RSSB National Standard

About 6 months ago I done some tests with the OPC via Frieghtliner. I passed the "RSSB national standard" but failed the "Frieghtliner Enhanced Standard". Im now stuck on what i do next? I know I can now retake my test with frieghtliner, but what if I fail again does that mean I have used up my 2 strikes? also can i apply else where and how do i go about it as there is never anything advertised for trainees If anyone has any ideas it would be much appreciated, I'm from Oxfordshire if anyone knows of anything going

handyandy88 said:

About 6 months ago I done some tests with the OPC via Frieghtliner. I passed the "RSSB national standard" but failed the "Frieghtliner Enhanced Standard". Im now stuck on what i do next? I know I can now retake my test with frieghtliner, but what if I fail again does that mean I have used up my 2 strikes? also can i apply else where and how do i go about it as there is never anything advertised for trainees If anyone has any ideas it would be much appreciated, I'm from Oxfordshire if anyone knows of anything going

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There's no such thing as an official 'Enhanced Standard' as these are set by some TOCs and FOCs to whittle down the number of applicants, so the fact you passed to the national standards means that you still have 2 lives left. If you to retake any of those tests and fail then - i.e. not meet the national standard, then you will have used up one of your lives and your previous result will be overwritten.

You can apply for any other company - you'll need to sign up for job alerts on their websites and keep an eye out on here too as people often post links to vacancies when they come up. The fact you've passed your tests will help if you pass the initial sift as it may mean you won't have to retake them.

handyandy88 said:

About 6 months ago I done some tests with the OPC via Frieghtliner. I passed the "RSSB national standard" but failed the "Frieghtliner Enhanced Standard". Im now stuck on what i do next? I know I can now retake my test with frieghtliner, but what if I fail again does that mean I have used up my 2 strikes? also can i apply else where and how do i go about it as there is never anything advertised for trainees If anyone has any ideas it would be much appreciated, I'm from Oxfordshire if anyone knows of anything going

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Hi,

As @MostlyHarmless says, there's no consistent "enhanced standard", just higher marks required by some TOCs and FOCs. As you haven't failed national standards yet, you haven't lost a life. If you retake them then fail national standards, you would then lose a 'life'. This would also affect every application in process at that point.

I would recommend applying to whatever jobs you see come up at any TOC or FOC in your area. Have you signed up to Great Western Railway careers site and Chiltern Railways careers site - and subscribed to notifications whenever an ad with the word "driver" in it comes up? I guess you're not close enough to a CrossCountry or West Midlands Railway driver depot? And have you subscribed to notifications on this forum whenever any new thread is added?

GWR were advertising for trainee drivers fairly recently in many areas. Did you apply to them, or were they not advertising in your area?

Just to clarify, you would only be able to retake your test with Frieghtliner if you applied to a new position and passed the sift again.

Anyway, good luck with your applications!

As has been said, the standards are set by the TOC/FOC. There’s not even legislation to discrete that it’s ‘two strikes and you’re out’, as this too is a kind of gentleman’s agreement which all TOCs and FOCs just tend to adhere to.

@handyandy88 You can reapplyto Freightliner now in theory, however they’re not currently recruiting for trainees. You just have to keep a look out. Good luck!