• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Conductor and/or train driver???

Status
Not open for further replies.

Phil Roberts

New Member
Joined
1 May 2019
Messages
1
Hi, I’ve been applying for trainee driver positions since last year and it’s quite deflating to either not hear back or wait so long (although I appreciate that’s just the way it is). Anyhow, this frustration and the seeming unlikelyhood of ever having the opportunity to be a train driver has got me considering a conductor role. My questions are A: Does applying for both hurt each application because the TOC may notice your multiple applications and conclude that you’re not completely committed to either role?
B: If you become a conductor does this increase the likelihood of you going on to be a driver and what is a realistic timescale for this transition?
Many thanks
Phil
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Daydr3am3r

Member
Joined
7 Dec 2018
Messages
408
Hi Phil.

Sorry to hear that you have been knocked back for the train driver role, however as you will see on this forum it’s pretty standard to be knocked back at different stages. It certainly tests your perseverance!

I personally do not see the problem in applying for both roles if they came up at the same time.
There are advantages to being a conductor first. For example you would then be able to apply for any internal driver campaigns, and it will also allow you to build up your working knowledge of the railway and the roles of both conductor and driver. It would probably also give you some very good examples to use in any future MMI/DMI.

No guarantees but as it’s such a competitive arena anything you can do to improve your chances you need to do exactly that!

Which TOC’s have you previously applied for?

Good luck
 

sw1ller

Established Member
Joined
4 Jan 2013
Messages
1,567
A). Think it depends on the TOC. I’ve seen mixed views on this over the years on this forum. Best thing I could suggest is speak directly with the HR department for the TOC you’re applying to. Most email addresses are found online.

B). I can only comment of my TOC. This is a double edged sword. We’re taking on many new trainees at the moment and the company are trying to do a 50:50 split between company employees and off the street. We recently had a few guards pass all the test but not offered jobs, and they have now found jobs at other TOCs. I also know of one guard that’s had their driver job taken away by their manager as too many guards have left the grade.

But the short answer is, a guards role would put you in a perfect position to progress to driver.

I would say though, the two roles are very different when it comes to your own personality. I have said many times I simply couldn’t do the role of a guard, but I’m completely suited to being a driver. Some people do both jobs really well, I just couldn’t.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:

Stigy

Established Member
Joined
6 Nov 2009
Messages
4,879
A). Think it depends on the TOC. I’ve seen mixed views on this over the years on this forum. Best thing I could suggest is speak directly with the HR department for the TOC you’re applying to. Most email addresses are found online.

B). I can only comment of my TOC. This is a double edged sword. We’re taking on many new trainees at the moment and the company are trying to do a 50:50 split between company employees and off the street. We recently had a few guards pass all the test but not offered jobs, and they have now found jobs at other TOCs. I also know of one guard that’s had their driver job taken away by their manager as too many guards have left the grade.

But the short answer is, a guards roll would put you in a perfect position to progress to driver.

I would say though, the two rolls are very different when it comes to your own personality. I have said many times I simply couldn’t do the roll of a guard, but I’m completely suited to being a driver. Some people do both jobs really well, I just couldn’t.

Good luck.
Agreed.

I’d says being a Guard/Conductor first (or any role within the TOC to an extent, especially safety critical roles) would be a definite bonus. As a Guard/Conductor you’ll have experience of the operational railway which is an advantage both during training and at interview(s) for the Trainee Driver role. I’m not a trainee driver yet, but I’ve had my share of DMIs and can 100% say some of the experiences you’d gain as a Guard or Conductor or similar role will be ideal in answer to all manner of questions you’re likely to be asked at interview.....especially one that crops upon many a DMI/MMI which is simple, yet not many (including me) could demonstrate specific evidence of - “Tell me a time you’ve had to attend a course more than 2-weeks in length....”.

Good luck, you just have to keep chipping away at it!
 

tiptoptaff

Established Member
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Messages
2,983
Indeed - it's purely focused on your ability to quickly and accurately pick out the information you need, with inane stuff going on in the background.

Count the tones, circle the matching symbols. Ignore all else.
 

Stigy

Established Member
Joined
6 Nov 2009
Messages
4,879
Indeed - it's purely focused on your ability to quickly and accurately pick out the information you need, with inane stuff going on in the background.

Count the tones, circle the matching symbols. Ignore all else.
This reply was meant for the other thread? ;)
 

craigybagel

Established Member
Joined
25 Oct 2012
Messages
5,061
I must be very careful what I say here.

I'm a guard with first hand knowledge of the difficulties in going from the back cab to the front. I passed the tests and interviews last year, but due to staff shortages I've been unable to be released. It does like there's some light on the horizon, but it has been a rather frustrating wait.

But the same time, I probably would never have passed the driver tests and interviews if it wasn't for all the experience gained in my years as a guard. And I can't think of any other job I'd rather have been doing in that time.

To be fair, my TOC does have a pretty good track record in promoting from within, I've just been a bit unfortunate in that my own attempts to progress happened at the same time as a shortage of guards.

So whilst my guards position has held me back a little of late, I've still no real regrets about taking the job. And as jobs go, it's a very good one!

In terms of timescale - at my TOC you're not even allowed apply for any other jobs until you've been a guard for 2 years. Of the last few trainees we've taken on, the average experience has probably been around the 4 year mark but there are plenty with less and plenty with more too. I'll have been doing the job 6 years this summer. But there are really no hard and fast rules (other then the 2 year rule at my own TOC which may or may not apply at others). I've known of guards at other TOCs get drivers jobs that they must have applied for whilst they were still in training the timing was so close, and one of those examples was at Virgin!
 

steve1981

Member
Joined
1 Feb 2016
Messages
85
Location
Wolverhampton
When I joined the rail my sole ambition was to become a train driver, I started as a cleaner and soon found myself in the position of looking at my next move towards the role and wondering what would be best suited.
I respect that train conductor was a favourite choice for many but actually did not fancy the role so I chosen a different path, I went to depot shunter which has many advantages and very safety critical.
My point here is I chosen a different path and if you go to freight like I have then shunter is a massive bonus to have behind you instead of conductor.
If you are sure of going to a toc then conductor or shunter is a good choice but if you want foc then I recommend the shunting route.
Of course some dont have any railway background but it does help.
Hope this helps someone as it has worked for me in the driver process
 

Steam Man

On Moderation
Joined
9 May 2019
Messages
95
Agreed.

I’d says being a Guard/Conductor first (or any role within the TOC to an extent, especially safety critical roles) would be a definite bonus. As a Guard/Conductor you’ll have experience of the operational railway which is an advantage both during training and at interview(s) for the Trainee Driver role. I’m not a trainee driver yet, but I’ve had my share of DMIs and can 100% say some of the experiences you’d gain as a Guard or Conductor or similar role will be ideal in answer to all manner of questions you’re likely to be asked at interview.....especially one that crops upon many a DMI/MMI which is simple, yet not many (including me) could demonstrate specific evidence of - “Tell me a time you’ve had to attend a course more than 2-weeks in length....”.

Good luck, you just have to keep chipping away at it!
I’ve been on a heritage Railway for a while I was thinking about applying for the mainline at some point shall I mention the experience I’ve got at the interview or not I’ve done night running I’ve also stopped someone getting hurt by applying the emergency brakes
 

Stigy

Established Member
Joined
6 Nov 2009
Messages
4,879
I’ve been on a heritage Railway for a while I was thinking about applying for the mainline at some point shall I mention the experience I’ve got at the interview or not I’ve done night running I’ve also stopped someone getting hurt by applying the emergency brakes
If you get to a DMI, I’d definitely use the heritage railway in terms of experience. It’s all about safety and the railway as a whole is a safety critical environment. Even if you’re a volunteer for the heritage railway, if that’s where your experiences are, use them in the interview. There’s nothing to say you have to use work scenarios. I used volunteer examples for some questions from my responding for the Ambulance service.
 

185

Established Member
Joined
29 Aug 2010
Messages
4,970
The starting Conductor salary is only for a relatively short time, I think it's around £18K. On passing out, you're touching £30K after about three months if you do everything right.
 

Rail My Way

Member
Joined
14 Feb 2019
Messages
10
The starting salary is £20500 give or take a few quid then up to £29048 for the moment I think plus 5% on tickets sold
 

Steam Man

On Moderation
Joined
9 May 2019
Messages
95
If I went for the conductor job would I have to train up on every class of train or would I be ok in just training for the class 150s for example
 

craigybagel

Established Member
Joined
25 Oct 2012
Messages
5,061
If I went for the conductor job would I have to train up on every class of train or would I be ok in just training for the class 150s for example

In general you would be trained on whatever classes of trains are worked by the traincrew based at your depot. In some cases brand new guards might not get trained on everything straight away, but in most cases you'll sign everything you need to sign at that depot. No more, no less.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top