Colas Rail OTM Driver/Fitter/Operator - Info?

[Columbo87]

Does anyone have any information on the Colas Rail OTM Driver/Fitter/Operator Role please?

Any idea of salary, shifts and the driver training process?

Unfortunately like many over the last year or so COVID pulled the train driver vacancy I was due to progress with. I've passed the psychometric tests and due to where I live I'm limited to depots for passenger and freight TOCs, vacancies are very scarce at the best of times.

The Colas Rail role intrigued me but I'm struggling to find much information on it that is recent.

 

[Eebbs1912]

What otm's is it on? different ones have different work patterns etc

 

[Columbo87]

What otm's is it on? different ones have different work patterns etc

No idea, the advert doesn't specify at all.

 

[Chuggachugga92]

Waste of time I'm qualified and applied for 3 otm vacancies with colas and heard nothing back at all

 

[Eebbs1912]

I left them in 2018, worked on the grinders. We worked 3 weeks away, following the machines round the UK then, 9 days home. They were ****e to work for. Always trying to cut costs and never replacing fitter/ops. Got so bad that at one point there were two of us on days when there should've been 7-9. Would never let me off days or go for my driving either as I was the only qualified electrical fitter. Tampers are different as are the mmt's. Volker are looking for op/maintainers and are meant to always ask existing employees to go do their driving too.

 

[Kbye123]

I put my application in for Colas. By the sounds of it, I'm not holding my breath for a reply!

Volker sounds like a much better company to work for. Difficult to find any first hand experience though.

 

[D5581]

Looking at the two adverts on the webpage, one appears to be for the grinders as it mentions lodging away from home, and the other is the same advert that I applied to last year and got for the tampers.
Cant speak much for the grinders other than they spend a lot of time lodging round the country.
On the tampers, i got put through drivers rules and regs within 2 months.
You get pushed to learn how to operate the tamper first before getting pushed to learn driving. You get rostered trainee driving turns, but you also need to be prepared to chase for extra opportunities too. Don't expect driving every shift as there is alot to the job.
Roster is all over the place. Be prepared to kiss goodbye to a social life. some weeks, you feel like you're robbing the company with loads of rest days and cushy shifts, other weeks, the pound of flesh is reclaimed. You have to work 52 individual shifts over the course of 30 weekends a year. Once you've worked 52 shifts over weekends, you're entitled to say no to any further weekend working.
Can't speak for other regional management, but my managers are sound and will look after you. Do your job and be reliable, you're left alone.
Salary is 34k during training. rises to 40k when you pass as an operator and then rises up to 50k when you pass as a driver