Moving to the USA

[AverageJoe]

Any drivers have experience of or know of anyone who has moved to the USA as a qualified driver?

It’s something I would potentially be interested in if it was plausible.

Obviously research would need to be done but if there is any here with experience I’d be interested to hear.

Thanks.

 

[tiptoptaff]

You would not be able to go as a Qualified Driver. The rulebooks are completely different.

The only way to become a Driver in the US is to be promoted from the role of Conductor (which is more akin to the old role of a freight guard)

This also applies to Canada as its the same set up.

None of the operators will sponsor you so you'd have to be able to move there and live there in your own right before you could apply.

 

[The Puddock]

From what I have read traincrew jobs in the US are highly seniority based. You start off as permanently on call, where you are given as little as an hour’s notice to report for duty at any time of day or night and could spend days or weeks lodging away from home. As above, you must start as a trainee conductor and work your way up the ladder, eventually, to engineer. For the class one railroad companies the link structure works almost in the opposite way to the UK, in that the local yard shunting jobs (with fixed rosters and rest days) are reserved for the most senior men and the young pups are sent out in the long distance trains with no fixed schedule and having to lodge.

The working culture and approach to safety is completely different to ours and you would have to learn a whole new railway language and way of operating (for example, try googling to resd about some of their baffling - from a British perspect at least - signalling systems).

As mentioned above, to get a foot in the door to start with you would need a green card and no railroad company will sponsor you for that so you’d need to qualify in some other way or enter the lottery (UK residents are now eligible for this).

Here is a video describing work as a conductor (which is how you would start) -

This video refers to being on call at 90 minutes notice 24/7/365. I also found a document from the Association of American Railroads which states that the average number of annual leave days (called Paid Time Off, PTO, in America) per year for operating staff in the class one railroad companies is 15 days.

Here’s a Union Pacific video which explains on call, rest days, furlough and seniority -

Here’s another video picked at random where a BNSF conductor describes his job and the seniority system. There are loads of these on Youtube -

The interesting bit starts at 3 minutes 26 seconds

 

[PudseyBearHST]

Yes but they have made their own way there before applying (usually through marriage). As has been said, no company is going to sponsor you for a green card just to be a loco engineer/conductor.

If you have a masters degree, you can apply for the Canada express entry program. Train Driving experience is a Category B semi skilled profession so you’ll be able to use that towards professional work experience in the application. (If you have a bachelors degree, you’re also eligible to apply but won’t realistically have enough points to be accepted unless you fulfil some other unique criteria like being fluent in French or studied in Canada or have an immediate family relative in Canada)

Re becoming a conductor first before becoming an engineer. It’s true for Class I railroads (the big operators like BNSF, CSX, UP, NS, etc…) but not always the case for passenger or other smaller railroads. The smaller railroads (Class II/III), whilst not paying as much, have better T&Cs and working practices.

 

[AverageJoe]

Thanks for the replies and information.

It’s a little disappointing but also understandable.

I suppose I was hoping that the night training standard in the uk would have been something the US companies would like to headhunt from.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Thanks for the replies and information.

It’s a little disappointing but also understandable.

I suppose I was hoping that the night training standard in the uk would have been something the US companies would like to headhunt from.

Jones Act prevents them headhunting foreign candidates when there are plenty of domestic candidates capable of doing the job.

The roles aren't as sought after as they are here due to the poor working conditions, despite paying relatively well. And they're almost always advertising. But US protectionism means you'll never get sponsorship or headhunted.

Besides, the rulebook is completely different so it doesn't matter what standard UK drivers are trained to, its worth nothing over there. Same as UK drivers going to Europe or vice-versa.

The ex-pats who went to Australia as qualifieds some years ago to work the mine railways was a very specific recruitment drive.

 

[Harpers Tate]

I can't speak for either immigration nor recruitment practices, but one thing you might look at is whether any of the short local operators are recruiting - such as SunRail in Florida and similar schemes elsewhere. At the very least, SunRail only operates Mon-Fri and is entirely contained in an area (currently) about 45 miles long. Therefore, some of the negatives mentioned will likely not apply.

 

[tiptoptaff]

I can't speak for either immigration nor recruitment practices, but one thing you might look at is whether any of the short local operators are recruiting - such as SunRail in Florida and similar schemes elsewhere. At the very least, SunRail only operates Mon-Fri and is entirely contained in an area (currently) about 45 miles long. Therefore, some of the negatives mentioned will likely not apply.

The local passenger operators are much the same as over here.

Even Amtrak is out and back.

 

[The Puddock]

Thanks for the replies and information.

It’s a little disappointing but also understandable.

I suppose I was hoping that the night training standard in the uk would have been something the US companies would like to headhunt from.

All that said, I think if you could get the immigration clearance/green card sorted and enjoy railway work then it could be decent enough life. They would work you hard but your standard of living would certainly be significantly higher over there, even considering a typical driver’s salary here.

 

[tiptoptaff]

All that said, I think if you could get the immigration clearance/green card sorted and enjoy railway work then it could be decent enough life. They would work you hard but your standard of living would certainly be significantly higher over there, even considering a typical driver’s salary here.

Depends - lot of comments on Glassdoor or Indeed from Conductors/Engineers for the Class I railroads say they earned a lot of money but were never home to spend it

 

[PudseyBearHST]

Thanks for the replies and information.

It’s a little disappointing but also understandable.

I suppose I was hoping that the night training standard in the uk would have been something the US companies would like to headhunt from.

With respect, there is almost no similarities to train driving here and there. One of the first modules you learn as a trainee driver in the UK is PTS (Personal Track Safety) and the first things you learn in PTS is that to never jump on or off a moving locomotive and never to ride on the steps of a locomotive. Whereas this is the norm in parts of North America. Signalling is very different and can even vary widely between regions/railroads. You can get all sorts of combinations in speed signalling such as Red Green Red, Yellow Flashing Green Red and even Flashing red. Handling trains are a lot more skilful with freight trains being upto a few miles long and some locomotives still using the triple valve air brake system, a bit different than driving an electrostar
Some of the generic skills of train driving like working to a shift pattern and ability to concentrate for long periods of time will put you in good stead in an interview but that’s about it. The only country that I’ve heard where they recruited for UK train drivers was Australia/New Zealand but that was more early 2010s.

 

[AverageJoe]

With respect, there is almost no similarities to train driving here and there. One of the first modules you learn as a trainee driver in the UK is PTS (Personal Track Safety) and the first things you learn in PTS is that to never jump on or off a moving locomotive and never to ride on the steps of a locomotive. Whereas this is the norm in parts of North America. Signalling is very different and can even vary widely between regions/railroads. You can get all sorts of combinations in speed signalling such as Red Green Red, Yellow Flashing Green Red and even Flashing red. Handling trains are a lot more skilful with freight trains being upto a few miles long and some locomotives still using the triple valve air brake system, a bit different than driving an electrostar
Some of the generic skills of train driving like working to a shift pattern and ability to concentrate for long periods of time will put you in good stead in an interview but that’s about it. The only country that I’ve heard where they recruited for UK train drivers was Australia/New Zealand but that was more early 2010s.

That’s fair, but you probably didn’t need to explain PTS to me

Also there are many UK trained drivers who are well educated on freight.

Of course I knew the signalling and rules would be different and never expected to walk in to a job and drive from day one.
I was however hopeful that my license in the uk would be something desirable for the US rail industry, but obviously I was mistaken.

 

[tiptoptaff]

That’s fair, but you probably didn’t need to explain PTS to me

Also there are many UK trained drivers who are well educated on freight.

Of course I knew the signalling and rules would be different and never expected to walk in to a job and drive from day one.
I was however hopeful that my license in the uk would be something desirable for the US rail industry, but obviously I was mistaken.

It'll be advantageous in that it's relevant experience in the same way it would ve advantageous for an American driver who moves here and applies for a trainees job.

But it's in no way a guarantee and as stated, you'd have to already be living there permanently

 

[PudseyBearHST]

That’s fair, but you probably didn’t need to explain PTS to me

Also there are many UK trained drivers who are well educated on freight.

Of course I knew the signalling and rules would be different and never expected to walk in to a job and drive from day one.
I was however hopeful that my license in the uk would be something desirable for the US rail industry, but obviously I was mistaken.

Haha, I put the acronym of PTS for the benefit of others as that’s a forum rule (ish). But like the puddock says, if you’re able to get there, it would be a fantastic opportunity. Good money to be made, traditionally a cheap country to live in (getting expensive now though), some absolutely breathtaking scenery, one of the only jobs with a good pension in the US, potentially free healthcare/dental care. Some downsides too of course but it’s an opportunity I think would attract quite a few UK drivers if an opportunity ever arose. One downside that I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that unfortunately during train accidents, the company will do anything they can to pin the incident/accident on you even if it’s not your fault. It’s all to do with liability and they want someone else to take the fall for it. So it’s not uncommon for engineers to take out job insurance in case there’s a lawsuit against them.

Tbf, even freight drivers would struggle to transition quickly onto US freight. There can’t be many drivers certainly post BR that have experienced triple valve. Dynamic braking is a separate controller too. Negotiating extremely long trains (much longer than any of the UK) on steep gradients is tough too.

 

[The Puddock]

One downside that I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that unfortunately during train accidents, the company will do anything they can to pin the incident/accident on you even if it’s not your fault. It’s all to do with liability and they want someone else to take the fall for it. So it’s not uncommon for engineers to take out job insurance in case there’s a lawsuit against them.

Not only that but due to being regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration, having a SPAD is sometimes treated as a federal crime and could result in a prison sentence. Also, because of their horrendous safety record your chances of being involved in a serious derailment or collision at some point in your career must be several times more than they would be here.

 

[AverageJoe]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I think the moral of this story is stay in the uk and vacation in the states

As much as I’d like to make the leap over there I couldn’t give up this job for something paying much less and of course it seems unlikely to get to be a driver out there.

 

[class 9]

You would not be able to go as a Qualified Driver. The rulebooks are completely different.

The only way to become a Driver in the US is to be promoted from the role of Conductor (which is more akin to the old role of a freight guard)

This also applies to Canada as its the same set up.

None of the operators will sponsor you so you'd have to be able to move there and live there in your own right before you could apply.

There's a X LNER driver who moved to California and got a job as a trainee engineer with Amtrak, I think this was only possible as his wife is American.

 

[tiptoptaff]

There's a X LNER driver who moved to California and got a job as a trainee engineer with Amtrak, I think this was only possible as his wife is American.

Amtrak are one of the exceptions in that they don't have a conductor role like the freight, but the point remains the same

Had to be a trainee, could only apply once he was there as a green card holder