SWR Trainee Drivers at Staines, Woking and Waterloo

[RollingRolling]

Im Late - vote now . Im applying Waterloo. Willing to swap earlies for lates if I get the job

 

[Barry K]

New joiner and first time poster
I put my application in for Woking on Friday, so far received an acknowledgement of my application. Fingers crossed that being 37 and a former coach driver won't count against me....
Having said that, I've done a few of their rail replacement jobs in my time. Chessington South was a frequent one......

 

[baz962]

New joiner and first time poster
I put my application in for Woking on Friday, so far received an acknowledgement of my application. Fingers crossed that being 37 and a former coach driver won't count against me....
Having said that, I've done a few of their rail replacement jobs in my time. Chessington South was a frequent one......

Mate 37 is a pup some toc's have trainee's just started at 50 year's old.

 

[Adamski]

So to all 3 depots I am still an 1 hour 25 minutes drive away. I imagine if I could commute by train it would be quicker. Is it really worth applying as it seems I'll juts be booted anyhow?

Cheers all

 

[HeelBurton]

They won’t be making any exceptions beyond the 40-45 minute distance. This is now set in stone

Im Late - vote now . Im applying Waterloo. Willing to swap earlies for lates if I get the job

You’d be in trouble then if you got me as your DI as I do mixed shifts

 

[HeelBurton]

So to all 3 depots I am still an 1 hour 25 minutes drive away. I imagine if I could commute by train it would be quicker. Is it really worth applying as it seems I'll juts be booted anyhow?

Cheers all

They are very strict on the distance, so probably not worth your time mate.!

 

[Adamski]

They are very strict on the distance, so probably not worth your time mate.!

That is what I thought, I won't bother then. Shame. Good luck to everybody who is applying, applied and awaiting lol

 

[RollingRolling]

They won’t be making any exceptions beyond the 40-45 minute distance. This is now set in stone


You’d be in trouble then if you got me as your DI as I do mixed shifts

They won’t be making any exceptions beyond the 40-45 minute distance. This is now set in stone


You’d be in trouble then if you got me as your DI as I do mixed shifts

Oh. Some people on the forum have gave the direct impression ( by admission) if shift swaps. Didn’t know they were not allowed at SWR...Maybe editorials need to keep a keener eye on the material posted because as rookies we look to forums to garner and assimilate information . Cheers anyway for that

 

[Saracen_83]

I’d presume once your qualified you can swap shifts however when training you would complete the same shifts as your DI

 

[Johnny Depot]

Got an email today they have had 1300 applications and they are still being sifted.

Hi Teddy - did you e-mail the HR team yourself then and they said this to you in a response?

 

[Teddyward]

Hi Teddy - did you e-mail the HR team yourself then and they said this to you in a response?

yes that’s correct

 

[WA_Driver]

Oh. Some people on the forum have gave the direct impression ( by admission) if shift swaps. Didn’t know they were not allowed at SWR...Maybe editorials need to keep a keener eye on the material posted because as rookies we look to forums to garner and assimilate information . Cheers anyway for that

There are drivers at the moment that are on permanent swaps. HOWEVER, SWR are looking into this....and rumours are they will rid of permanent swaps.

 

[GMT]

I finished the application not long ago, everything seemed to be OK, there was written in green 'ready to be sent', I submitted it and then had a red message saying 'Sorry, something wrong has happened. Please try again later.' at the top of the application. Do you know after how long is a confirmation received? I must say Southeastern and GTR are quick in sending confirmation, but in this case I'm a bit puzzled. I don't know whether I have to resubmit it at a later stage, I'm a bit lost.

Did this happen to anybody?

 

[Johnny Depot]

I finished the application not long ago, everything seemed to be OK, there was written in green 'ready to be sent', I submitted it and then had a red message saying 'Sorry, something wrong has happened. Please try again later.' at the top of the application. Do you know after how long is a confirmation received? I must say Southeastern and GTR are quick in sending confirmation, but in this case I'm a bit puzzled. I don't know whether I have to resubmit it at a later stage, I'm a bit lost.

Did this happen to anybody?

I think it was fairly instant (or at least within 5/10 minutes. Maybe there is a number of people applying at the same time. Good luck getting it sorted

 

[theironroad]

Oh. Some people on the forum have gave the direct impression ( by admission) if shift swaps. Didn’t know they were not allowed at SWR...Maybe editorials need to keep a keener eye on the material posted because as rookies we look to forums to garner and assimilate information . Cheers anyway for that

At most depots there are more people wanting earlier than lates so you'd probably be popular for that.....

However, that's once youre out on your own and qualified .

During training, especially during your driver hours , you do what your di does on the whole, though trainees work mmore hours per week than the di.

 

[theironroad]

There are drivers at the moment that are on permanent swaps. HOWEVER, SWR are looking into this....and rumours are they will rid of permanent swaps.

Well some depots don't have the luxury of permanent swaps already. The amount of paper wasted every week at some swr depots for swaps would amaze you

 

[WA_Driver]

Well some depots don't have the luxury of permanent swaps already. The amount of paper wasted every week at some swr depots for swaps would amaze you

I have heard....I believe Salisbury have adopted the permanent swap process from Waterloo. It does amaze me how other depots haven’t taken this on board. It’s so easy....

But the railway doesn’t run or work on common sense

 

[Johnny Depot]

Anyone know what the company is like to work for? Be interesting to know in relation to all roles. I've heard good things.

 

[HeelBurton]

Anyone know what the company is like to work for? Be interesting to know in relation to all roles. I've heard good things.

Been here for decade and I don’t see myself leaving Despite travel time. You work hard and knuckle down and you don’t get hassle.

 

[Johnny Depot]

Been here for decade and I don’t see myself leaving Despite travel time. You work hard and knuckle down and you don’t get hassle.

Good to read. If you don't mind me asking - if you stick to what you suggest. Do you think you will have the job security there until retirement?

 

[Omar]

I finished the application not long ago, everything seemed to be OK, there was written in green 'ready to be sent', I submitted it and then had a red message saying 'Sorry, something wrong has happened. Please try again later.' at the top of the application. Do you know after how long is a confirmation received? I must say Southeastern and GTR are quick in sending confirmation, but in this case I'm a bit puzzled. I don't know whether I have to resubmit it at a later stage, I'm a bit lost.

Did this happen to anybody?

I had the same issue. I don’t think your application went through mate, if you had no email. Call the Recuriment team on 0845 408 1322. Confirm if they received your application, if not they might have to send you a link for the application like they did for me.

 

[HeelBurton]

Good to read. If you don't mind me asking - if you stick to what you suggest. Do you think you will have the job security there until retirement?

I have turned down other jobs at other TOCS despite more money. I feel as SWR/SWT have trained me from guard > driver> DI I should repay their faith by producing the best work I can. The company runs in my blood and I throughly enjoy it. The grass doesn’t always run greener and I am a fairly popular figure across many departments. I will always speak highly about who I work for as I’ve never been wronged by them and from experience if you knuckle down and try not to give trouble they will look after you. Just work hard don’t take the piss and if you have a few hiccups show willingness to learn and improve and they do help you. I started as a young guard, (22) continued as a young driver (24) and progressed to a DI role at a young age (28) the company have put a lot of faith in me and I attempt to repay that faith everyday.

 

[Johnny Depot]

I have turned down other jobs at other TOCS despite more money. I feel as SWR/SWT have trained me from guard > driver> DI I should repay their faith by producing the best work I can. The company runs in my blood and I throughly enjoy it. The grass doesn’t always run greener and I am a fairly popular figure across many departments. I will always speak highly about who I work for as I’ve never been wronged by them and from experience if you knuckle down and try not to give trouble they will look after you. Just work hard don’t take the **** and if you have a few hiccups show willingness to learn and improve and they do help you. I started as a young guard, (22) continued as a young driver (24) and progressed to a DI role at a young age (28) the company have put a lot of faith in me and I attempt to repay that faith everyday.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the company.

 

[GMT]

I had the same issue. I don’t think your application went through mate, if you had no email. Call the Recuriment team on 0845 408 1322. Confirm if they received your application, if not they might have to send you a link for the application like they did for me.

Thanks mate but this morning at 7.20 I managed to send it through. Once I clicked 'Submit' a new page popped up saying 'Thank You 'my name', we have received your application', or something like that. Not that I'm very hopeful, as I live in Kent and they may consider it outside the time limit, but you never know in life.

 

[dctraindriver]

I have turned down other jobs at other TOCS despite more money. I feel as SWR/SWT have trained me from guard > driver> DI I should repay their faith by producing the best work I can. The company runs in my blood and I throughly enjoy it. The grass doesn’t always run greener and I am a fairly popular figure across many departments. I will always speak highly about who I work for as I’ve never been wronged by them and from experience if you knuckle down and try not to give trouble they will look after you. Just work hard don’t take the **** and if you have a few hiccups show willingness to learn and improve and they do help you. I started as a young guard, (22) continued as a young driver (24) and progressed to a DI role at a young age (28) the company have put a lot of faith in me and I attempt to repay that faith everyday.

Ahh. I know who you are now....

Keep your head down as best you can, expect from time to time it will go wrong and be honest and touch wood this is a fantastic job to be lucky enough to get and hopefully keep until you decide it’s time to retire or move on.

I’m a very lucky driver, I love it. Can also be boring but the support from my colleagues, union and my direct and depot manager are bloody good.

No regrets at all.

 

[WA_Driver]

Anyone know what the company is like to work for? Be interesting to know in relation to all roles. I've heard good things.

I have turned down other jobs at other TOCS despite more money. I feel as SWR/SWT have trained me from guard > driver> DI I should repay their faith by producing the best work I can. The company runs in my blood and I throughly enjoy it. The grass doesn’t always run greener and I am a fairly popular figure across many departments. I will always speak highly about who I work for as I’ve never been wronged by them and from experience if you knuckle down and try not to give trouble they will look after you. Just work hard don’t take the **** and if you have a few hiccups show willingness to learn and improve and they do help you. I started as a young guard, (22) continued as a young driver (24) and progressed to a DI role at a young age (28) the company have put a lot of faith in me and I attempt to repay that faith everyday.

I haven’t been at SWT/SWR as long as Heel Burton but equally as well known. Haha. But again....they have trained me as a guard and as a driver. The companies aren’t perfect and the depot isn’t perfect but it’s the best job I’ve ever had, made some good friends at Waterloo and the majority of Drivers will help you anyway they can. I only wished I had started my Driver career earlier.

I have thought about applying to other TOCs but it’s better the devil you know.

 

[Teddyward]

Can anyone assist at all at what point in the training would progression from 23k to 31k happen? I am presuming the full wage 49k is after roughly a year?

 

[HeelBurton]

Can anyone assist at all at what point in the training would progression from 23k to 31k happen? I am presuming the full wage 49k is after roughly a year?

After passing your drivers final and on route learning? (Someone May know more) your full wage comes after you’ve passed route routes and you drive your first productive turn. Roughly you are looking at anything between 10-16 months to complete it all, depending on Depot routes and DI availability. My current trainee began in January and has his final late November so shows how long it’s currenrly taking

 

[Johnny Depot]

After passing your drivers final and on route learning? (Someone May know more) your full wage comes after you’ve passed route routes and you drive your first productive turn. Roughly you are looking at anything between 10-16 months to complete it all, depending on Depot routes and DI availability. My current trainee began in January and has his final late November so shows how long it’s currenrly taking

Silly question but would your salary also include an annual raise? Annual raises have applied in all jobs I have done previously but wondered if different working for TOCs.

 

[HeelBurton]

Silly question but would your salary also include an annual raise? Annual raises have applied in all jobs I have done previously but wondered if different working for TOCs.

Pay deals on railway can be done for a one year deal or up to five or six years. So you’d only get pay deals when it came to renewal, like a sportsman or woman who is entering the final year of their contract etc