First day doing new Job today as Train driver today. Follow your dreams!

Mat said:
I did read the whole thing and found it quite interesting :p

Good job on the good job you did getting your good job!

Did you get any training on what to do or expect, in terms of follow up, if someone goes under the wheels?
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Yeah. Theres a lot in place for it, basically you would stop, do an emergency call (which stops all trains in the local area) or an urgent call via the radio. Uour manager and relief will then come out to you and check how you are, drive you home.. You can then have some time off but it's upto you.

It's unlikely to happen to me in the first few years as i'll be max 15mph, someones goto be pretty suicidical to jump infront of a train that slow but it has happened. I like to think i'd be okay but you never know.. Just have to remember theres nothing you can do about it and that person wanted to die at that moment. I think i'd be more traumatised killing an innocent animal or child... but you don't know.

Interesting fact for you, our company which covers most of East Anglia has 29 suicides this year so far.. A top score apparently. We've had one train in depot that has to be burried between two other trains when it goes into service because the cab has caved in due to a person hitting it.. takes them a while to fix these things!
 
Adam said:
I presume given your location you work for Abellio Greater Anglia? I can only hope they treat their staff better than their passengers. I use the service every day and every aspect from punctuality to the quality of the service is terrible.
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Yeah. I often look at the twitter and see all the drama going on. As I work for them it's hard to know what its truly like but I recall how it was under National Express and really assumed Abellio would do a lot better.
I sympathise with passengers a lot when stuff goes wrong and damn it has gone wrong a lot in the last few months. When things go wrong, like delays or failures its my job that gets a lot of the hard work trying to sort it out.

I believe the staff at the ground level are mostly top people, its the management and how the railway franchise system that is flawed. I think theres hope though.

Blinkz said:
Congratulations!! It's great to see people achieving their dreams. I'm a firm believer that people can do anything if they put their mind to it.

I know exactly how you feel as I went through a similar process to get into aviation. In fact the whole application process looks very similar, although not usually taking so long.

Savour this evening, it will be a day you remember for the rest of your life! I still remember my very first solo flight, and then the very first flight I flew an airliner (10 years ago and 6 years ago respectively!) like they were yesterday. It will be a stepping stone to building more experience and moving your career forward.

I'm writing this post now in Washington DC having managed to get my dream job flying longhaul round the world just less then a year ago and both this as well as yourself show that it is possible to make your dreams come true.

Congratulations again and enjoy! Keep us updated with info, I'm sure there are lots of us that would like to know more about the job and how you go.
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Hey thanks :)
It's not usually such a long process, just bad luck and things breaking!
Congrats on your job, what a thrill that must be.. I remember playing on Flight sim a lot and thinking how terrifying it must be landing in real life :)
 
Congrats, good read and it's certainly an achievement to be proud of.

I get to play on the railways occasionally as part of my job, but I'll be one of the orange hi-viz folk giving you a wave when you give me a honk on your way by :)
 
Should just say congrats as well, I am happy for you and my initial post was in good humour. :)

Have also read the while thing now and it was worth it. :D
 
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Not a walk in the park certainly but I think the point is that nomatter how hard it seems.. its possible. Afterall I never thought they'd even shortlist me for the first assessment because of my lack of experience and age.

So many people think that way before even trying. I've tried to tell friends who have put off applying for jobs that it might seem out of this world but I managed and I consider myself stupid ;)
 
Very interesting - really enjoyed reading that.

Am I correct in thinking that unless something goes wrong, there's not actually much you have to do when driving the train, or is it more complex than I assume?
 
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