Trainee driver course details

[Sar-dud]

Hi there,

I have recently been accepted by Southern after passing the recruitment process and interviews and am now waiting for a course start date.

Does anyone know how the course is structured in terms of days per week, if its during weekends etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Aivilo]

Normally Monday to Friday for the classroom based stuff. Will be a week or two slotted in where your at your depot so could be shift based. When out with a DI you'll be following there shift pattern (hours and days off)

 

[king_walnut]

It will start with 5 months of classroom based learning. This will be Monday to Friday at Selhurst training school, usually 9am to around 2pm, though some days will be longer and some will be shorter. During this time you will learn the rule book and you will learn traction (basically how the trains work, how you operate them, and how you fault find etc..)

After you finish in the classroom you will be allocated a Driver Instructor. You will work to the same pattern he/she does so one week lates and one week earlies. You will spend 225 hours with your DI which will take around 6 months. After you have completed that you will get a date for your ICA (Initial Competency Assessment) and you will get about 2-3 weeks to go route learning.

 

[Sar-dud]

Thank you very much for getting back to me. Regards

 

[Pilotman]

Hi Sar

Congrats on passing recruitment. As the other guys have mentioned you will learn operational rules, starting initially with PTS (Personal Track Safety). After PTS which you MUST pass you will then go on to learn rules, depending on the company can range from 14 weeks up to 6 months. Then you will go on to traction and learn all about the train itself, after that you may be required to do a short course on principles of route learning which is to help you use techniques to help you learn a route/s. Then you will be placed with a driver instructor and then fulfil a required amount of hours including dark time as per company standard before passing out as qualified. There is alot to take in and hard work to put in but worth the reward in the long run.

Don't try and read up on rules materials in advance as trainers will take you through a structured learning. However you must be able to pass PTS first, concentrate on PTS then follow trainers. If you want to read up on PTS for driving grade then check out the following link as its free and accurate.

https://uktrainingsolutions.com

Good luck with your career..

 

[Heaps92]

Hi Sar

Congrats on passing recruitment. As the other guys have mentioned you will learn operational rules, starting initially with PTS (Personal Track Safety). After PTS which you MUST pass you will then go on to learn rules, depending on the company can range from 14 weeks up to 6 months. Then you will go on to traction and learn all about the train itself, after that you may be required to do a short course on principles of route learning which is to help you use techniques to help you learn a route/s. Then you will be placed with a driver instructor and then fulfil a required amount of hours including dark time as per company standard before passing out as qualified. There is alot to take in and hard work to put in but worth the reward in the long run.

Don't try and read up on rules materials in advance as trainers will take you through a structured learning. However you must be able to pass PTS first, concentrate on PTS then follow trainers. If you want to read up on PTS for driving grade then check out the following link as its free and accurate.

https://uktrainingsolutions.com

Good luck with your career..

That's long winded. I did a 10 week course and 150 hours handling that was it lol

 

[Pilotman]

That's long winded. I did a 10 week course and 150 hours handling that was it lol

Some companies are, i know that GTR are repetitive with rules and on a 14 week cycle but the company i'm with now, they take longer with rules.

Also GTR standard is 250 hours but 40 must be in dark time

 

[Heaps92]

Some companies are, i know that GTR are repetitive with rules and on a 14 week cycle but the company i'm with now, they take longer with rules.

Also GTR standard is 250 hours but 40 must be in dark time

Bloody hell! I'd be pulling my hair out

 

[ComUtoR]

That's long winded. I did a 10 week course and 150 hours handling that was it lol

Which TOC/FOC ?

Also GTR standard is 250 hours but 40 must be in dark time

My TOC is 225 minimum with 40rs dark.

 

[craigybagel]

I thought 225 minimum (40 in darkness) was a national standard now for mainline driving, with TOCs free to go over that if they wish but not under?

My own TOC is 265, but you learn your core route(s) as part of that whilst you're driving so there's no route learning time afterwards.

 

[Aivilo]

240/40 at ours with trips over core routes included (where possible)

10/150 sounds like stuff of times passed or engineering

 

[Heaps92]

240/40 at ours with trips over core routes included (where possible)

10/150 sounds like stuff of times passed or engineering

10 weeks

240/40 at ours with trips over core routes included (where possible)

10/150 sounds like stuff of times passed or engineering

Not really. Toc seems excessive. My FOC handling hours were more than enough and so was the 10 weeks in the class room. Same rule book so dont understand why passenger companies have such long times in a classroom just seems excessive

 

[Aivilo]

Well they do brush alot under the carpet in freight.

I done 75 hours handling when I went from passenger to freight alone with bags of experience so how they think you can operate a freight train safely in 150 hours is a little worrying

 

[43066]

I thought 225 minimum (40 in darkness) was a national standard now for mainline driving, with TOCs free to go over that if they wish but not under?

That was exactly my understanding.

Most trainee drivers where I trained were at around 300 hours, on average, by the time they were ready to pass out (but then there was a complicated, intensive metro route network to learn, along with several large depots, and London terminals).

Quickest in my group took around 9 months, longest around 18 months, due to awaiting a DI and various other delays. Average was around a year from first day of PTS to getting a key.

I’d imagine trainees at somewhere like HEX must be able to pass out with the minimum hours a lot more easily. ARL manage to push their trainees out within around 9 months, on average, I understand (IIRC only signing the ELL and down to Palace/West Croydon so not an extensive route card, even by metro standards, albeit an intensive one!