SWR Driver Pay Scales

[1725RJ]

Good afternoon,

I was hoping someone could enlighten me on the pay scale associated with a Trainee Train Driver for SWR?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lewis H]

You start on about £24k + London Living Allowance depending on where abouts you’re based (it’s not much to shout about may I add even at Waterloo). After you finish rules it goes up to £28k until you get your key. Not sure what it goes up too then as I haven’t quite got there yet, but you don’t get productive driver pay until you finish route learning.

 

[Lewis H]

Also bare in mind a pay deal is long overdue, so this figure will go up slightly, only god knows how much it will be though!

 

[1725RJ]

You start on about £24k + London Living Allowance depending on where abouts you’re based (it’s not much to shout about may I add even at Waterloo). After you finish rules it goes up to £28k until you get your key. Not sure what it goes up too then as I haven’t quite got there yet, but you don’t get productive driver pay until you finish route learning.

Thanks for the reply Lewis. I really appreciate it!
What sort of time scales do SWR work towards for rules, route learning etc?
I gather you’re currently midway through training - congrats!

 

[Lewis H]

Thanks for the reply Lewis. I really appreciate it!
What sort of time scales do SWR work towards for rules, route learning etc?
I gather you’re currently midway through training - congrats!

Rules is basically the first 3 months or so, then you go off and do slow speed movements and start your hours for 4-5 weeks, then you’re brought back in for traction, 2-5/6 weeks depending on depot and then you are back to your hours. There is no timeframe for that. I’m basically done with my hours now and I started in March last year, and I also had a month off.

Everyone’s journey is a bit different, depends on availability of DI’s etc. In regards to route learning, usually takes about 3 months I’m reliably informed. Again depends on your depot I think.

 

[1725RJ]

Rules is basically the first 3 months or so, then you go off and do slow speed movements and start your hours for 4-5 weeks, then you’re brought back in for traction, 2-5/6 weeks depending on depot and then you are back to your hours. There is no timeframe for that. I’m basically done with my hours now and I started in March last year, and I also had a month off.

Everyone’s journey is a bit different, depends on availability of DI’s etc. In regards to route learning, usually takes about 3 months I’m reliably informed. Again depends on your depot I think.

Lewis, once again thanks for the information. It’s always good to get some inside gen.

Good luck with your career.....I’ve got an assessment day in the next few weeks. Bit premature to be thinking about pay scales and training timelines. Always good to have an idea I guess. I want to know exactly what it’s all about.

 

[Lewis H]

Lewis, once again thanks for the information. It’s always good to get some inside gen.

Good luck with your career.....I’ve got an assessment day in the next few weeks. Bit premature to be thinking about pay scales and training timelines. Always good to have an idea I guess. I want to know exactly what it’s all about.

Good luck with your assessment, I am assuming you are going for Waterloo aswell.

If you need anything, get in touch, I would expect a bit of a wait between assessments and DMI, it’s very common, nothing happens too quickly!

 

[1725RJ]

Good luck with your assessment, I am assuming you are going for Waterloo aswell.

If you need anything, get in touch, I would expect a bit of a wait between assessments and DMI, it’s very common, nothing happens too quickly!

Thanks mate. No I’m based in the South West, no London allowance for me.
I’ve tried to DM you but it’s not allowing?

 

[Stigy]

Thanks mate. No I’m based in the South West, no London allowance for me.
I’ve tried to DM you but it’s not allowing?

You’ll get a location allowance, albeit the lowest scale so about £400 (There’s three areas, south east/outer London and Inner London).

 

[1725RJ]

Interesting to hear that thanks.

Do you know if SWR utilise a Group Bourdon test consisting of dots or letters?

 

[PickleTree]

Interesting to hear that thanks.

Do you know if SWR utilise a Group Bourdon test consisting of dots or letters?

I would expect they do yes. This is part of the standard psychometric tests that most TOC’s put in place as part of their stage 1 assessments. These are normally carried out by the OPC.

 

[1725RJ]

Thanks Pickletree. Any idea which one they use?

 

[Liam00086]

Thanks Pickletree. Any idea which one they use?

Dots for drivers

 

[1725RJ]

Gent, thanks mate.

 

[RJM]

Good afternoon,

I was hoping someone could enlighten me on the pay scale associated with a Trainee Train Driver for SWR?

Thanks in advance!

- £24,469 during rules.
- £28,829 during your hours and traction.
- £33,008 after passing your final competency assessment, route learning.
- £51,817 once you're out driving on your own after doing all your route learning.

As previously mentioned, we are overdue a pay deal so those figures will change hopefully in the next few months.

 

[1725RJ]

- £24,469 during rules.
- £28,829 during your hours and traction.
- £33,008 after passing your final competency assessment, route learning.
- £51,817 once you're out driving on your own after doing all your route learning.

As previously mentioned, we are overdue a pay deal so those figures will change hopefully in the next few months.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply RJM.
I must of misread on here somewhere that top scale was £61k.

 

[Liam00086]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply RJM.
I must of misread on here somewhere that top scale was £61k.

That’s GWR

 

[43066]

£51,817 once you're out driving on your own after doing all your route learning.

Do Waterloo and Wimbledon based drivers get a London weighting on top of this?

The pay at SWR is well below what it should be for London drivers doing intensive metro work (compared to GTR, ARL etc). Not that you’ll need me to tell you that!

 

[Stigy]

Do Waterloo and Wimbledon based drivers get a London weighting on top of this?

The pay at SWR is well below what it should be for London drivers doing intensive metro work (compared to GTR, ARL etc). Not that you’ll need me to tell you that!

Yes, Waterloo/Wimbledon and Strawberry Hill (and Feltham if that ever materialises?) get £2,000 ish on top of the basic (not a great amount really, although not many TOCs seem to give location allowances these days). Woking/Guildford/Staines will be classed as outer London and get about an extra £1,000.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that SWR still have Guards (at the moment ) on all trains, including metro services? I believe Southern Drivers weren’t paid much more until they negotiated a pay deal to reflect DOO work?

 

[43066]

Yes, Waterloo/Wimbledon and Strawberry Hill (and Feltham if that ever materialises?) get £2,000 ish on top of the basic (not a great amount really, although not many TOCs seem to give location allowances these days). Woking/Guildford/Staines will be classed as outer London and get about an extra £1,000.

Makes sense. Seems to me that most TOCs who have both London and country depots offer a London weighting or some kind (do GTR?!).

ARL doesn’t but it is an exclusively London based TOC.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that SWR still have Guards (at the moment ) on all trains, including metro services? I believe Southern Drivers weren’t paid much more until they negotiated a pay deal to reflect DOO work?

True.

As you say, you guys still have guards (for now), even on metro routes. It could always be worse! Just imagine if ASLEF had sold all your Ts and Cs for a few quid donkey’s years ago and had nothing left to sell (Southeastern, I’m looking at you ).

 

[Stigy]

Makes sense. Seems to me that most TOCs who have both London and country depots offer a London weighting or some kind (do GTR?!).

ARL doesn’t but it is an exclusively London based TOC.



True.

As you say, you guys still have guards (for now), even on metro routes. It could always be worse! Just imagine if ASLEF had sold all your Ts and Cs for a few quid donkey’s years ago and have nothing left to sell (Southeastern, I’m looking at you ).

I don’t work for SWR anymore, I jumped ship to the dark (green) side

 

[43066]

I don’t work for SWR anymore, I jumped ship to the dark (green) side

Very sensible. SE, SWR, ARL etc. are starter TOCs. The best strategy with these places is to use them as a way to get in, get a key, keep your nose clean, and get out ASAP.

Before you know it you find yourself driving proper trains on the big railway .

 

[Stigy]

Very sensible. SE, SWR, ARL etc. are starter TOCs. The best strategy with these places is to use them as a way to get in, get a key, keep your nose clean, and get out ASAP.

Before you know it you find yourself driving proper trains on the big railway .

I wasn’t a driver for SWR, but I see what you’re saying. I went to GWR for that very reason to be honest, but not just to get the key, more to get in to driving as I’d have had to retake all but two psychometric assessments with SWR as my assessment passes had ‘timed out’ as far as they were concerned. I’m happy where I am and will no doubt stay put due to the better salary and general terms (once I qualify haha), but sometimes you have to move about for different reasons.

 

[43066]

sometimes you have to move about for different reasons.

Good for you!

Far too many people in this industry moan to high heaven (and drag everyone else down with them!), but aren’t prepared to vote with their feet.

 

[Stigy]

Good for you!

Far too many people in this industry moan to high heaven (and drag everyone else down with them!), but aren’t prepared to vote with their feet.

Agreed, and it bugs me when I hear whinging and whining. If you don’t like it, leave (but usually they won’t because it’s a cushty little number lol). I always told myself, if I started to moan, or wasn’t happy in my job I’d look for something else. I started to whinge and moan. The job was good, but I’d been doing it for so long and was going round in circles.

Anyway, we digress

 

[Economist]

To be fair, even though SWR pay the least, they probably have the best work out of the three at present. I'd much rather lose a hundred quid or two from my net salary and work with a guard and not have to stop every couple of minutes than DOO metro work. I don't see the newly refurbished 442s on the Portsmouth Direct Line going DOO/DCO any time soon unless they put platform monitors in.

I'd say the best places are LNER/Avanti/Cross Country/Eurostar, somewhere in the north, hard to get in though. EMR/GWR/TPE are up there too.

I'm just hoping that I can keep my licence clean at my current TOC...

 

[43066]

I'm just hoping that I can keep my licence clean at my current TOC...

When you’re driving the poppers don’t lose focus, put the train into reverse and drive backwards out of Sundridge Park.

Someone actually did that a couple of years back, I believe .

 

[1725RJ]

- £24,469 during rules.
- £28,829 during your hours and traction.
- £33,008 after passing your final competency assessment, route learning.
- £51,817 once you're out driving on your own after doing all your route learning.

As previously mentioned, we are overdue a pay deal so those figures will change hopefully in the next few months.

What sort of time frames between these increments are we looking at?

 

[Bigfoot]

1, 3 months.
2, Anything up to a year.
3, 3-6 months.

Bottom to top could be as quick as 9 months, could be as long as 21 or even 24.

 

[1725RJ]

1, 3 months.
2, Anything up to a year.
3, 3-6 months.

Bottom to top could be as quick as 9 months, could be as long as 21 or even 24.

Thanks Bigfoot.

I assume there is a probationary period after that training before you hit £51k?