Trainee Driver SWR- start February

HI Folks - new forum member 1st post!

Just today i received my formal offer for trainee driver with SWR shortly followed by the contract and my start date is early next month.

First of all i'd like to thank you ALL.. although i'm a new member of the forum i'm a long time lurker and i used all your collective wisdom to help guide me through the [stressful] selection process, assessments and interviews. This is a fantastic resource and a great online community .. so thanks again.

I was wondering if anyone could help me prepare for the course in terms of what to expect. The annex which arrived with the contract kind of outlines the component parts ie: Commencement of course, rules training, route and traction training but doesn't really go into to any sort of detail.

For example.. how long does each component normally take. Is there an exams that need to be passed before you can move on to the next etc... and anything else you think might help.

I suspect they will give me plenty of information at the HR induction but there's nothing like hearing it from people who have been [or are going] through it... cheers

Jinky said:

For example.. how long does each component normally take. Is there an exams that need to be passed before you can move on to the next etc... and anything else you think might help.

Click to expand...

Where I was (not SWR) it broke down as:

PTS (4 days)
Rules (12 weeks)
Traction (4 weeks)
Awaiting a DI/front ending (3 months)
Training hours/routes - ie following a DI’s roster and driving their train under supervision (9months)

So around 14 months all told. Could have been done quicker if there hadn’t been a wait for a DI. Depot specific factors often come into it - eg if the DIs at your depot spend a lot of time on routes you won’t sign when you qualify, your hours will take longer.

There are written exams and other assessments at each stage and you need to pass them all in order to progress.

43066 said:

Where I was (not SWR) it broke down as:

PTS (4 days)
Rules (12 weeks)
Traction (4 weeks)
Awaiting a DI/front ending (3 months)
Training hours/routes - ie following a DI’s roster and driving their train under supervision (9months)

So around 14 months all told. Could have been done quicker if there hadn’t been a wait for a DI. Depot specific factors often come into it - eg if the DIs at your depot spend a lot of time on routes you won’t sign when you qualify, your hours will take longer.

There are written exams and other assessments at each stage and you need to pass them all in order to progress.

Click to expand...

Hi Jinky,
Out of curiosity, what was the timeline of your application process??

43066 said:

Where I was (not SWR) it broke down as:

PTS (4 days)
Rules (12 weeks)
Traction (4 weeks)
Awaiting a DI/front ending (3 months)
Training hours/routes - ie following a DI’s roster and driving their train under supervision (9months)

So around 14 months all told. Could have been done quicker if there hadn’t been a wait for a DI. Depot specific factors often come into it - eg if the DIs at your depot spend a lot of time on routes you won’t sign when you qualify, your hours will take longer.

There are written exams and other assessments at each stage and you need to pass them all in order to progress.

Click to expand...

thanks for the reply 43066.. appreciated. i did read that the availability of DI's is often the reason it can take a bit longer. i was told at my DMI interview to expect around 12 months.. i guess if it was to be 14 it would be no great deal. i'm just itching to get started tbh

alanyoung165 said:

Hi Jinky,
Out of curiosity, what was the timeline of your application process??

Click to expand...

hi alan.. i originally applied back in June 2019. i heard nothing at all until the middle of October when they sent me an email inviting me to do the assessments at the beginning of November. it all moved fairly quickly after that though. I had my DMI a the end of Nov my MMI middle of Dec and my medical just before xmas. xmas and NY holidays put the breaks on things a bit but i was told i was successful verbally last week and formally today with the contract etc... all in all about 6 months from original application to offer. idk how normal this is though

Jinky said:

thanks for the reply 43066.. appreciated. i did read that the availability of DI's is often the reason it can take a bit longer. i was told at my DMI interview to expect around 12 months.. i guess if it was to be 14 it would be no great deal. i'm just itching to get started tbh

Click to expand...

At my course a a while back it was slow not so much due to a DI wait (Only four weeks) but due to new traction being introduced rendering a DI useless as we couldn't drive the stock
One of the most unorganized companies I've known

I took around 16 months others on my course took 17 18 19 20 21 and 22 months

Jinky said:

hi alan.. i originally applied back in June 2019. i heard nothing at all until the middle of October when they sent me an email inviting me to do the assessments at the beginning of November. it all moved fairly quickly after that though. I had my DMI a the end of Nov my MMI middle of Dec and my medical just before xmas. xmas and NY holidays put the breaks on things a bit but i was told i was successful verbally last week and formally today with the contract etc... all in all about 6 months from original application to offer. idk how normal this is though

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply and good luck