The Conductor does most of the Platform Train Interface jobs nowadays. Some (busy) stations have platform staff still and they do an important safety critical job, but they are slowly being phased out. Remember everyone has their own opinion on here, some like to comment on every single thread and think they know it all....but they dont. Take it with a pinch of salt.
Good look to your son, I personally think the tests are the hardest part and now he has passed them, he has a huge advantage if he applies else where.
Keep the faith, it's a slow process.
Thanks, I didn’t mean to annoy anyone, honestly!!
It’s true what you said about platform staff. Our lines multi stop if no one is familiar with them) have less and less platform staff now. Some of the busier stations are still manned. But most not. And as we are only DOO, it makes it very hard sometimes to dispatch yourself safely. But that’s for another thread.
He is extremely happy to have got this far already, and fingers crossed he will do well on the interview, he is a lovely boy. He has been doing shift work for 4 years, so at least it won’t come as a shock should he get in.
I was a bit worried that at 22 (23 in Feb), they may consider him too young? But obviously not. As a business I would have thought it would be more cost beneficial to train younger drivers than oldies like me (just turned 50, been driving 12 years). But in my time on the railway, nothing management do amazes me now, as very little makes sense from a business point of view! Lol!