Northern - Maintenance Depot Driver

[JDAWC]

Well a service driver would surely be a mainline driver no? And a depot driver is someone who shunts units around bigger depots such as Newton Heath.

Mainline 100% better. Better shifts, more variety. Oh and better money.

Why do you ask?

 

[TJC3]

I just know that they’ve been advertised in the past but I can’t remember the differences in the job description.
Also the salary for service drivers and depot drivers are the same so less than mainline drivers. I was under the impression that both roles would be restricted to the confines of the depot.

I’m just interested in applying when a position becomes available but I wanted to know the main differences between the two

 

[JDAWC]

I just know that they’ve been advertised in the past but I can’t remember the differences in the job description.
Also the salary for service drivers and depot drivers are the same so less than mainline drivers. I was under the impression that both roles would be restricted to the confines of the depot.

I’m just interested in applying when a position becomes available but I wanted to know the main differences between the two

Ah I see. No idea then. Maybe Northern just changed the job title. Very common site on our railway.

 

[omalleys]

Hi all, first post.

I have managed to land myself an interview for the MDD at Newton Heath Manchester.

I currently work for Network Rail so have my PTS, good safety critical experience and good communication experience. I've even basic knowledge of the depot as we use it to access next to the new shed and have used the sidings roads before to offload our tools.

Is the interview the usual STAR based questions? (Tell me a time when...)

Does anyone know the shift patterns for Newton Heath? Is overtime plentiful too?

I know i'm getting ahead of myself but I'm just curious.

Cheers

 

[abr2024]

I interviewed for an MDD role at a different depot in 2019-2020. This was a standard STAR type interview, with a few questions about Northern itself.

I would imagine it’s predominantly nightshift with day shift mixed in. At the depot I was at, there was a separate nightshift roster, and a mixed roster. Led to believe it’s all one roster now.

Fantastic foot in the door for mainline driving if that’s your thinking. Also a fantastic career in itself.

 

[omalleys]

I interviewed for an MDD role at a different depot in 2019-2020. This was a standard STAR type interview, with a few questions about Northern itself.

I would imagine it’s predominantly nightshift with day shift mixed in. At the depot I was at, there was a separate nightshift roster, and a mixed roster. Led to believe it’s all one roster now.

Fantastic foot in the door for mainline driving if that’s your thinking. Also a fantastic career in itself.

I figured it would be mainly night shift due to trains coming into the depot and needing organising for servicing/next days schedule. I'm used to almost 100% nights currently so that isn't an issue.

Hopefully if I get the job, it can be stepping stone to mainline driving like you say. One step at a time though

 

[GPR]

I’ve always been under the impression Newton Heath is just one link, a mix of nights and days with Sundays outside the working week.
I’m an MDD at a different depot and new recruits had the interviews with the competency based questions, STAR method being preferable.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this changed going forward inline with how the mainline assessments have been added in before the interviews with DTMs but I’ve not heard that being the case yet.

It’ll definitely give you a footing to mainline driving as you’ll be driving the classes of trains that mainline drivers do.
It isn’t looked at as a natural progression internally but at my depot over the past 5 years 4 MDDs have gone mainline internally and 4 have gone mainline externally.

 

[omalleys]

I’ve always been under the impression Newton Heath is just one link, a mix of nights and days with Sundays outside the working week.
I’m an MDD at a different depot and new recruits had the interviews with the competency based questions, STAR method being preferable.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this changed going forward inline with how the mainline assessments have been added in before the interviews with DTMs but I’ve not heard that being the case yet.

It’ll definitely give you a footing to mainline driving as you’ll be driving the classes of trains that mainline drivers do.
It isn’t looked at as a natural progression internally but at my depot over the past 5 years 4 MDDs have gone mainline internally and 4 have gone mainline externally.

The Sundays outside the working week may be correct as we are always having late possessions Saturday night/Sunday morning due to their being no drivers in the Newton Heath depot and trains get backed up going in.

I should be fine with the interview questions as my current role I have loads of stuff to go off. It's a very time sensitive role but with health and safety heavily drummed in.

I'll have to see how it goes. I will probably report on here how it went after I've had the interview.

 

[GPR]

Good luck. It’s not a bad job.

 

[dum]

I missed the deadline to apply. Good luck and let us know how you got on pal.

 

[ThePeakNed]

I’ve always been under the impression Newton Heath is just one link, a mix of nights and days with Sundays outside the working week.
I’m an MDD at a different depot and new recruits had the interviews with the competency based questions, STAR method being preferable.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this changed going forward inline with how the mainline assessments have been added in before the interviews with DTMs but I’ve not heard that being the case yet.

It’ll definitely give you a footing to mainline driving as you’ll be driving the classes of trains that mainline drivers do.
It isn’t looked at as a natural progression internally but at my depot over the past 5 years 4 MDDs have gone mainline internally and 4 have gone mainline externally.

Newton Heath is, or was, one link when I left. Sundays half in / half out. You’re expected to work your “Booked” Sundays but if you can find your own cover for it, you can have it off.

 

[dalesrail]

Does anybody know if the three strikes rule regarding psychometrics also applies to the depot driver position with Northern?

 

[Northrail127]

Does anybody know if the three strikes rule regarding psychometrics also applies to the depot driver position with Northern?

Yes it does

 

[bigtom]

hi all, i’ve got a video interview next week for the MDD role at heaton and wondering if anyone can give me any advice/pointers

not had a interview in about 7+years never mind with multiple hiring managers in the video call so just wanting to be as prepared as i can be really

thankyou

 

[omalleys]

hi all, i’ve got a video interview next week for the MDD role at heaton and wondering if anyone can give me any advice/pointers

not had a interview in about 7+years never mind with multiple hiring managers in the video call so just wanting to be as prepared as i can be really

thankyou

I've got my interview for the same role but at Newton Heath in July but face to face. Let me know how you get on and good luck mate

 

[GPR]

The questions will definitely be along the lines of motivation for role, Knowledge of Northern, knowledge of the role, communicating, conflict, co-operating and working with others, prioritising tasks, decision making.

Use the star method to answer questions.

Safety is absolute paramount on the depots as they’re such hazardous environments.
bit of info about Heaton https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaton_TMD

 

[bigtom]

I've got my interview for the same role but at Newton Heath in July but face to face. Let me know how you get on and good luck mate

hi mate, had mine today and before it ended i got told i’m through to the next stage, they asked questions like why do i want the job, what do i bring to northern, what do i know about northern, asked about my working history, anything similar in roles to what we do here

now onto psychometric testing and he mentioned it’s a 80% fail rate

 

[omalleys]

I've had an email today inviting me to the psychometric testing for the Manchester Newton Heath MDD role.

Says they are going to contact me to schedule a date asap.

I will use the training material they sent in the email, does anyone have any other links for training for a Northern driver role?

 

[dum]

I've had an email today inviting me to the psychometric testing for the Manchester Newton Heath MDD role.

Says they are going to contact me to schedule a date asap.

I will use the training material they sent in the email, does anyone have any other links for training for a Northern driver role?

How did you get on with the psychometrics?

 

[omalleys]

How did you get on with the psychometrics?

I passed but didn't get enhanced on the group bourdon so couldn't progress my application mate

 

[dalesrail]

Is it only the group bourdon which requires enhanced with Northern?

 

[Northrail127]

No, Northern require enhanced at:

Group Bourden
TEA-Occ
TRP1 & 2

So to be clear, I believe Northern require enhanced for all written parts of psychometrics

 

[dalesrail]

Thanks for that

 

[dum]

That's really unlucky. Sorry to hear that mate. Can you use your psychometrics elsewhere?

I passed but didn't get enhanced on the group bourdon so couldn't progress my application mat

 

[omalleys]

That's really unlucky. Sorry to hear that mate. Can you use your psychometrics elsewhere?

Yeah. I can't apply to Northern for a year, unless I redo the tests and get enhanced. If I wait a year again to apply for Northern, I'll only have to sit the group bourdon.

The trainer said I can apply elsewhere as some TOCs don't require enhanced. He also said some TOCs that do require enhanced may have a lower pass mark to actually get enhanced too so I may already be enhanced to their standards.

He couldn't say how far off I was to enhanced, but it was down to accuracy and not speed. I basically missed a few of the 4 dots that I was looking for.

 

[Arne]

Hi all, just looking for some advice/reassurance. I applied for the MDD role at Heaton. I've passed all the relevant tests, assessments, interviews, and medical.

Originally, it seemed like the HR and talent acquisition team were really keen to move things forward as quick as possible. It seemed like there was a need to get someone started as soon as possible. The advertised job wasn't for a talent pool.

However, it now seems like there isn't an imminent start date and that I've been moved to a talent pool to be kept on record for the next 12 months with no assurance there is a start date anymore.

Is this an experience that anyone else has had with Northern after having had the medical and passed all the interviews and assessments? From the correspondence I've had I'm not sure of it's any issue of there being no vacancy at present or an issue of getting me on to classroom training.

Additionally, if there is anyone with knowledge of Heaton specifically, does anyone know if there are open vacancies for a depot driver that needs filling?

 

[GPR]

Not Heaton specifically but I’m at a different maintenance depot and there is a lot of MDD turnover so I’d definitely say be patient.
At my MD there’s been 4 who have gone mainline in the past 12 months so there’s always a need for new people and depots can’t run properly when the links aren’t full.
Have you reached out to HR recently?

 

[Arne]

Thank you for the reassurance! Yes, I've been speaking to HR and Talent Acquisition. The lady I've been dealing with has been very apologetic and nice. Basically, once I'd passed the assessments I was told I was going to be out on a course asap, but later, they've said that was sent in error. Hoping to get a bit more clarification today.

I'm happy to wait and be patient, I know these things can take a lot of time. It was just the sudden change from being told I would be on course to being changed to talent pool without it being explained or anything was a bit of a surprise.

Hopefully a vacancy will appear soon!

 

[GPR]

I can understand you being frustrated then. Hopefully something happens soon for you.

Could be a few reasons why the promise was changed from ‘course asap to talent pool’ but I guess you’ll never find out until you get in and can speak to people who run the show in the depot/ people in the know in there. It’s not a bad job and pretty sure Heaton is on the same pay as me where as the other 2 depots are on different pay so the wage is decent too.

 

[Arne]

It is what it is I suppose. It's my first ever railway application so I should be happy really that I've even got this far!

I reckon they were maybe only expecting one person to get through and maybe a few of us did and then we've been ranked on our assessment scores maybe.

Fingers crossed for the talent pool. I'm definitely really excited by the role