SWR Train Drivers - commuting distance rejection

[jordan22]

Hi, I applied for the trainee train driver role with SWR in Salisbury and have been rejected due to my commuting time. It says you have to live within an hour of the depot, and I live only 40 minute drive away - is this normal, or is there anything I can do to help and Salisbury is the closest depot to where I live (Southampton).

I appreciate any help I can get, thankyou.

 

[Ducatist4]

They will use google maps or similar looking at different times of the day to assess your travel time. If in the morning peak traffic its over the hour limit then that's it I'm afraid.

 

[traintee]

You can challenge it with them. This happened to me once and it was an internal error. No guarantees though at the end of the day if they say you are out of the catchment area not much you can do. Good luck.

 

[jordan22]

Thankyou both. I used Apple Maps which said 40 minutes at 9am. I’ll check it tomorrow a bit earlier to see when it’s busiest but should still be within the hour.

As you say, there’s not much I can do if they say no but I’ll try question it!

 

[robt100]

I know that when Northern rejected me due to distance commuting, it was due to them check the distance at 8am on a weekday. 3 Weekdays it was bang on the 45mins, 2 it was 50mins, and the weekend was 40mins. Got rejected due to being over 45mins away, guess they just picked a random day rather than averaging out

 

[LD24]

Hi, I applied for the trainee train driver role with SWR in Salisbury and have been rejected due to my commuting time. It says you have to live within an hour of the depot, and I live only 40 minute drive away - is this normal, or is there anything I can do to help and Salisbury is the closest depot to where I live (Southampton).

I appreciate any help I can get, thankyou.

was this before or after any tests / assessments?

 

[NSEWonderer]

Thankyou both. I used Apple Maps which said 40 minutes at 9am. I’ll check it tomorrow a bit earlier to see when it’s busiest but should still be within the hour.

As you say, there’s not much I can do if they say no but I’ll try question it!

They go by the earliest book on time and then latest book on time. Usually that's around 4:00pm in the afternoon for most depots on average for late shifts, early shifts ususlly pose no traffic issues so their times are usually a singular time rather than a time range like the later shifts. The longest time on Google maps is usually taken.

 

[Driver2B]

Hi, I applied for the trainee train driver role with SWR in Salisbury and have been rejected due to my commuting time. It says you have to live within an hour of the depot, and I live only 40 minute drive away - is this normal, or is there anything I can do to help and Salisbury is the closest depot to where I live (Southampton).

I appreciate any help I can get, thankyou.

Hi,

Having entered Southampton to Salisbury Station into Google Maps departing now, it shows driving routes from 53 minutes to 1 hour 2 minutes (24.3 miles to 27.2 miles).
Obviously, it depends on where in Southampton you live, but you do seem to be on the cusp.
Furthermore, I find Google Maps to be a little optimistic if anything. If you can do it quicker because you exceed speed limits or "just catch" traffic lights before turning red, this would be a concern to railway recruitment teams.

You say that Salisbury is the nearest SWR depot to where you live:
SWR have a depot at Northam (Southampton) (https://maps.app.goo.gl/s3c69qZrUXhGmfg67) (albeit, it's one of the smaller driver depots) (7-8 minutes or 1.1-1.6 miles)
Fratton depot (Portsmouth) is 45-48 mins (20.8-23.5 miles) from Southampton (obviously depends where in Southampton you live)

Hope this is helpful.

 

[DMckduck]

Hi,

Having entered Southampton to Salisbury Station into Google Maps departing now, it shows driving routes from 53 minutes to 1 hour 2 minutes (24.3 miles to 27.2 miles).
Obviously, it depends on where in Southampton you live, but you do seem to be on the cusp.
Furthermore, I find Google Maps to be a little optimistic if anything. If you can do it quicker because you exceed speed limits or "just catch" traffic lights before turning red, this would be a concern to railway recruitment teams.

You say that Salisbury is the nearest SWR depot to where you live:
SWR have a depot at Northam (Southampton) (https://maps.app.goo.gl/s3c69qZrUXhGmfg67) (albeit, it's one of the smaller driver depots) (7-8 minutes or 1.1-1.6 miles)
Fratton depot (Portsmouth) is 45-48 mins (20.8-23.5 miles) from Southampton (obviously depends where in Southampton you live)

Hope this is helpful.

Northam wouldn't matter, don't think an internal vacancy has ever gone live for it, nevermind an external one.

It's only swaps and replacing leavers, retirees etc

 

[GPR]

Northern is 8am on a Monday morning so SWR may be the same.
If it says between 45 mins and 1 hr 10 then they take an average, ie 57 minutes.

 

[GemGem]

I would say Fratton was nearer than Salisbury is it not?

 

[NSEWonderer]

Northern is 8am on a Monday morning so SWR may be the same.
If it says between 45 mins and 1 hr 10 then they take an average, ie 57 minutes.

The highest value in the time range is taken for SWR, as google is quite optimistic with driving times.

 

[12LDA28C]

Northern is 8am on a Monday morning so SWR may be the same.
If it says between 45 mins and 1 hr 10 then they take an average, ie 57 minutes.

If the longest potential commute time is sought, I wouldn’t consider 0800 on a Monday to be a good measure. Mondays are still quieter on the trains and roads at the moment than the following three days so 0800 to 0900 on a Tuesday would be more representative. The longest time should really be taken, not an average.

 

[GPR]

If the longest potential commute time is sought, I wouldn’t consider 0800 on a Monday to be a good measure. Mondays are still quieter on the trains and roads at the moment than the following three days so 0800 to 0900 on a Tuesday would be more representative. The longest time should really be taken, not an average.

I’m just posting what I was told from recruitment

 

[robt100]

That odd, as I've always found google usually adds a good 5-10mins onto a journey per hour compared to what it actually takes.
If the average is the case, then I probably wouldn't stand a chance anywhere, as living just off the A1 means google calculates in all the times the road has been closed, so most ETAs have a 45min window. So even if im within 20mins of a depot there will still be a risk they say no because google says 25m-1hr 5m??

 

[reapz]

just go Basingstoke

 

[godfreycomplex]

Not many Southampton dwelling drivers and most of them are at Fratton or Basingrad. I would describe Northam as dead man’s shoes but even that’s probably optimistic