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shadowing a train dispatcher on Friday. Questions to ask.

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bawbster

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Have an interview in 10 days for a train dispatcher, so going to shadow one hopefully on Friday or Saturday as has been recommended by staff at my local train station. What kind of questions should I be asking? It will be Scotrail if that is any difference.
cheers
 
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Dspatula

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Can’t think of anything really specific, I’d probably ask what happens and what they do when it all goes horribly wrong as well as any general horror stories they have it’ll give you a good idea how to relate of your own experiences for the interview.

I know they’re quite concerned about under-load at the moment so it might be worth asking if there’s any sort mental checklist they follow or movements/ actions they do. (Look up point and call from Japanese railways) Might be different up there so maybe ask if there’s anything that stood out to them on their last safety brief.

You’ll get the idea of the usual routine just by doing the shadowing and who ever you’re with will probably go over the rules you’ll need to know but you’ll get that from training school anyway. Security stuff could be useful so ask about HOT and WHAT protocols.

Sorry I can’t think of too much specific but there isn’t that much to the actual job, it’s mainly about knowing the rules and what to do when it goes belly up. Hope this at least somewhat helpful anyway.

What's the best volume to say: "STAND CLEARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"
Maximum, and repeat until the message gets through.
 

LCC106

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Ask what they like most and least about the job, how they cope with shift work, how they deal with unruly passengers / complaints, what management are like (good working relationship?), whether they are interested in progression and if so, what types of roles are available.
 

bawbster

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Cheers guys, another question i've got (again this was from local station) was the procedure of dispatchijg a train. She mentioned flashing indicator lights and other procedure (taken from memory, so 100% sure). Is there a video/website that shows this procedure
cheers
 

221129

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Cheers guys, another question i've got (again this was from local station) was the procedure of dispatchijg a train. She mentioned flashing indicator lights and other procedure (taken from memory, so 100% sure). Is there a video/website that shows this procedure
cheers
Every TOC is different. And every type of rolling stock is different. So that is something you'll learn during training. ScotRail tend to (IMO) half ass their dispatching so I'd be wary of that.
 

Efini92

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Here’s the rule book for train dispatch. Have a glance through and then on the day you’ll have an idea of what to expect.

 
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