see, don’t guess. You get marked down for the wrong answer.

Third test is hand coordination test, left hand toggle goes left to right, right hand toggle goes up and down. The aim is to get the red ball along the track without it going off. If it goes off the line, it makes a beep. You probably will go off, and it will beep, the aim is to recover quickly. Tip- use the base of the toggles. It’s easier to control as it’s very sensitive,

After that, I had a SJT, there’s no wrong or right answer, it’s just a personality test, they use this information for your interview at the end.

You have a break, then go back and they tell you if you’ve passed.

If successful, you have an interview with the assessors. There’s usually 7 questions, you write brief answer. Then they’ll ask you to tell them about it in more detail. They ask you questions like… how do you feel about rules? Do you think you followed the rules? What was the outcome of following the rules?

I passed first time, it’s not hard, it just hurts your brain. Best advice, if you mess up, don’t worry, keep going. No one is perfect. You might surprise yourself.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Jun 2024 ==


Mine was on braking systems

I did one for LNER a couple of weeks ago! It’s usually paper tests first.

Group Bourdon dots test (google it) you can practise for free.

Then it’s “how many floors?” You count the low tones out of a sequence of different high and low tones. Each low tone represents a floor. There’s about 8 questions on this, asking you how many floors?

Part 2- You then an A3 piece of paper with names on it, next to the names are symbols. Like XO XX +- ++. You have to circle all two symbols that match.

Then the 3rd part of the test is counting a sequence of tones, whilst circling all the matching two symbols. My best advice for this one is, circle the symbols in between each sequence of tones you count.

The next part of the test is a listening/reading test. You’ll have an A4 piece of paper with information or instructions with a photo. Mine was about the braking system. You listen to the audio version of it first, and then you have 5 minutes to read it. You can take notes on a scrap piece of paper. They take the information away and the notes. You wait a through minutes and then have 18 questions to answer in 7 mins. I managed to answer all of them.

The second part of this test is cables and dials. It’s pretty straight forward. Just make sure you listen to the instructions,

Once you’ve done this, they’ll mark the papers. If you are successful you have to do the computer tests.

The computer tests- the first test was vigilance. There’s a small grey square, it is flashing slowly, it turns darker every now and again, every time it turns dark you press the button as quickly as possible. The best tip I can give is, don’t keep your hand on the button. They are quite sensitive. Make sure it’s hoovered over, or to the side of the button. I ended up with a hand spasm and hit it at the wrong time. I still passed though! You have to do this for 30 mins.

The second test is basically a photo that flashes up on the screen for 1 sec. It asks you what you see. It’s the same options for every photo. The 5 options are pedestrian, motor vehicle, bicycle/motorbike, traffic sign, traffic light. There’s 20 questions on this. Tip- only click what you see, don’t guess. You get marked down for the wrong answer.

Third test is hand coordination test, left hand toggle goes left to right, right hand toggle goes up and down. The aim is to get the red ball along the track without it going off. If it goes off the line, it makes a beep. You probably will go off, and it will beep, the aim is to recover quickly. Tip- use the base of the toggles. It’s easier to control as it’s very sensitive,

After that, I had a SJT, there’s no wrong or right answer, it’s just a personality test, they use this information for your interview at the end.

You have a break, then go back and they tell you if you’ve passed.

If successful, you have an interview with the assessors. There’s usually 7 questions, you write brief answer. Then they’ll ask you to tell them about it in more detail. They ask you questions like… how do you feel about rules? Do you think you followed the rules? What was the outcome of following the rules?

I passed first time, it’s not hard, it just hurts your brain. Best advice, if you mess up, don’t worry, keep going. No one is perfect. You might surprise yourself.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Jun 2024 ==


Mine was on braking systems

Any helpful advice on the above?

I am Going to do this for EMR soon

Any helpful test/mocks/practice before hand?

 

[SiTheTrainGuy]

Hi - I've been successful in my application to become a train driver (great news, and I'm glad the hard bit is out of the way!!). The last thing outstanding is my medical - I feel pretty well, although I am a bit overweight and my blood pressure is on the higher side.

I've been speaking to my doctor about it and they've said that it should be controllable with lifestyle changes as I'm still relatively young, but I'm just wondering what the protocol is during the medical i.e. if my blood pressure is still high?

I have the option of moving onto blood pressure tablets to get it under control but I'm keen to not move onto medication that I'm going to have to take for the rest of my life if it's something that I am able to get control of myself.

Any guidance on this would be appreciated as I feel it's the only thing potentially standing in the way for me...

As easy as it is for me to say now, it try not to stress about it. I’ve always been fit and healthy but now I’m in my late 30’s that’s starting to slide a bit and in the run up to my medica I was freaking out about my blood pressure as it was on the higher side. I just cut out caffeine and alcohol in the run up to the medical to hep things.

I didn’t see the reading fully on the day but he took a couple and from what I could see they were stupidly high (probably because I was worrying about it) he didn’t bat an eyelid and we just moved on. Didn’t even mention it. I’m sure it read 150/100 ‍♂️

Hope that helps. Which TOC have you been successful with and congratulations for getting this far!

 

[RebeccaHW]

The assessor for my assessments offered to put a clock up on the screen if we wished but she did say we won’t have the time to be looking at it and it’s a distraction so not really worth it

Definite no to stop watch, any watch infact as all 3 of us had to remove our watches before starting our tests and leave them with everything else in another room!

Thank you! That's good to know

 

[Terry844]

As easy as it is for me to say now, it try not to stress about it. I’ve always been fit and healthy but now I’m in my late 30’s that’s starting to slide a bit and in the run up to my medica I was freaking out about my blood pressure as it was on the higher side. I just cut out caffeine and alcohol in the run up to the medical to hep things.

That was the same experience I had. One I had received the date for my medical I started worrying I got my blood pressure checked at a pharmacy and it was high. I think I had about two weeks notice for my medical, so once I found out I only drank water and ate light meals. I also went for an hours walk every day. The day of my medical everything went well and the person conducting the medical never said anything.

 

[Spider1806]

This thread is intended to be used for any forum users to discuss assessments and medicals, including (but not limited to):

• OPC Assessments
• Job-specific assessments
• Practice material for jobs
• The medical process
• Questions about what happens at a medical.

The link to the test Group Bourdon Tool can be found here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/group-bourdon-tool.156417/

OPC information on which TOCs require Standard or Enhanced: https://www.theopc.co.uk/files/ADVICE_Train_Driver_Standards.pdf

Various steps of the Driver Assessment process: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/trainee-driver-assessment-process-tips.216853/

I cannot figure how to use the bourdon test download, can someone shed light on how you select the 4 dots exactly?

 

[matt96]

I am on 100g Sertraline and the GP has passed me on the medical but dropped a condition of working supervised until my dose is lowered or until I stop taking all together. Still waiting back to see if I still get the role of a signaller I was offered in April (Feels like I wont get the role at this moment in time). Just wondered if you or anyone else has had issues about being on Sertraline.

 

[Spider1806]

For the cable and dials test, in case it helps anyone, I recently passed TRP 2 on assessment day. I was very confident that all 17-18 dials were correct. It's definitely about accuracy as well as speed. I'll have to find out from OPC if it was an Enhanced or National, but it was fine for C2C, who I was told have a higher mark.

Hope it helps anyone stressing or waiting for a result, wondering if it's down to that on TRP2 like I was, and good luck!

I can't help but state how important it is to go to the assessments with a calm mind. I booked a hotel the day before the assessments, took time to find the hotel where the assessments would take place, and relaxed. On the day of the assessments, the Elizabeth line was down, and I would have missed the start time or just barely made it, albeit with traveling worries on the mind, which isn't good. I even managed to have breakfast at the hotel, which again helped.

I had practiced Group Bourdon all week. In my opinion, it's worth only practicing one testing round every day. There are 5 sheets over 10 minutes, and the Group Bourdon tool is what you use to print these practice tests out.

I went from 9 lines and 3 omissions to, by the last day, 11-12 lines and 0 to 1 omissions. On the day of the test, it was much clearer, only about 16 lines down, and the 4 dots were quite obvious to see, in my opinion. I completed 11 on 2 sheets and 12 on the remaining 3, able to see that by counting the remaining rows I hadn't done every sheet. Each sheet is 2 minutes duration, and you have 5 sheets to complete to make up 10 minutes total time for the Group Bourdon. You work from the top of the sheet from left to right as you work your way down. No other movement of working should be conducted if you want the best chance of passing.

The next assessment was TRP 1. This test was my favorite and is comprehension; we had a page on the train's braking system. You're read out the info as well as given time to read and make notes on the page of info. What I aimed to do was pick out specific data, especially numerical data, and wrote that on the notes.

I felt very confident on the 18 questions, being asked about things from the Brake Bar Pressure numbers to the color of certain buttons, etc. A few questions you could have had an educated guess. I found I finished that and had quite a bit of time to read over my answers. The only number 18 I may have been a tad unsure of, as it could have been two answers in my head.

TRP2 was the assessment I was confident in, but later, after it was done, I was quite worried, as I was confident that my answers were correct but unsure if I had done enough, as many were saying they had answered above 20 questions, some even 30. It also says that you would not be marked down for incorrect answers, which compounded my doubts, but I passed.

You're given 4 dials with priority sections and numbers. You have 7 minutes to answer 43 of these questions. You're also given 3 practice questions to get to grips with it. It's easy once you understand the concept, and the invigilators are very helpful. I got 2 of the 3 practice runs correct the first time, thinking I had all 3 right, but it turned out I accidentally marked the wrong answer for question 3, which was beside the one I had correctly found. So I assume that's why I slowed down during the real test to be more thorough.

The test started, and I worked quite quickly in my head. However, I was shocked at how quickly the time went, and before I knew it, the time was up. It felt to me like 2 minutes when it was really the full 7 minutes.

I would honestly say how I could have improved, and a tip would be to try and work out the first 3 priorities, and then the 4th should be common sense instead of trying to check all 4. You could also use your notes to work out the first 3 for about 10 questions, then quickly mark the box of the correct answer for each question.

Last of the day was TEA-OCC, the test I was worried truly before assessment day. I had used practice tests and the audios on those were rapid. I used railtest, I got better each day. On that app it also made the part 3(where you do both the phone book stage and tones) quite hard as you had to differentiate between high and low tones plus on the phone book the rating, area code and if its a tailor or restaurant etc. In the real test you didn't do such extremes as on part 3, it was one single tone plus you only need to find double symbols(XX OO ■■ for example) I completed the whole phone book with the time given between each question asking about the number of tones.

Parts 1 and 2, in my opinion, already are well covered on this forum, so I won't elaborate too much on them. However, Part 2's phone book is identical to Part 3's phone book in that you're simply searching for double symbols. Disregard any other information as it serves as a distraction, such as area codes, ratings, etc. Just concentrate on the double symbols. The invigilator clarified that all phonebook numbers on the sheet belong to the same service, meaning all plumbers, all restaurants, all clinics, etc. There is only one service on the A3 sheet!! Don't bother to double check for any differences as this happened to someone on the day and they ended up finding out too late.

Part 2 and 3 with the phone books you should be working from up to down for each column moving across. No other movement should be conducted to have the best chance of passing.

Pay attention and ask questions if confused. All the assessments had practice of some sort before the real test began and this was a time to ask for help and correction before the real test. We had helpful Invigilators. Remember it's too late once you've started the real questions.

Good luck and hopefully this is legible enough for those reading!

Main Computer Tests Breakdown: Vienna Test System

You say you used railtest? Where do I find this mate

 

[gingarobin]

Hiya, I am looking at courses and entry level jobs onto the tracks as a trainee rail engineer, and I was wondering if smoking/vaping will come up on drug/medical test, and if so, will it prevent me from getting that role?

 

[dctraindriver]

No. Nothing to worry about in respect of those being banned. Just state you smoke/vape in the slight case any anomalies show.

 

[Spider1806]

For the cable and dials test, in case it helps anyone, I recently passed TRP 2 on assessment day. I was very confident that all 17-18 dials were correct. It's definitely about accuracy as well as speed. I'll have to find out from OPC if it was an Enhanced or National, but it was fine for C2C, who I was told have a higher mark.

Hope it helps anyone stressing or waiting for a result, wondering if it's down to that on TRP2 like I was, and good luck!

I can't help but state how important it is to go to the assessments with a calm mind. I booked a hotel the day before the assessments, took time to find the hotel where the assessments would take place, and relaxed. On the day of the assessments, the Elizabeth line was down, and I would have missed the start time or just barely made it, albeit with traveling worries on the mind, which isn't good. I even managed to have breakfast at the hotel, which again helped.

I had practiced Group Bourdon all week. In my opinion, it's worth only practicing one testing round every day. There are 5 sheets over 10 minutes, and the Group Bourdon tool is what you use to print these practice tests out.

I went from 9 lines and 3 omissions to, by the last day, 11-12 lines and 0 to 1 omissions. On the day of the test, it was much clearer, only about 16 lines down, and the 4 dots were quite obvious to see, in my opinion. I completed 11 on 2 sheets and 12 on the remaining 3, able to see that by counting the remaining rows I hadn't done every sheet. Each sheet is 2 minutes duration, and you have 5 sheets to complete to make up 10 minutes total time for the Group Bourdon. You work from the top of the sheet from left to right as you work your way down. No other movement of working should be conducted if you want the best chance of passing.

The next assessment was TRP 1. This test was my favorite and is comprehension; we had a page on the train's braking system. You're read out the info as well as given time to read and make notes on the page of info. What I aimed to do was pick out specific data, especially numerical data, and wrote that on the notes.

I felt very confident on the 18 questions, being asked about things from the Brake Bar Pressure numbers to the color of certain buttons, etc. A few questions you could have had an educated guess. I found I finished that and had quite a bit of time to read over my answers. The only number 18 I may have been a tad unsure of, as it could have been two answers in my head.

TRP2 was the assessment I was confident in, but later, after it was done, I was quite worried, as I was confident that my answers were correct but unsure if I had done enough, as many were saying they had answered above 20 questions, some even 30. It also says that you would not be marked down for incorrect answers, which compounded my doubts, but I passed.

You're given 4 dials with priority sections and numbers. You have 7 minutes to answer 43 of these questions. You're also given 3 practice questions to get to grips with it. It's easy once you understand the concept, and the invigilators are very helpful. I got 2 of the 3 practice runs correct the first time, thinking I had all 3 right, but it turned out I accidentally marked the wrong answer for question 3, which was beside the one I had correctly found. So I assume that's why I slowed down during the real test to be more thorough.

The test started, and I worked quite quickly in my head. However, I was shocked at how quickly the time went, and before I knew it, the time was up. It felt to me like 2 minutes when it was really the full 7 minutes.

I would honestly say how I could have improved, and a tip would be to try and work out the first 3 priorities, and then the 4th should be common sense instead of trying to check all 4. You could also use your notes to work out the first 3 for about 10 questions, then quickly mark the box of the correct answer for each question.

Last of the day was TEA-OCC, the test I was worried truly before assessment day. I had used practice tests and the audios on those were rapid. I used railtest, I got better each day. On that app it also made the part 3(where you do both the phone book stage and tones) quite hard as you had to differentiate between high and low tones plus on the phone book the rating, area code and if its a tailor or restaurant etc. In the real test you didn't do such extremes as on part 3, it was one single tone plus you only need to find double symbols(XX OO ■■ for example) I completed the whole phone book with the time given between each question asking about the number of tones.

Parts 1 and 2, in my opinion, already are well covered on this forum, so I won't elaborate too much on them. However, Part 2's phone book is identical to Part 3's phone book in that you're simply searching for double symbols. Disregard any other information as it serves as a distraction, such as area codes, ratings, etc. Just concentrate on the double symbols. The invigilator clarified that all phonebook numbers on the sheet belong to the same service, meaning all plumbers, all restaurants, all clinics, etc. There is only one service on the A3 sheet!! Don't bother to double check for any differences as this happened to someone on the day and they ended up finding out too late.

Part 2 and 3 with the phone books you should be working from up to down for each column moving across. No other movement should be conducted to have the best chance of passing.

Pay attention and ask questions if confused. All the assessments had practice of some sort before the real test began and this was a time to ask for help and correction before the real test. We had helpful Invigilators. Remember it's too late once you've started the real questions.

Good luck and hopefully this is legible enough for those reading!

Main Computer Tests Breakdown: Vienna Test System

hi there, the bourdon, do they mark you down on missed 4 dots or is just marked down on actual mistakes?

 

[NSEWonderer]

hi there, the bourdon, do they mark you down on missed 4 dots or is just marked down on actual mistakes?

Not sure, no one knows. Don't over think it, just practice to avoid doing either as best as you can and you should be good. I went in aiming for zero in either a miss or wrongly striked non 4 dot.

 

[Spider1806]

Not sure, no one knows. Don't over think it, just practice to avoid doing either as best as you can and you should be good. I went in aiming for zero in either a miss or wrongly striked non 4 dot.

Thanks for the heads up

Just got to keep practising

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Sep 2024 ==

Yes you can be. It is something to discuss at a medical - if you reach that stage. As long as it is controlled and managed it should all be OK.

That's good, but the issue is it can be controlled but you can have things like eye injections to control your eyes etc. Are they guaranteed to write to your hospital if your diabetic?

I have a sugars under control, I have a sensor on my arm, I am type 1 and have been for 24 years but from time to time I have to eye injections nothing major but they may frown upon this? Otherwise everything else is fine blood pressure, everything is fine otherwise

 

[Horizon22]

Thanks for the heads up

Just got to keep practising

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Sep 2024 ==


That's good, but the issue is it can be controlled but you can have things like eye injections to control your eyes etc. Are they guaranteed to write to your hospital if your diabetic?

I have a sugars under control, I have a sensor on my arm, I am type 1 and have been for 24 years but from time to time I have to eye injections nothing major but they may frown upon this? Otherwise everything else is fine blood pressure, everything is fine otherwise

I shouldn’t have thought so, but again I am not - nor is anyone here - a railway OH professional and they are the ones who ultimately will let you know. Having had it for 24 years will evidently show it is not a new issue.

 

[Adubbaya]

As easy as it is for me to say now, it try not to stress about it. I’ve always been fit and healthy but now I’m in my late 30’s that’s starting to slide a bit and in the run up to my medica I was freaking out about my blood pressure as it was on the higher side. I just cut out caffeine and alcohol in the run up to the medical to hep things.

I didn’t see the reading fully on the day but he took a couple and from what I could see they were stupidly high (probably because I was worrying about it) he didn’t bat an eyelid and we just moved on. Didn’t even mention it. I’m sure it read 150/100 ‍♂️

Hope that helps. Which TOC have you been successful with and congratulations for getting this far!

Thanks, that's a little relieving!

Successful with GA - been a long road, but hopefully coming to fruition (subject to that pesky medical)

 

[Spider1806]

For the cable and dials test, in case it helps anyone, I recently passed TRP 2 on assessment day. I was very confident that all 17-18 dials were correct. It's definitely about accuracy as well as speed. I'll have to find out from OPC if it was an Enhanced or National, but it was fine for C2C, who I was told have a higher mark.

Hope it helps anyone stressing or waiting for a result, wondering if it's down to that on TRP2 like I was, and good luck!

I can't help but state how important it is to go to the assessments with a calm mind. I booked a hotel the day before the assessments, took time to find the hotel where the assessments would take place, and relaxed. On the day of the assessments, the Elizabeth line was down, and I would have missed the start time or just barely made it, albeit with traveling worries on the mind, which isn't good. I even managed to have breakfast at the hotel, which again helped.

I had practiced Group Bourdon all week. In my opinion, it's worth only practicing one testing round every day. There are 5 sheets over 10 minutes, and the Group Bourdon tool is what you use to print these practice tests out.

I went from 9 lines and 3 omissions to, by the last day, 11-12 lines and 0 to 1 omissions. On the day of the test, it was much clearer, only about 16 lines down, and the 4 dots were quite obvious to see, in my opinion. I completed 11 on 2 sheets and 12 on the remaining 3, able to see that by counting the remaining rows I hadn't done every sheet. Each sheet is 2 minutes duration, and you have 5 sheets to complete to make up 10 minutes total time for the Group Bourdon. You work from the top of the sheet from left to right as you work your way down. No other movement of working should be conducted if you want the best chance of passing.

The next assessment was TRP 1. This test was my favorite and is comprehension; we had a page on the train's braking system. You're read out the info as well as given time to read and make notes on the page of info. What I aimed to do was pick out specific data, especially numerical data, and wrote that on the notes.

I felt very confident on the 18 questions, being asked about things from the Brake Bar Pressure numbers to the color of certain buttons, etc. A few questions you could have had an educated guess. I found I finished that and had quite a bit of time to read over my answers. The only number 18 I may have been a tad unsure of, as it could have been two answers in my head.

TRP2 was the assessment I was confident in, but later, after it was done, I was quite worried, as I was confident that my answers were correct but unsure if I had done enough, as many were saying they had answered above 20 questions, some even 30. It also says that you would not be marked down for incorrect answers, which compounded my doubts, but I passed.

You're given 4 dials with priority sections and numbers. You have 7 minutes to answer 43 of these questions. You're also given 3 practice questions to get to grips with it. It's easy once you understand the concept, and the invigilators are very helpful. I got 2 of the 3 practice runs correct the first time, thinking I had all 3 right, but it turned out I accidentally marked the wrong answer for question 3, which was beside the one I had correctly found. So I assume that's why I slowed down during the real test to be more thorough.

The test started, and I worked quite quickly in my head. However, I was shocked at how quickly the time went, and before I knew it, the time was up. It felt to me like 2 minutes when it was really the full 7 minutes.

I would honestly say how I could have improved, and a tip would be to try and work out the first 3 priorities, and then the 4th should be common sense instead of trying to check all 4. You could also use your notes to work out the first 3 for about 10 questions, then quickly mark the box of the correct answer for each question.

Last of the day was TEA-OCC, the test I was worried truly before assessment day. I had used practice tests and the audios on those were rapid. I used railtest, I got better each day. On that app it also made the part 3(where you do both the phone book stage and tones) quite hard as you had to differentiate between high and low tones plus on the phone book the rating, area code and if its a tailor or restaurant etc. In the real test you didn't do such extremes as on part 3, it was one single tone plus you only need to find double symbols(XX OO ■■ for example) I completed the whole phone book with the time given between each question asking about the number of tones.

Parts 1 and 2, in my opinion, already are well covered on this forum, so I won't elaborate too much on them. However, Part 2's phone book is identical to Part 3's phone book in that you're simply searching for double symbols. Disregard any other information as it serves as a distraction, such as area codes, ratings, etc. Just concentrate on the double symbols. The invigilator clarified that all phonebook numbers on the sheet belong to the same service, meaning all plumbers, all restaurants, all clinics, etc. There is only one service on the A3 sheet!! Don't bother to double check for any differences as this happened to someone on the day and they ended up finding out too late.

Part 2 and 3 with the phone books you should be working from up to down for each column moving across. No other movement should be conducted to have the best chance of passing.

Pay attention and ask questions if confused. All the assessments had practice of some sort before the real test began and this was a time to ask for help and correction before the real test. We had helpful Invigilators. Remember it's too late once you've started the real questions.

Good luck and hopefully this is legible enough for those reading!

Main Computer Tests Breakdown: Vienna Test System

Hi mate - the dials test can you remember how hard or easy this was?

You say priority sections etc was there values involved? If so can you remember how it went the test and what you had to do?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Sep 2024 ==

For the cable and dials test, in case it helps anyone, I recently passed TRP 2 on assessment day. I was very confident that all 17-18 dials were correct. It's definitely about accuracy as well as speed. I'll have to find out from OPC if it was an Enhanced or National, but it was fine for C2C, who I was told have a higher mark.

Hope it helps anyone stressing or waiting for a result, wondering if it's down to that on TRP2 like I was, and good luck!

I can't help but state how important it is to go to the assessments with a calm mind. I booked a hotel the day before the assessments, took time to find the hotel where the assessments would take place, and relaxed. On the day of the assessments, the Elizabeth line was down, and I would have missed the start time or just barely made it, albeit with traveling worries on the mind, which isn't good. I even managed to have breakfast at the hotel, which again helped.

I had practiced Group Bourdon all week. In my opinion, it's worth only practicing one testing round every day. There are 5 sheets over 10 minutes, and the Group Bourdon tool is what you use to print these practice tests out.

I went from 9 lines and 3 omissions to, by the last day, 11-12 lines and 0 to 1 omissions. On the day of the test, it was much clearer, only about 16 lines down, and the 4 dots were quite obvious to see, in my opinion. I completed 11 on 2 sheets and 12 on the remaining 3, able to see that by counting the remaining rows I hadn't done every sheet. Each sheet is 2 minutes duration, and you have 5 sheets to complete to make up 10 minutes total time for the Group Bourdon. You work from the top of the sheet from left to right as you work your way down. No other movement of working should be conducted if you want the best chance of passing.

The next assessment was TRP 1. This test was my favorite and is comprehension; we had a page on the train's braking system. You're read out the info as well as given time to read and make notes on the page of info. What I aimed to do was pick out specific data, especially numerical data, and wrote that on the notes.

I felt very confident on the 18 questions, being asked about things from the Brake Bar Pressure numbers to the color of certain buttons, etc. A few questions you could have had an educated guess. I found I finished that and had quite a bit of time to read over my answers. The only number 18 I may have been a tad unsure of, as it could have been two answers in my head.

TRP2 was the assessment I was confident in, but later, after it was done, I was quite worried, as I was confident that my answers were correct but unsure if I had done enough, as many were saying they had answered above 20 questions, some even 30. It also says that you would not be marked down for incorrect answers, which compounded my doubts, but I passed.

You're given 4 dials with priority sections and numbers. You have 7 minutes to answer 43 of these questions. You're also given 3 practice questions to get to grips with it. It's easy once you understand the concept, and the invigilators are very helpful. I got 2 of the 3 practice runs correct the first time, thinking I had all 3 right, but it turned out I accidentally marked the wrong answer for question 3, which was beside the one I had correctly found. So I assume that's why I slowed down during the real test to be more thorough.

The test started, and I worked quite quickly in my head. However, I was shocked at how quickly the time went, and before I knew it, the time was up. It felt to me like 2 minutes when it was really the full 7 minutes.

I would honestly say how I could have improved, and a tip would be to try and work out the first 3 priorities, and then the 4th should be common sense instead of trying to check all 4. You could also use your notes to work out the first 3 for about 10 questions, then quickly mark the box of the correct answer for each question.

Last of the day was TEA-OCC, the test I was worried truly before assessment day. I had used practice tests and the audios on those were rapid. I used railtest, I got better each day. On that app it also made the part 3(where you do both the phone book stage and tones) quite hard as you had to differentiate between high and low tones plus on the phone book the rating, area code and if its a tailor or restaurant etc. In the real test you didn't do such extremes as on part 3, it was one single tone plus you only need to find double symbols(XX OO ■■ for example) I completed the whole phone book with the time given between each question asking about the number of tones.

Parts 1 and 2, in my opinion, already are well covered on this forum, so I won't elaborate too much on them. However, Part 2's phone book is identical to Part 3's phone book in that you're simply searching for double symbols. Disregard any other information as it serves as a distraction, such as area codes, ratings, etc. Just concentrate on the double symbols. The invigilator clarified that all phonebook numbers on the sheet belong to the same service, meaning all plumbers, all restaurants, all clinics, etc. There is only one service on the A3 sheet!! Don't bother to double check for any differences as this happened to someone on the day and they ended up finding out too late.

Part 2 and 3 with the phone books you should be working from up to down for each column moving across. No other movement should be conducted to have the best chance of passing.

Pay attention and ask questions if confused. All the assessments had practice of some sort before the real test began and this was a time to ask for help and correction before the real test. We had helpful Invigilators. Remember it's too late once you've started the real questions.

Good luck and hopefully this is legible enough for those reading!

Main Computer Tests Breakdown: Vienna Test System

Are you able to explain the dials tests anymore? please

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Sep 2024 ==

You follow the colour priority key that's given on the day. It might go like: Black - Priority 1, Grey - Priority 2, Light Blue - Priority 3 and White - Priority 4

If the needle is in the same colour quadrant for two or more dials then you order the dials in question by order of the lowest value.

You only need to work out 3 dials to find the answer, don't waste time ordering the 4th if that's not already obvious.

So lowest value first if the needle is pointing in same colour for two or more dials? Not the highest value?

 

[NSEWonderer]

Hi mate - the dials test can you remember how hard or easy this was?

You say priority sections etc was there values involved? If so can you remember how it went the test and what you had to do?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Sep 2024 ==



Was the dials test similar to this?

Hi mate - the dials test can you remember how hard or easy this was?

You say priority sections etc was there values involved? If so can you remember how it went the test and what you had to do?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Sep 2024 ==



Are you able to explain the dials tests anymore? please

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Sep 2024 ==


So lowest value first if the needle is pointing in same colour for two or more dials? Not the highest value?

Yes the lowest value, they'll tell you what they expect on the day with these tests so listen carefully to those as it may differ. Been some time since I've done my assessments so I can't explain everything in any more detail than I did when I wrote those posts, more so because they should be simple enough to give a general idea of each assessment without over complicating it.

 

[Spider1806]

Yes the lowest value, they'll tell you what they expect on the day with these tests so listen carefully to those as it may differ. Been some time since I've done my assessments so I can't explain everything in any more detail than I did when I wrote those posts, more so because they should be simple enough to give a general idea of each assessment without over complicating it.

thank you - I swore I saw someone say there was something about values like you and someone made a mistake because they didn't look at the value

 

[TC12]

Hi all. I have recently passed my paper and computer tests and MMI. Does anyone know how long the tests and MMI stay valid for?

 

[Spincity]

Hi all. I have recently passed my paper and computer tests and MMI. Does anyone know how long the tests and MMI stay valid for?

Depends on the TOC. Maximum is 5 years.

 

[CreswellSig]

I have been invited to Stage 2 testing at OPC for Vienna Test System, Situational Judgement Exercise and Multimodal Interview.

I completed and passed all of these tests for another company only 6 weeks ago. Would I need to do them again? Are these tests measured at both National and Enhanced level?

 

[atruetennisfan]

I have been invited to Stage 2 testing at OPC for Vienna Test System, Situational Judgement Exercise and Multimodal Interview.

I completed and passed all of these tests for another company only 6 weeks ago. Would I need to do them again? Are these tests measured at both National and Enhanced level?

Yes. You basically get to sit the assessment and they give you a pass or fail. A pass can be at national level or enhanced. If you have done them before then you won’t need to do them again unless the TOC requires you to have an enhanced pass but you have national pass. The TOC will tell you which tests they require an enhanced or national pass. There’s not much you can do to change the outcome. Just do your best on the day. Be well rested the day before.

 

[CreswellSig]

Yes. You basically get to sit the assessment and they give you a pass or fail. A pass can be at national level or enhanced. If you have done them before then you won’t need to do them again unless the TOC requires you to have an enhanced pass but you have national pass. The TOC will tell you which tests they require an enhanced or national pass. There’s not much you can do to change the outcome. Just do your best on the day. Be well rested the day before.

Ok, thanks

 

[Spincity]

Just be aware that if you sat stage 2 6 weeks ago, you will not be able to resit this again for 6 months. If you passed to another TOCs standard happy days. If the other TOC have enhanced standards you may not have passed and will need to wait/resit

 

[Adubbaya]

As easy as it is for me to say now, it try not to stress about it. I’ve always been fit and healthy but now I’m in my late 30’s that’s starting to slide a bit and in the run up to my medica I was freaking out about my blood pressure as it was on the higher side. I just cut out caffeine and alcohol in the run up to the medical to hep things.

I didn’t see the reading fully on the day but he took a couple and from what I could see they were stupidly high (probably because I was worrying about it) he didn’t bat an eyelid and we just moved on. Didn’t even mention it. I’m sure it read 150/100 ‍♂️

Hope that helps. Which TOC have you been successful with and congratulations for getting this far!

So had my medical, and by the skin of my teeth, made it through!! Just waiting on D&A but that’ll be a pass

For future ref for anyone else, the ORR limit is 180/100 - if either number is over it’s a fail. Mine was 132/92, first couple taken were 103 and 102 on the second number My advice would be to take a couple of deep breaths in and out and try to be as relaxed as possible - did the trick for me at least!!

 

[Sotac464]

Hi guys,

I have an assessment coming up soon, I failed in February on the flasing images that comes up for 1 second, does anyone have any software that I can practice? Or is there anywhere I can get any?

Thank you.