Moving to the UK and driving trains

[Ackers91]

Hi guys! New here, Im an Aussie and have been in the railways for near on 8 years. My wife is from Manchester (our kids are dual citizens) and I can get an ancestory Visa for 5 years to live and work in the UK. We'retalking about possibly coming over in a year or 2 and living and working there for a few years - just wondering if it's something that's done very often? I know we have lots of international drivers come to Aus but i haven't heard of many going the other way.. is the job market good over there? Or not many positions come up?

Thanks in advance,
Ackers

 

[baz962]

Hi guys! New here, Im an Aussie and have been in the railways for near on 8 years. My wife is from Manchester (our kids are dual citizens) and I can get an ancestory Visa for 5 years to live and work in the UK. We'retalking about possibly coming over in a year or 2 and living and working there for a few years - just wondering if it's something that's done very often? I know we have lots of international drivers come to Aus but i haven't heard of many going the other way.. is the job market good over there? Or not many positions come up?

Thanks in advance,
Ackers

Most train operating companies take on qualified driver's regularly and most have one or two trainee recruitment drives. Some only take qualified and some only trainee's. As far as I know , you would have to start as a trainee.

 

[Ackers91]

Most train operating companies take on qualified driver's regularly and most have one or two trainee recruitment drives. Some only take qualified and some only trainee's. As far as I know , you would have to start as a trainee.

Yeah that's understandable, So our train driver qualification here isn't transferable? Hopefully the background experience would be favourable going into the recruitment process

 

[baz962]

Yeah that's understandable, So our train driver qualification here isn't transferable? Hopefully the background experience would be favourable going into the recruitment process

I don't think it is no . I could be wrong , but pretty sure it's the case.

 

[Stigy]

Hi guys! New here, Im an Aussie and have been in the railways for near on 8 years. My wife is from Manchester (our kids are dual citizens) and I can get an ancestory Visa for 5 years to live and work in the UK. We'retalking about possibly coming over in a year or 2 and living and working there for a few years - just wondering if it's something that's done very often? I know we have lots of international drivers come to Aus but i haven't heard of many going the other way.. is the job market good over there? Or not many positions come up?

Thanks in advance,
Ackers

G’day (sorry...),

I can’t help but read your posts in anything other than an Aussie accent

Why would you want to move here from Aus? I think the licence is transferable to an extent the other way (throughout Europe? Being a European Train Driving Licence?)...not sure yours would be valid from outside Europe, to drive trains here though? Could be wrong, there’s no doubt somebody knocking about here who’s able to answer definitively. Good luck!

 

[tiptoptaff]

You would indeed need to start as a trainee here. The European license doesn't transfer competency across the EU, it merely says you've been psychometrically assessed to an agreed standard.

I believe you'd also struggle without indefinite leave to remain. The TOCs are unlikely to invest in training someone who's potentially half way through their visa by the time they qualify

 

[Vespa]

You could look at training to be a lorry driver in the meantime, money can be very good and if you specialise such as hazmat or car transporter you can get more on top, you would have to pay for your own training, the UK is short on LGV and HGV drivers, you'll get snapped up.

Sit your 5 years out and apply for citizenship, then the world is your lobster, we've ran out of oysters you can apply for any TOC companies then work your way up, money will be a bit rubbish to start with, get to know people, at the interview stage it would be well to let them know you have train experience.

In meantime you will have a HGV licence to fall back on, always have a plan B.

Prior Planning Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
Don't fail to prepare.......Good Luck.

 

[theironroad]

Hi guys! New here, Im an Aussie and have been in the railways for near on 8 years. My wife is from Manchester (our kids are dual citizens) and I can get an ancestory Visa for 5 years to live and work in the UK. We'retalking about possibly coming over in a year or 2 and living and working there for a few years - just wondering if it's something that's done very often? I know we have lots of international drivers come to Aus but i haven't heard of many going the other way.. is the job market good over there? Or not many positions come up?

Thanks in advance,
Ackers

You would indeed need to start as a trainee here. The European license doesn't transfer competency across the EU, it merely says you've been psychometrically assessed to an agreed standard.

I believe you'd also struggle without indefinite leave to remain. The TOCs are unlikely to invest in training someone who's potentially half way through their visa by the time they qualify

As tiptop says, the main issue will be the indefinite leave to remain.

Pretty much any other grade will allow employment to an extent , ie ticket office etc will probably be good if you have two years on a visa but because of the training needs before being productive as a driver I think most tocs require permanent residence.

In normal times, if you had indefinite leave to remain then the fact you've done the job etc would certainly be a positive in an application even starting as a trainee.

However, these aren't normal times and the UK railways are in perilous times.

 

[irish_rail]

Dont do it mate. It's a sinking ship. I'd choose Oz all day long given the choice!!

 

[Ackers91]

G’day (sorry...),

I can’t help but read your posts in anything other than an Aussie accent

Why would you want to move here from Aus? I think the licence is transferable to an extent the other way (throughout Europe? Being a European Train Driving Licence?)...not sure yours would be valid from outside Europe, to drive trains here though? Could be wrong, there’s no doubt somebody knocking about here who’s able to answer definitively. Good luck!

G'day mate! I was wondering how long before someone greeted me with that haha!
Main reason we want to come over is for family. I have next to none over here and the wifes family is all in the UK and we want our girls to have a good relationship with them, also good life experience for them

 

[rail-god]

You could look at training to be a lorry driver in the meantime, money can be very good and if you specialise such as hazmat or car transporter you can get more on top, you would have to pay for your own training, the UK is short on LGV and HGV drivers, you'll get snapped up.

This is no shortest of HGV divers in the UK. Please DONT believe the media Bull !!!!!

You need a min of 2 years HGV driving to get any sort of OK job. That will be paying £9 p/h for 60 hours a week

Avoid !!!!!!

 

[Rockhopper]

You could look at training to be a lorry driver in the meantime, money can be very good and if you specialise such as hazmat or car transporter you can get more on top, you would have to pay for your own training, the UK is short on LGV and HGV drivers, you'll get snapped up.

Sit your 5 years out and apply for citizenship, then the world is your lobster, we've ran out of oysters you can apply for any TOC companies then work your way up, money will be a bit rubbish to start with, get to know people, at the interview stage it would be well to let them know you have train experience.

In meantime you will have a HGV licence to fall back on, always have a plan B.

Prior Planning Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
Don't fail to prepare.......Good Luck.

Really? Stobarts pay minimum wage - most of the others follow along. HAZMAT is better but its a bit of a closed shop.

 

[Efini92]

You would indeed need to start as a trainee here. The European license doesn't transfer competency across the EU, it merely says you've been psychometrically assessed to an agreed standard.

I believe you'd also struggle without indefinite leave to remain. The TOCs are unlikely to invest in training someone who's potentially half way through their visa by the time they qualify

I thought the EU licence was just based on medical standards?

 

[Robcuk]

I was a qualified driver at Sydney trains and moved back to the UK in 2015.

Signalling system is very different as are the rules as well as the traction so obviously youll have to start as a trainee.

However your CV will stand out rather well! The interview process should be a lot easier and less stressful so it's just the assessment days to get through.

 

[Slipper]

Dont do it mate. It's a sinking ship. I'd choose Oz all day long given the choice!!

As someone who is half way through the recruitment process, I would be interested to hear why you think it's a sinking ship please mate?

 

[irish_rail]

As someone who is half way through the recruitment process, I would be interested to hear why you think it's a sinking ship please mate?

The UK has an appalling , inept , corrupt government. Worst Covid figures in Europe. Oh and the small matter of Brexit. If I could get out I would!

 

[Applepie356]

You could look at training to be a lorry driver in the meantime, money can be very good and if you specialise such as hazmat or car transporter you can get more on top, you would have to pay for your own training, the UK is short on LGV and HGV drivers, you'll get snapped up.

Sit your 5 years out and apply for citizenship, then the world is your lobster, we've ran out of oysters you can apply for any TOC companies then work your way up, money will be a bit rubbish to start with, get to know people, at the interview stage it would be well to let them know you have train experience.

In meantime you will have a HGV licence to fall back on, always have a plan B.

Prior Planning Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
Don't fail to prepare.......Good Luck.

Most HGV companies want 2yrs experience driving trucks, so you’ll be forced to go to agencies where work isn’t guaranteed. Most pay at or slightly above minimum wage.

The ones that do have a decent salary often work you like a dog and you’ll be on max hours every week, meaning no work-life balance.

Also with the current situation with Covid there’s a lot more experienced drivers out there with no work which you’ll compete against.

Buses are a much more better option, in my opinion at least.

 

[SlimJim1694]

I agree with @Irish Rail ... What with Covid and Brexit and the people we've got running the country, we are entering very troubled and uncharted waters. I'd stay in Oz for the time being mate... at least until the dust settles. You could very easily end up over here without a job or much prospect of one. If you've got a secure railway job in Oz I'd hang onto it for now and see how the land lies in a few years.

 

[Eggs&Bacon]

You must be mad. But, I get your reasons. I am the total opposite to you and eventually want to move to OZ. On the HGV front, just NO.! Don't do it. I have been a ADR Driver for over 20 years, to be fair I work for a good company with good pay and t&cs. But I would never advise anyone to become a lorry driver, especially in the current climate.

 

[Vespa]

The present climate is not good anyway, if you want to get a toe hold in supporting yourself while marking time to acquire citizenship or leave to remain if companies are not going to invest in training you.
You would need to look at jobs that's in demand, immigrants have been doing that since year dot as a stepping stone to better things.

 

[Slipper]

The UK has an appalling , inept , corrupt government. Worst Covid figures in Europe. Oh and the small matter of Brexit. If I could get out I would!

Ah right, your on about the UK, I thought you were talking about the railways. Must admit I'm quite happy here to be honest, it's not perfect, but I don't think any country is to be fair

 

[FlashingYellows]

It's a pity we can't swap. As others have said you'd start as a trainee but your experience would stand you well in any application. As we're no longer on the skills shortage list in Aus it's the same for us wanting to go the other way, find a different way to get in and then apply for train driving from the bottom.

 

[Vespa]

The UK has an appalling , inept , corrupt government. Worst Covid figures in Europe. Oh and the small matter of Brexit. If I could get out I would!

I've been round the world twice, the things I've seen does make me appreciate this country more, been America 7 times the country is not what it's cracked up to be,
The UK has a lot going for it.

Brexit and Covid is just a road bump in the history of this country, government changes,

The plus for this country is stability, continuity, beautiful scenery that can match Canada and America with a long history along with sites run by National Trust and English/Scots/ NI heritage groups including CADW, biggest collection of historical railway site, trams and trolleybus museums, open air museum.

 

[jezzer34]

I've been round the world twice, the things I've seen does make me appreciate this country more, been America 7 times the country is not what it's cracked up to be,
The UK has a lot going for it.

Brexit and Covid is just a road bump in the history of this country, government changes,

The plus for this country is stability, continuity, beautiful scenery that can match Canada and America with a long history along with sites run by National Trust and English/Scots/ NI heritage groups including CADW, biggest collection of historical railway site, trams and trolleybus museums, open air museum.

Agreed! the uk is a great country don't believe the hype. It's a country you can be very successful in with hard work. The worst part about the uk is the Press and news channels. Lots of opportunity!!

The home of Premier league

 

[Ackers91]

Cheers for all the advice fellas! Looks like we'll sit tight for another year or two until everything calms down worst case scenario we come across and just travel for 12 months and skip the work!

 

[the sniper]

The home of Premier league

If that's the supporting evidence for why this country supposedly great, god help us.

Cheers for all the advice fellas! Looks like we'll sit tight for another year or two until everything calms down worst case scenario we come across and just travel for 12 months and skip the work!

I actually think that sounds like a really good idea if you can get a sabbatical from your work. There's plenty to see and do here, the countryside is great and hopefully will remain largely unchanged in the future, even though it might not all remain in the UK long term... Like others say, I don't think I'd want to make a permanent move to here. Not unless you're really sick of the heat over there!

 

[Vespa]

Cheers for all the advice fellas! Looks like we'll sit tight for another year or two until everything calms down worst case scenario we come across and just travel for 12 months and skip the work!

That's the best plan, right now things are very temperamental, use the time to save up, research the country, find which parts might suit you, the UK is quite different from Australia, it may feel closed in at first as you're used to driving long distances in AUS, at least you won't get a kangaroo jumping out at night at you, I had that

I've been to Adelaide my favourite city, Melbourne, Sidney, Canberra, great south coast road, Brisbane, Cairns, Alice Springs, Uluru, Cober Pedy and blue mountains, fantastic experience, just that there's a lot of miles between them and hard driving.
While you're here I would advise you to take out membership of National Trust and English Heritage, it save you a lot of money as you can visit these historical attractions for free and free parking is usually included on their car parks, scan your QR code and a free ticket is issued.
Get your visa sorted in good time so you will have it in hand ready to go.

Join a British Australian ex pat facebook group for advice and support.

 

[Crazyb]

I see your from Esperance, so you must of work for ARG????.

You must know John, I think hes a driver manager now, but came from the UK around 8 or 9 years ago.

I would try the freight, if you are a freight driver.

I'm not saying you would get something, but your trains are not much different to ours really and if you can drive a freight train, you can drive any freight train...lol.

i'm not on the freight now, I moved to a TOC after 30 years, but have a look at Freightliner....It's worth a punt.

 

[2L70]

This country’s crap and getting worse... Stay in Oz

 

[jezzer34]

This country’s crap and getting worse... Stay in Oz

This is the kind of attitude that's wrong with it unfortunately.