how I can become a train driver ?

[Mark walker]

Hi,
I am new on here and would like to know how I can become a train driver ?
All comments welcome.
Kind regards,
Mark

 

[E&W Lucas]

Try reading the wealth of information already provided.
Hint - the job requires initiative.

 

[387star]

I wish you well

Been. On here a good five years with driver in mind

My stay on this forum has seen me finis a degree managing a store then working permanent nights carrying out various safety critical and accountable tasks for one train company
Now I'm a conductor at a different train company still no driver though I have passed all tests just waiting the results of an interview

It won't happen over night...

 

[455driver]

Hi,
I am new on here and would like to know how I can become a train driver ?
Mark

Find a trainee job advertised,
Fill in the application form,
Pass all the assessments and interviews,
complete the training!

Thats about it really, oh there are a thousand other people applying for each vacancy, good luck!

 

[Beveridges]

Hi,
I am new on here and would like to know how I can become a train driver ?
All comments welcome.
Kind regards,
Mark

Start as a despatcher or other role within the TOC then work your way up (thats what I did - to get Maintenance Depot Driving)

 

[47802]

Hi,
I am new on here and would like to know how I can become a train driver ?
All comments welcome.
Kind regards,
Mark

Given the volume of applications prepare to be disappointed unless you are a very good candidate in terms of what they are looking for, and as has been suggested it may be slightly easier to look at other railway positions initially, although many other positions such as conductor are getting loads of applicants as well, it might also depend on where you live as well.

 

[hughavinalaf]

I wish you well

Been. On here a good five years with driver in mind

My stay on this forum has seen me finis a degree managing a store then working permanent nights carrying out various safety critical and accountable tasks for one train company
Now I'm a conductor at a different train company still no driver though I have passed all tests just waiting the results of an interview

It won't happen over night...

Do you not enjoy your Conductor role ml? or was it always a stepping stone towards the goal?

 

[red2005]

i'd say be very flexible and don't just limit yourself to just applying for the driver role! there are loads of roles within the industry that will only help in your application .....try anything to get your foot in the door and go from there.....very few people get the job the first time of asking simply due to the number of really good candidates that apply! so always best to give yourself other options.....just in case, after all if you want the job that much you'll do what it takes to get it.

do your research on the role and on the companies that you are applying to and take whatever positive steps you can take to make yourself stand out from the hundred odd other people that are applying for the job.

it's a popular position remember so don't get too disheartened if it takes a while! i'm sure you'll be fine mate

 

[387star]

Do you not enjoy your Conductor role ml? or was it always a stepping stone towards the goal?

Love being a conductor

 

[hughavinalaf]

Love being a conductor

Haha,a good but selective,diplomatic answer

Cheers mate.

 

[387star]

Haha,a good but selective,diplomatic answer

Cheers mate.

Lol why you ask?

 

[hughavinalaf]

Lol why you ask?

Im in training myself

 

[TDK]

Hi,
I am new on here and would like to know how I can become a train driver ?
All comments welcome.
Kind regards,
Mark

You firstly need to ask yourself why you want to be a train driver.

 

[455driver]

You firstly need to ask yourself why you want to be a train driver.

£ normally.

 

[Beveridges]

Ask any mainline driver why they do it and the answer will always be the £.

 

[455driver]

Ask any mainline driver why they do it and the answer will always be the £.

Another wrong statement by the non knowing Depot driver! :roll:
Why dont you stick to stuff you actually know and not stuff you think you know!

 

[91104]

Ask any mainline driver why they do it and the answer will always be the £.

Well myself (and many others at my depot) certainly don't. There still a lot of us ex BR men who when we started were earning peanuts in comparison to what we're earning these days but I enjoyed the job then and still enjoy it now but I certainly never went in to it for the money as I was 16 when I started and living with my Mum so money wasn't even a consideration back then.

 

[Dieseldriver]

Another wrong statement by the non knowing Depot driver! :roll:
Why dont you stick to stuff you actually know and not stuff you think you know!

I'm only a mainline driver because I couldn't quite make it to that pinnacle of train driving, the depot driver.

 

[plastictaffy]

Some may indeed do it purely for the dosh - in fact there's plenty that do. I know a driver who, in his words "detests driving the bloody things" but for the best part of 50k a year knows he's on a good screw. However most of the blokes at my place do it because they love it, and the money is just a bonus.
Maybe you should think before you type, Beveridges!

 

[Minilad]

Ask any mainline driver why they do it and the answer will always be the £.

I'm sorry but that is just rubbish. What about all the drivers who were driving when the money wasn't anywhere near the level it is now.
I don't do it for the money. I do it because I love the railway and I have always wanted to be a train driver

 

[Monty]

Well myself (and many others at my depot) certainly don't. There still a lot of us ex BR men who when we started were earning peanuts in comparison to what we're earning these days but I enjoyed the job then and still enjoy it now but I certainly never went in to it for the money as I was 16 when I started and living with my Mum so money wasn't even a consideration back then.

Quite, there is an exBR driver at my depot (started his career at Fort William which give you a clue how long ago that was!) who once mentioned that during the 70s and 80s there were RPIs (Or what BR called them back then) who earned more than the drivers!

 

[Greenback]

Times certainly change. I remember reading a thought provoking article circa 1991 in Modern Railways regarding a predicted shortage of drivers under BR.

Plans to tackle this included making the pay more attractive, turning the role into a profession rather than a job, and recruiting more females. There was also recognition that career pathways and personal development needed to be made clear and improved.

I doubt that every single driver is only in it for the money, but it has to be recognised that for a lot of applicants it will be a significant factor in their desire to become a driver. But, no matter what their motivation, they will only succeed if they are suitable and able to cope with the pressures and requirements of the role. (I've long since accepted I would never have made a good driver, I know my weaknesses!)

The good thing about today is we are a long way from a shortage of drivers, but the slight downside to that is that there is probably a bit less love for the job compared to the days when drivers were paid a lot less for what they did.

 

[Beveridges]

Post Deleted

 

[FQ]

Ask any mainline driver why they do it and the answer will always be the £.

When I am older I want to be a driver. I wouldn't do it for the cash though, I would do it for the experience and having a fun job.

 

[red2005]

I think that's a bit of an unfair generalisation to be honest!....a lot of people do only apply for the money but you'll find that MOST that do the job or apply do it because it's something they've wanted for a very long time!

The ones that are money motivated are generally weeded out at the recruitment stage anyway as from what I hear they are spotted a mile off!

Yes we all go to work to put food on the table granted but what's the point in going to work "just " for the money!?.....sooner or later you'd hate getting up in the morning and I meet very few drivers with that attitude!

 

[cabbage]

If I get to interview I've been thinking alot about how I would answer the question of why I want to be a train driver.

I'm currently a bus driver and I enjoy my working environment - working by myself and effectively being my own boss. I love being outside and the variation in my work - no shift is ever the same, although my current company only has routes mainly concentrated in one city I'm often going to different places. I don't mind whatever I work and it's nice to have the variation in start/finish times from 0407-0145.

I'm a bit of a petrolhead and love driving, I passed my PCV when I was 19 and will be 24 this month and I'm still not fedup of the job. The only part I don't enjoy is the way bus drivers are looked down upon and treated by the public - but I've long accepted this is just part of the job and gives me something to moan about in the canteen!

For me being a train driver would represent a development of this. I want to improve myself and my skills while I'm young - as there's a few similarities between the two jobs I know absolutely that I would enjoy it. An office based career isn't for me, and although there are alternative career paths I could go down there's nothing else that captures my imagination more than the railway.

I've got no particular interest in the enthusiast side of it and it's not because I want to drive a train. I can't explain it in any other way that I'm committed to and enjoy working in the transport industry - I want to better myself and becoming a train driver represents the logical step up from being a bus driver. I enjoy my job the most when it's at its most challenging and would relish the opportunity and challenges involved with becoming a train driver.

The money would be a bonus as it would enable me and my family to live a better quality of life and I wouldn't *have* to work so many hours to earn a decent living.

Sorry for the wall of text but it helped me to clarify in my own mind what I might say at interview. Dunno if it would be the answers they look for though.

 

[Johncleesefan]

Cabbage thats sounds spot on.
Im a bus driver and had my train driver interview last week.
Like u I enjoy being in tge transport industry and I hold similar values to you.
I had so many examples to draw on from my current job and the similarities are there between the job. Im not in it for the money. This is my dream job. After extensively researching the role and requirements it is still my dream job

 

[E&W Lucas]

When I am older I want to be a driver. I wouldn't do it for the cash though, I would do it for the experience and having a fun job.

Careful, careful.
It is absolutely NOT a "fun" job. Very monotonous and repetitive in fact.
You have to have the temperament to cope with that, but still maintain focus when necessary.

If you're expecting excitement, look elsewhere.

A rewarding and interesting career, yes. Not fun.

 

[canaryclaude]

Who are you lot trying to kid? It's all about the dollar.....

 

[Minilad]

Careful, careful.
It is absolutely NOT a "fun" job. Very monotonous and repetitive in fact.
You have to have the temperament to cope with that, but still maintain focus when necessary.

If you're expecting excitement, look elsewhere.

A rewarding and interesting career, yes. Not fun.

When I tell people I am a train driver the response I get more often than not is that it's a cool job. Not necessarily fun but I think a lot of people see it as cool