Leo

If you are fortunate enough to be invited to the selection process you will have already got further than many others. On the day itself you will undertake a number of exercises designed to test several of your abilities. If you do well in these tests you will be required to attend a criteria-based interview at a later date. This will be followed by another interview with train crew managers who have a knack of selecting the right people for the job. Further to this, you will be required to undertake a medical and drugs and alcohol screening. If you pass all of these you are on your way, although this is just the start.

Training starts with learning the rail industry Rule Book. The railway is governed by many rules and regulations and you must learn them. Everything that you learn will have safety in mind at all times. You will need to put in 100% effort, including homework, otherwise you are likely to fail. If you don't have the commitment you may as well stop reading this now and look elsewhere. You really must put in the time and effort. If you do, and you pass the weekly assessments and final examination, you will progress to the next training section which involves traction knowledge. Once again, effort and commitment is required, but you must also have the desire to succeed. By this stage you will probably have an idea of what depot you will be posted to and if successful you are off to your depot for some more training. This is all about learning your depot, including how to understand the signalled moves onto the mainline, shunting of trains and how to liaise with the Signaller, platform staff and others as required in a professional manner. Some depots are managed by Yard Controllers who will designate all work to be carried out while smaller depots are run solely by the depot drivers themselves. They are required to carry out many tasks, effectively becoming a Yard Controller themselves.

If you successfully pass as a depot driver you will get a position in the train crew roster. You will be on shifts which will require you to work nights, weekends and unsociable hours. But you now have the job you wanted, with a good salary and many other benefits. Depending on your suitability and positions becoming available you may progress to become a mainline train driver, although this could take some time. If you are not sure about your commitment or any aspect of the job this job really isn't for you but if it suits you then give it a go, you will definitely not regret it!