Stress of being a Train Driver

[ST]

Hi all,

I am actively pursuing a career in the railways and wanted to ask about the 'Stress' associated with being a Train Driver.

I get whilst on duty, concentration is of paramount importance having to pay attention to numerous things and ensuring adequate rest due to the shift work, but I was interested in understanding how Stressful the job is in itself?

Do Drivers think about work when not on Duty or is it case of when you step off the train (hopefully with no incidents) you can completely forget about work until your next shift?

Is there an expectation for Drivers to remain in contact with work when not working outside of calls regarding Overtime etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[driver9000]

Stressful? It can be sometimes but it's how you manage that stress. Personally I don't find it particularly stressful day to day although it can be frustrating during times of disruption when trying to get instructions from control who themselves are very busy but it's not stressful.

I don't think about work too much when off duty and when I step off the train at the end of the day I'm done. Walk away until the next time I'm required to be at work. There is no expectation for you to be available to be contacted for overtime if you don't wish to be contacted. In general I have very little contact with the depot or company when I'm off duty.

 

[Johncleesefan]

As echoed above, whilst off duty I’m not working or thinking about work. My resources have my mobile (with consent) should they wish to offer overtime, which for me is fine.
Generally speaking it’s actually quite a laid back job, (perspective speaking) it’s as stressful as you want it to be. Your training will give you all the tools you need to do the job correctly and experience will solidify this, then it’s up to you as a person how you manage yourself. I don’t find it particularly stressful, only the odd times when all goes to pot and control change their minds every other second.
Concentration is of course paramount but you know on a route when you need to really switch on and when you can “relax” so to speak. Hope that helps

 

[ST]

Thank you both for your replies....just to throw into the mix...EMAILS!! I get so many it can be a week catching up after a week's leave! Take it emails don't factor that much if at all? Is it just a case of reading notices to be updated with what's happening? Thanks again.

 

[king_walnut]

We don't really get that many emails to be honest, but I have my work email set up on my personal phone so if my manager emails me with something important whilst I'm away then I can read it.

There's something called a weekly operating notice that gets published, which details temporary speed restrictions, planned engineering work, changes to any signalling, and other safety notices, so just reading through that and also what's in the notice cases will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[Seehof]

Driving can be the opposite to stressful. I have found it enjoyable and relaxing. I no longer do it (am retired) and wish I could have the odd turn occasionally!!! Yes, it can be stressful but it can be highly rewarding (not just financially).

 

[ST]

Thank you all for your responses, very helpful.

 

[Eccles1983]

The only "stress" I have is mainly self generated.

Which for me is route learning. I am a bit of a perfectionist and will study like mad through maps and ride outs until it's stuck. This involves mentally visualising the route and testing/tormenting myself until it's second nature.

Then it's slipper city again.

 

[Dieseldriver]

Generally it isn't a stressful job (can be when things go wrong but as long as you've made the effort to know your stuff and you keep calm, it's manageable).
One aspect that you do take home with you is the shift work and the lifestyle management that goes with it. For example, if I have a few days off after a week of dead lates but I know my alarm is going to be set for 2am on my first day back, it is in the back of my mind that I need to be thinking of my sleep pattern in order to get the required rest and be fit for work.
Overall though, as long as you are professional, keep on top of the knowledge and try to keep your nose clean, generally it is a fairly stress free job which you can mainly leave at work.

 

[Greaseball3220]

Used to work in ticket offices years ago and I hated it with a passion, interacting with the public, the cash handling, the noise and announcements (busy London terminus), bullying management and supervisory culture, pressing the same sequences of buttons and saying the same things day in, day out, being rooted to the spot behind the window, the sense of having no dominion over your mental and physical space.

Train Driving appeals in the sense of being the opposite of all those things, it'd be naive not to expect stresses such as shift patterns, changes in your workday, curveballs from Control or the Daily Sheets, thing is though is that your're allowed to concentrate and absorb what needs to be done and given your head to do so. Not many jobs like that these days, not outside the trades anyway.

 

[driver9000]

Thank you both for your replies....just to throw into the mix...EMAILS!! I get so many it can be a week catching up after a week's leave! Take it emails don't factor that much if at all? Is it just a case of reading notices to be updated with what's happening? Thanks again.

Nope. No emails other than replies to requests for leave or rest day availability although as an Instructor I do occasionally have to deal with emails between myself and my manager.

All the information you'll need as a Driver is posted in notice cases or handed out as brief. Some operators make use of tablets which is where your documents could be sent instead.

 

[ST]

Many thanks for this and other responses.

 

[Aivilo]

The stress of the job is self inflicted.

Personally for me it's very laid back, I'm paid to look out of a window. When I step off I'm done and I don't take anything home with me. I am aware I work until a booked time however that isn't a guaranteed finish due to other work related factors. Nowadays when it goes wrong you are told what to do and if that doesn't work it's a simple case of sitting it out until your rescued.

Don't deal with emails much unless I've emailed someone within the business and as above phone contact is only for business need (generally overtime) nobody is chasing you.

 

[Louby]

Thank you both for your replies....just to throw into the mix...EMAILS!! I get so many it can be a week catching up after a week's leave! Take it emails don't factor that much if at all? Is it just a case of reading notices to be updated with what's happening? Thanks again.

some tocs don't allow emails, not for drivers, at northern on the west we arnt allow to email or receive

 

[ST]

Thank you all. Interesting that with some TOCs emails aren't allowed at all!

Can anyone shed any light on the transition from being on the trainee course to then going out on your own? Is this a case of just wanted to get on with it or otherwise?

Thanks again.

 

[Louby]

Thank you all. Interesting that with some TOCs emails aren't allowed at all!

Can anyone shed any light on the transition from being on the trainee course to then going out on your own? Is this a case of just wanted to get on with it or otherwise?

Thanks again.

classroom is 16 weeks at Northern, if your lucky to get an instructor straight away it then takes between 9-18 months worse case 18 months

 

[ST]

Thanks Louby

 

[nom de guerre]

Used to work in ticket offices years ago and I hated it with a passion, interacting with the public, the cash handling, the noise and announcements (busy London terminus), bullying management and supervisory culture, pressing the same sequences of buttons and saying the same things day in, day out, being rooted to the spot behind the window, the sense of having no dominion over your mental and physical space.

Does train driving not also involve a high degree of repetition (including button pressing and voice comms) and being “rooted to the spot behind (a) window”?

 

[anglian96]

No stress that I've encountered. Get your diagram via email turn up for work do the job and go home no bother. The only stress I can think of is when things go dramatically wrong In which case you will know the rule book anyway and deal with whatever accordingly.

 

[Aivilo]

Thank you all. Interesting that with some TOCs emails aren't allowed at all!

Can anyone shed any light on the transition from being on the trainee course to then going out on your own? Is this a case of just wanted to get on with it or otherwise?

Thanks again.

In the sense of going from trainee driver under instruction to being out on your own it is simply that. You'll be assessed at the end of your training and if deemed competent you'll be released into the wild.

 

[ST]

Thanks Chad and Aivilo, sounds great!

 

[dctraindriver]

No it’s not stressful, however leaf fall and low adhesion can provide an element of stress, especially when you’re newly qualified.

Cracking job, not perfect but a damn good one.

 

[Economist]

Driver Only Operation can be quite stressful I think when the narrow platforms built a hundred years ago are heaving with people, far more than the infrastructure was designed to cope with. I've done 18 months so far and in another year or so, so long as my safety-record allows, I intend to start looking for a move to somewhere that's not DOO/DCO unless ECS.

Otherwise, if something happens you have to try and slow everything down in your mind, rushing is the last thing you want to be doing.

 

[Paddy O'Doors]

Stress? what stress?
Train driving certainly beats working for a living.
I've never had more time off, or worked fewer hours per week in all my working life.

 

[ST]

nice one!

 

[TheVicLine]

As long as you can manage your sleep patterns, very early starts and late finishes and possible night turns depending on the TOC/link, working weekends, and the effects this has on family time then it's pretty much easy going without too much stress.
With regards to overtime, if you make yourself unavailable to work it then they will leave you alone on your rest days off. There is very little stress other than concentration required to drive for a few hours if you can manage the work. Obviously if you think the prospect of driving a train for a few hours at a time will cause you stress then you would need to look at why it appeals to you and are the rewards you get from this worth it.

 

[ST]

Thanks TheVicLine. From your title, do you work on LU?

 

[TheVicLine]

Thanks TheVicLine. From your title, do you work on LU?

No, worked there many years ago, now driving coast to coast up north on the big boys trains

 

[Aivilo]

Whilst us other tube drivers drive city to city at the bottom of the pecking order in the north

 

[ST]

Thanks both.