Freightliner Various Trainee Drivers

[Teddyward]

I got a reply from opc today, I took mine on the 13th. Unfortunately I failed 'freightliner enhanced' but I passed 'rssb national standard' what does this mean?
Is there a glimmer of hope?

It gets complicated as there can be different standards of enhanced for different operators. In essence you have one more go for enhanced operators and you’re no lives lost on national standard ones. I guess it also depends what you passed to national/ enhanced. Will just be group bourdon and tea occ measured this way. Did you fail any of the extra tests that can make it enhanced eg DFFT.

 

[crebbs1]

Mines 29th November and I sat stage 1 on 24th August so quite a wait.

That is a really long wait! lol, I had my stage 1 the day before 23rd August and was asked to come for stage 2 on the 4th Sept but due to work commitments the OPC let me push it back to September 26th Thankfully,

So do you live in Peterborough?[/QUOTE]

That’s good for you then, this is the first time of applying for myself so extremely pleased to be through to stage 2.
I don’t live in Peterborough but 35 minutes away. I currently work around Peterborough.

How about you, are you from Peterborough?

 

[GJ_DAN]

Congrats on passing and best of luck with stage 2.
Is this the first drivers job you have applied for? Yer £46,500 isn't to be sniffed at, more than double what I get for driving a coach every hour god sends. To be honest I'd do it for a lot less as it's the career I want.

Thanks, and congrats to you also and good luck! We’ve done well to get this far, coming up to the final hurdle now. It’s the first Train Driver job I’ve applied for yes. How about you?

I fancy a change from driving on the road and saw this as something I’d enjoy doing, with the bonus of also doubling my wage... if I’m good enough to get the job.

 

[Mizzmo]

It gets complicated as there can be different standards of enhanced for different operators. In essence you have one more go for enhanced operators and you’re no lives lost on national standard ones. I guess it also depends what you passed to national/ enhanced. Will just be group bourdon and tea occ measured this way. Did you fail any of the extra tests that can make it enhanced eg DFFT.

I'm pretty sure I did well in the dfft if anything it would have been the tea occ (finding the plumber and counting the tones) as not all the symbols would be plumbers which threw me off.i also would have failed on the remembrance of the passage (glop)
How would I know who hires for national standard . I have asked for feed back but it will be after a month till I get it

 

[GLENMAYE77]

I got a reply from opc today, I took mine on the 13th. Unfortunately I failed 'freightliner enhanced' but I passed 'rssb national standard' what does this mean?
Is there a glimmer of hope?

I means you have passed to the national standard but some companies like Freightliner want their employees to have a higher grade of pass.
So there is still TOC’s that your pass will be good enough for.

 

[Mizzmo]

I means you have passed to the national standard but some companies like Freightliner want their employees to have a higher grade of pass.
So there is still TOC’s that your pass will be good enough for.

What does the abbreviation 'TOC' stand for?
If other companies will accept it does that mean when I apply to them I will go onto stage 2?
Also how do i find out which companies these are? Sorry for all the questions

 

[martin2345uk]

Hi,
I'm in the same boat. Also been put in the pool waiting for a vacancy.
Well done getting through.

This pool thing is worrying me a bit not gonna lie!

 

[Jay_t]

This pool thing is worrying me a bit not gonna lie!

Dont get it, if they need drivers, you should either pass or fail!

 

[Crazyb]

I’ve heard the pay is about as you suggest, and agree as driver salaries go, it’s on the low side. Still good money for people coming in from other jobs of course, but if you compare it to some TOCs where drivers are in £55-£60k, I guess it puts it in to perspective. Thanks again for all the info, most helpful! Just a quick question from me, I applied for Intermidal at Eastleigh, you said that it’s more like timetabled work? That appeals to me to be honest, but does that mean the journeys are shorter without the need to stay away from home? I read when researching that there might be the need to lodge overnight depending on the roster, so wasn’t sure if this suffered between HH and intermodal? Thanks again!

Timetable work, means that all the jobs are in the roster, a bit like a TOC..... You know what you are doing on time wise and 6 months in advance. Say if you was going out on a Saturday in Dec, you could see if you was on or not and if you were, the times you start and finish...At HH (I can't speak for all depots) you could be possibly booked at AM turn which means you will not know what time you start and finish. HH have timebands.

Lodging...I don't know if S/hampton lodge anymore. They used to lodge at leeds years ago, but I think they only go as far as Brum and Crewe.. They may go Cardiff, but not sure on that, because I think the last I heard....HH drivers were working that, when the jobs losses were happening.

I'm not sure if they have a starter link at S/hampton, if they do you will go into that and will not touch the long jobs.

S/hampton men used to come to Wembley on diversions, I think they also change footplates at Brum (not sure) and Crewe. I'm not defo, I can't remember if they passed to Leeds and worked back.

Sorry I can't be a tad more helpful on S/hampton, but I'm not far out.

Some depots have starter links, we had one and it would take a long time for you guys to get into our links. Your links would consist of the 00:30 starts and 2 ams...lol, also afternoons and nights. For us old people, we would sort of have the better jobs !!!!. But, saying that, there are loads of people leaving, so that could change.

Tilbury depot only have 14 drivers left out of about 30 something, but they have only one link, and no lodging. The furthest they go is Rugby, also Reading, Wembley and Ipswich.

Ipswich have around 4 or 5 links. They only have one lodge to Donny. You guys won't be in that link. The starters link go to Felixstowe, Peterborough, Wembley. I don't think they go Rugby.

Some Tocs have link progression....At Virgin you have 5 links, and everyone starts in the Preston link and work their way up when people leave or pop off.

Like someone said, Virgin pays well, 65k plus london weighting and Sundays. You are talking around nearly 20k more on the flate basic without the Sunday payment than a Freightliner drivers for doing the same sort of long distance work...You will see a few Freightliner drivers at Virgin !!!!

Like I said, I can't knock Freightliner, they are a good company to work for. I've never worked for HH, only Intermodal. For me and others, there are better opportunities out there for less strenuous work, higher pay, benefits and better shifts......I know I sound like I'm puting FLT down, but I'm not, but when I have spent all my life on the railway, you will hopefully understand what I am talking about in the future.

I forgot to say...If your at Intermodal and you have lodging, you get paid 3 hours extra or 5, pending the hours in a lodge. All the hotels are paid for as is the food, also the hotels are not bad either !!!...I had some goodnights out.

 

[Stigy]

That’s good to hear, when is your stage 2 booked in for?
Mines 29th November and I sat stage 1 on 24th August so quite a wait.

I had my stage 1 on the same date as you but have my stage 2 on 11 Oct. makes me wonder how they work all this out. Were you AM or PM on the 24th?

 

[Stigy]

Timetable work, means that all the jobs are in the roster, a bit like a TOC..... You know what you are doing on time wise and 6 months in advance. Say if you was going out on a Saturday in Dec, you could see if you was on or not and if you were, the times you start and finish...At HH (I can't speak for all depots) you could be possibly booked at AM turn which means you will not know what time you start and finish. HH have timebands.

Lodging...I don't know if S/hampton lodge anymore. They used to lodge at leeds years ago, but I think they only go as far as Brum and Crewe.. They may go Cardiff, but not sure on that, because I think the last I heard....HH drivers were working that, when the jobs losses were happening.

I'm not sure if they have a starter link at S/hampton, if they do you will go into that and will not touch the long jobs.

S/hampton men used to come to Wembley on diversions, I think they also change footplates at Brum (not sure) and Crewe. I'm not defo, I can't remember if they passed to Leeds and worked back.

Sorry I can't be a tad more helpful on S/hampton, but I'm not far out.

Some depots have starter links, we had one and it would take a long time for you guys to get into our links. Your links would consist of the 00:30 starts and 2 ams...lol, also afternoons and nights. For us old people, we would sort of have the better jobs !!!!. But, saying that, there are loads of people leaving, so that could change.

Tilbury depot only have 14 drivers left out of about 30 something, but they have only one link, and no lodging. The furthest they go is Rugby, also Reading, Wembley and Ipswich.

Ipswich have around 4 or 5 links. They only have one lodge to Donny. You guys won't be in that link. The starters link go to Felixstowe, Peterborough, Wembley. I don't think they go Rugby.

Some Tocs have link progression....At Virgin you have 5 links, and everyone starts in the Preston link and work their way up when people leave or pop off.

Like someone said, Virgin pays well, 65k plus london weighting and Sundays. You are talking around nearly 20k more on the flate basic without the Sunday payment than a Freightliner drivers for doing the same sort of long distance work...You will see a few Freightliner drivers at Virgin !!!!

Like I said, I can't knock Freightliner, they are a good company to work for. I've never worked for HH, only Intermodal. For me and others, there are better opportunities out there for less strenuous work, higher pay, benefits and better shifts......I know I sound like I'm puting FLT down, but I'm not, but when I have spent all my life on the railway, you will hopefully understand what I am talking about in the future.

I forgot to say...If your at Intermodal and you have lodging, you get paid 3 hours extra or 5, pending the hours in a lodge. All the hotels are paid for as is the food, also the hotels are not bad either !!!...I had some goodnights out.

Thanks, you’ve been a great help! So are starter links rotas that have all new drivers on? I know what you mean about the perks side of things too. I’ve worked for a TOC for 12-years nearly and so am used to the perks we get. The money at Freightliner doesn’t bother me, however I can definitely see why ‘old hands’ as it were, are moving on to TOCs where they earn a lot more and have the other perks such as PRIV rate and free travel.

 

[crebbs1]

I had my stage 1 on the same date as you but have my stage 2 on 11 Oct. makes me wonder how they work all this out. Were you AM or PM on the 24th?

Mine was PM. I think they have it well structured as in, they are keeping us guessing at all times.

 

[Diff]

If we pass and get on to a training course, who decides if we are doing HH or intermodal? Us or FLT? I know some of you have said you applied for a certain one, but when I applied, both the HH and the intermodal selections had the same application code used that we entered on the website to get to the application pages if you remember.

I'm not from a train background and I'm new to it all unlike some here, so a lot of the terms used go over my head. I don't know a great deal about the differences between HH and intermodal if I'm honest so I don't know all the positives and negetives. I'm from a HGV background so I see it as tippers and containers in the road world.

I applied for Crewe, I'm unsure which I'd prefer to do, I don't know enough about them to decide. (Obviously I'd do any, I just want to drive like the rest of you).

 

[Diff]

Hello,

How strict are they with the rule of living 1 hour from the depot? When I applied a few months back I lived with my girlfriend, and I was within one hour, we split up a month back and now I’m living about 1 hour and 10 minutes away from the depot I applied to.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Is there much I can do?

Thank you very much.

I was also wondering this, depending on what the traffic is like, Google Maps says I live just over an hour from the depot I applied for just by a couple of minutes.

Does anyone know how much this will matter?

Cheers

 

[xtradj]

This pool thing is worrying me a bit not gonna lie!

Concerns me also because a lot of people haven’t even done stage 2 yet and aren’t scheduled to until December (some) yet already people who had DMIs last week are being put in a pool

 

[Crazyb]

Thanks, you’ve been a great help! So are starter links rotas that have all new drivers on? I know what you mean about the perks side of things too. I’ve worked for a TOC for 12-years nearly and so am used to the perks we get. The money at Freightliner doesn’t bother me, however I can definitely see why ‘old hands’ as it were, are moving on to TOCs where they earn a lot more and have the other perks such as PRIV rate and free travel.

Not all depots have a starter links. Ipswich have a starter link, Tilbury doesn't. It's a shame, as I was out with a ex S/hampton guy last week, but not sure what the score is there. I'll try and get some more info at the end of next week.

If the depot you go to has one link, you go into that one. Crewe used to have links, but not sure on a starter and Brum have only one link, or they used to,

 

[Stigy]

If we pass and get on to a training course, who decides if we are doing HH or intermodal? Us or FLT? I know some of you have said you applied for a certain one, but when I applied, both the HH and the intermodal selections had the same application code used that we entered on the website to get to the application pages if you remember.

I'm not from a train background and I'm new to it all unlike some here, so a lot of the terms used go over my head. I don't know a great deal about the differences between HH and intermodal if I'm honest so I don't know all the positives and negetives. I'm from a HGV background so I see it as tippers and containers in the road world.

I applied for Crewe, I'm unsure which I'd prefer to do, I don't know enough about them to decide. (Obviously I'd do any, I just want to drive like the rest of you).

I believe the depot I applied for is all Intermodal, don’t recall seeing the option of HH as well on the initial form I filled out? I wasn’t sure what it was but had an incline it was an Intermodal depot.

 

[Stigy]

Mine was PM. I think they have it well structured as in, they are keeping us guessing at all times.

Same here, probably saw you there

 

[Stigy]

Not all depots have a starter links. Ipswich have a starter link, Tilbury doesn't. It's a shame, as I was out with a ex S/hampton guy last week, but not sure what the score is there. I'll try and get some more info at the end of next week.

If the depot you go to has one link, you go into that one. Crewe used to have links, but not sure on a starter and Brum have only one link, or they used to,

That would be good, thanks. Any info I can get the better I’ll feel about it all (it’ll no doubt help prep for DMI too).

 

[crebbs1]

Crazyb, do you know the routes from Peterborough HH depot at all.
Or does anybody else on here know?

 

[crebbs1]

Same here, probably saw you there

Yes we would have seen each other, did you do all the tests on the day or had you already passed some before?

 

[Stanstaff]

Does anyone know if Birmingham depot is HH or intermodal or both?

 

[Regan]

Intermodel only.

 

[Stanstaff]

Intermodel only.

Thanks,Birmingham is only intermodal?

 

[Regan]

Hi yes Birmingham intermodel only.

 

[Mike121]

Has anyone replied to the email they got yesterday with a question? And if so had a response? I am still waiting with anticipation lol

 

[Stanstaff]

Hi yes Birmingham intermodel only.

Thank you

 

[Tstageman]

Evening chaps,

So I have just returned from Crewe today after Driver Manager Interview. Really pleasant experience, chap was a really nice guy, really put you at ease. Interview was nothing heavy, basics about Freightliner, some questions about yourself and a couple of situation 'Tell me about a time when...' type questions.

Thanks Crazyb for your post above, giving info on routes from Ipswich, something I completely forgot to ask in Interview today!!

Good luck everyone

 

[Diff]

I believe the depot I applied for is all Intermodal, don’t recall seeing the option of HH as well on the initial form I filled out? I wasn’t sure what it was but had an incline it was an Intermodal depot.

I applied for Crewe with I believe has both, there was multiple applications on a drop down box to choose, one HH and one wasn’t, but they both just generated the same code used to log in so there’s no way that would’ve been logged on their system as the codes were the same. So they won’t know which I chose from what I gather.

 

[Jay_t]

I applied for Crewe with I believe has both, there was multiple applications on a drop down box to choose, one HH and one wasn’t, but they both just generated the same code used to log in so there’s no way that would’ve been logged on their system as the codes were the same. So they won’t know which I chose from what I gather.

They ask for your preference during the managers interview mate