Pros and cons of being a train driver

[LaursP]

I just happened upon this thread and I’m glad I have.

I’m currently a nurse so do a lot of internal rotation of 13 hour days and 11 hour nights, but they’re standard day and night times.
I have completed the recruitment stage for EMT and am awaiting a start date for the depot drivers course.
My main concern is if the more extreme shifts will work with my family and life, or if I will find myself getting more and more fatigued as I try to work / play / relax.... I’ve curtently got a nice little routine going with what I do, but can sometimes end up being awake for well over 24 hours sometimes!

Anyone know if the railway, once a mainline driver, offers flexible working? And how that would work- set patten of shifts/ reduced hours etc?

Thank you.

 

[ComUtoR]

Flexible working rules :

https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working

Employees must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks to be eligible.

What employers must do
Employers must deal with requests in a ‘reasonable manner’.

Examples of handling requests in a reasonable manner include:

• assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the application
• holding a meeting to discuss the request with the employee
• offering an appeal process

Download ‘Acas code of practice for handling requests in a reasonable manner’ (PDF, 175KB)

If an employer doesn’t handle a request in a reasonable manner, the employee can take them to an employment tribunal.

An employer can refuse an application if they have a good business reason for doing so.

It will be very TOC dependent and in my personal experience it is not worth the hassle. Getting accommodated to permanent earlies/lates is about the most reasonable I've seen implemented. Even then it still doesn't work.

Did you bring this up in your interview ? It would have been the best place to raise your concerns and got a more specific response.

 

[LaursP]

Flexible working rules :

https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working



It will be very TOC dependent and in my personal experience it is not worth the hassle. Getting accommodated to permanent earlies/lates is about the most reasonable I've seen implemented. Even then it still doesn't work.

Did you bring this up in your interview ? It would have been the best place to raise your concerns and got a more specific response.

I did discuss it with the person who was sorting the interviews out and they said to discuss this once I had completed my course.
It’s worth knowing though that it might not be as flexible as the NHS then, but by the sounds of it there’s plenty of people who do shift swaps ad hoc which would give me some flexibility.

Thanks for your response.

 

[ComUtoR]

Lots of people swap. It is kind of the cornerstone of Drivers working together and keeping the depot a great place to work.

You need to sit down and look through your roster and see what is and isn't possible. Permanent earlies can be a pain as, at my place it means you can start anywhere between 0001 and 1159 and book off right up till 2114. So even though you are early shift you still have an issue of finishing late. You also need people to swap with. This means you are reliant on the goodwill of others.

 

[Dieseldriver]

I just happened upon this thread and I’m glad I have.

I’m currently a nurse so do a lot of internal rotation of 13 hour days and 11 hour nights, but they’re standard day and night times.
I have completed the recruitment stage for EMT and am awaiting a start date for the depot drivers course.
My main concern is if the more extreme shifts will work with my family and life, or if I will find myself getting more and more fatigued as I try to work / play / relax.... I’ve curtently got a nice little routine going with what I do, but can sometimes end up being awake for well over 24 hours sometimes!

Anyone know if the railway, once a mainline driver, offers flexible working? And how that would work- set patten of shifts/ reduced hours etc?

Thank you.

Firstly congratulations on the job, coming from a nursing background with shift work you will definitely find it easier to adjust to the shift patterns than a lot of people would. Speaking from a Mainline Drivers perspective, a big issue for me with the erratic shift work is the effect it has on me at work (obviously it knackers me out which affects my home life but that is part of the job and is offset by the average 4 day week which compensates for that).
The job requires quite a lot of concentration with no room for error, it's deceptively tiring to flawlessly drive trains day in day out. Throw in the shift work and the repercussions on safety/your career if you get it wrong, the important thing is to have respect for the role and responsible lifestyle choices to ensure you are prepared and well rested for work.
Sorry if this sounds patronising but what I'm trying to say is don't worry too much. With your background I'm sure you have the right attitude and that is a massive advantage.

 

[dctraindriver]

Firstly congratulations on the job, coming from a nursing background with shift work you will definitely find it easier to adjust to the shift patterns than a lot of people would. Speaking from a Mainline Drivers perspective, a big issue for me with the erratic shift work is the effect it has on me at work (obviously it knackers me out which affects my home life but that is part of the job and is offset by the average 4 day week which compensates for that).
The job requires quite a lot of concentration with no room for error, it's deceptively tiring to flawlessly drive trains day in day out. Throw in the shift work and the repercussions on safety/your career if you get it wrong, the important thing is to have respect for the role and responsible lifestyle choices to ensure you are prepared and well rested for work.
Sorry if this sounds patronising but what I'm trying to say is don't worry too much. With your background I'm sure you have the right attitude and that is a massive advantage.

I so agree with this, it is knackering as your start and finish times are erratic. However if you work nights regularly then you’ll know that feeling of jet lag.

Manage your work life balance and maintain that concentration during your times of driving and this is a cracking career. Of course it can get boring, however I think most jobs do. Many talk about the perils of it going wrong and a few leave the driving grade because they have had quite a few issues but I only know two drivers who’ve been redeployed to other roles.

If you’re a full time nurse working your behind off most shifts due to no staff and lack of support in your job this will be 80% of the time far less stressful.