Careers in Railway Operations

[Pacerman99]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice!

I'm currently studying for my A-levels, and would love to get into the rail industry, in the more operational side of things (i.e a driver, or signaller) (straight after college preferably, as the thought of uni doesn't really appeal to me).

I've had a look at apprenticeships, but they all seem to be in more 'hands on' engineering related roles (although I gather a new train drivers apprentice is currently being created).

I'm not too sure where to look, or what to do. Thanks!

 

[yorkie]

Whereabouts are you based (roughly)?

What A Levels are you studying?

Hopefully someone will be able to provide some advice. Good luck!

 

[Lewis H]

I’m pretty certain you have to be 21 to be a driver, that’s pretty certain, not 100% though!

Your best bet will be to approach TOC’s based nearest to you, or network rail.

 

[yorkie]

I’m pretty certain you have to be 21 to be a driver, that’s pretty certain, not 100% though!

Yes, except on LU

ITV News, London Tonight, features the youngest person to qualify in the grade of Train Operator. Employed by London Underground on the District Line.

 

[Pacerman99]

Whereabouts are you based (roughly)?

What A Levels are you studying?

Hopefully someone will be able to provide some advice. Good luck!

Thanks! I'm in Ash Vale (nr Farnborough, and quite a convenient location too, with quite a few depots being less than 60 minutes away ) studying Maths, Physics and Geography, which I hope should prove a useful combination.

I’m pretty certain you have to be 21 to be a driver, that’s pretty certain, not 100% though!

Your best bet will be to approach TOC’s based nearest to you, or network rail.

Cheers Lewis, I did try contacting GWR about a month ago, but got quite a generic reply. Like you say, I think Network Rail is my best bet; I'll email them.

 

[Twotwo]

I would suggest going for gateline or platform job first tbh just to get a foot in the door. You are still quite young so it's absolutely vital to get some work experience...

 

[Rockhopper]

Have a look at some of the same questions and tests that people have posted in the thread at the top of the page and see how you get on. Many of them are "life skills questions" as thats the kind of thing they want in their train crews.

 

[Aivilo]

When did they change it on LUL as it sued to be 21

 

[Surreytraveller]

I would suggest going for gateline or platform job first tbh just to get a foot in the door. You are still quite young so it's absolutely vital to get some work experience...

I echo this advice. Not only to obtain work experience, but to give you an idea of how the industry works. Just gateline, ticket office, platform, that sort of thing. Don't expect to get straight into a high-paying job off the street (although a few people do, they do tend to struggle)

 

[Dieseldriver]

When did they change it on LUL as it sued to be 21

If it used to be 21 then it was lowered to 18 a while ago.

 

[C J Snarzell]

Like other members have said, you've got all the time in the world to consider your working life so just go for something like a platform host or customer service assistant to begin with. They are good stepping stones into the rail industry and will give you some idea of what to expect in one of the more demanding jobs such as driving. I personally have said on here that I'm not interested in the driving roles because it's not a job I would be suited to but I'm very keen on the roles of Train Manager or Controller which again are very demanding and not necessarily everyone's cup if tea. Just keep searching the careers pages of your local TOCs as vacancies come and go daily.

C J

 

[Pav]

If you fancy going into Network Rail as a signaller, you just need to keep an eye on the NR careers website and apply when a post comes up. If you get an interview the questions are mostly Non-technical skill scenario based, so it's good to have examples, however you'll find that has been covered in the career as a signaller thread.

All new signallers now in Network Rail undertake an apprentiship. To be honest, from what I have seen though, there is very little difference to signaller training of old, apart from a few more layers of beauracracy and forms to fill out.

Signalling is a good role, and if you want to progress in operations it provides a solid foundation to your career, the other option if you did fancy uni was entering Network Rail or a TOC/FOC on a graduate scheme, which again, provide redimentary knowlege of the rail industry.