Salary of tube and train drivers - why so high?

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TS7

TS7

TS7

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A tube driver starts at a salary of £49,000 which in a few years can go up to £60,000 (36 hour working week only + 43 holidays). You can't even apply for this role, internal applicants only, so you'd have to start off as e.g a customer service assistant :confused:

A train driver has a salary of about £50,000 also.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be paid these amounts, I simply do not know what justifies these amounts, was wondering if anyone knew? There seems to be little mention of level of qualification required. They make a lot of mention about the 'responsibility' and unsociable working hours etc but that's the case with a lot of jobs...
 
It's not the same as other jobs though. As a driver they are responsible for hundreds of lives. They screw up and things can go horribly wrong very quickly. They need 100% attention all of the time, have to learn the route such as where every signal is, where every speed change is, where every change in gradient is. They cannot afford to be distracted and I think they get a very deserving salary.
 
I know a train driver. From one week to the next he doesn't know if he's going to have to get up at 04:00am to work a Saturday. The training was arduous, there's no regularity to it with the shifts, you're often unpopular with commuters and he bears the weight of people's safety on his shoulders every time he gets in the seat. I'm not sure I'd want all that and would expect it to be reasonably well paid.
 
responsibility for one. several hundreds of tonnes travelling at 70mph can end badly.

I imagine with the risk of people jumping in front of trains the pay has to try and outweigh that. (not that im saying you'd be any less affected by that because of the money, but people wouldn't do it if it was basic pay if that makes sense?)
 
Must be partly to do with finding people willing to do it. Living costs are high, can't be that easy to find people to do such jobs for much less.

neil_g said:
responsibility for one. several hundreds of tonnes travelling at 70mph can end badly.
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Try 25-45 mph. Top speed in most tunnels is 75 km/h.
 
tom_e said:
What about non tube drivers that are still on what would be considered a very good salary?
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All other jobs which pay 50-60k require a tonne load of education, working up the ranks etc etc.

However it seems very woolly for tube drivers? I mean on the basis of unsociable work hours, being responsible for the lives of many passengers on board, bus drivers should also be on a similar wage but they don't even make half that.

eatcustard said:
You are all very wrong.

The only reason they have a good wage is a strong union and the ability to paralyses the capital when they strike.
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This is kind of the reason I started the thread. I did some brief googling about tube drivers and their job. It seems the deal the union has struck is rather strong and personally wouldn't have thought lawful on the face of it.

It's a public sector role which you cannot apply for as an external candidate for no other reason than to give people who are no more qualified than the person on the street but happen to work for tubes, even as a customer service assistant, have priority to apply first :confused:
 
Nothing to do with being responsible for lives etc.. etc.. so are Bus drivers and they don't get that level of pay. High pay is a result of a militant union and a career that is a semi-closed shop. They don't allow direct applicants - if it was open to more competition you'd find capable people willing to do that role for a substantial pay cut.
 
joeyjojo said:
Must be partly to do with finding people willing to do it. Living costs are high, can't be that easy to find people to do such jobs for much less.
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London Bus driver starting salary is £23,000 and you have to deal with the public, navigate busy narrow roads and deal with diversions. I'd say that is a much tougher job.
 
Most of these things apply to a huge number of other jobs that are not nearly as well paid. At the end of the day its not a very skilled job in the grand scheme of things.

What about HGV drivers. They don't pay attention they can easily kill people. They are driving long hours on roads with thousands of other drivers. Train drivers are on a track.

Bus drivers are the same. Lots of people, much harder job.

Simple fact is that train and tube drivers are paid far more than the job would suggest. I know a guy who has to go and clean up when someone is hit by trains, he doesn't get paid loads for that and I doubt that is any less gruesome than being the driver when you hit someone. Its not like you can do anything about it either, you are on a track. You can't swerve.
 
TS7 said:
All other jobs which pay 50-60k require a tonne load of education, working up the ranks etc etc.
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Bit of a blanket statement, most perhaps, but certainly not all. Top sales people can probably earn that sort of money including commission, then you've got old boys networks getting people in their early-mid 20s jobs paying that in the city also. Sure they might have a degree but certainly nothing out of the ordinary these days.
 
lude1962 said:
How does tube drivers pay compare to pilots pay?
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From a quick Google

Salaries for more experienced pilots could range from £36,000 to £48,000 in a first officer role. The starting salary for a captain with a medium-sized airline may range from £57,000 to £78,000, while those with the major operators could earn from £97,000 to more than £140,000.
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