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Career move to Freight
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Dieseldriver
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If any Passenger Driver wants to make the move to freight, the only company I would suggest is Freightliner Intermodal for the Ts and Cs which are more similar to TOCs (albeit for a lower basic pay). The nearest depot to you I would assume is Tilbury.Thinking of moving over to Frieght due to personal reasons. I'm in London and would love to know your views on which Freight companies are worth applying to . Eg. DRS, GBRf, DB, Freightliner etc.
Thank you for your response , you'll be surprised to know I found out that GBRf pays even more than the TOC I'm at lol .If any Passenger Driver wants to make the move to freight, the only company I would suggest is Freightliner Intermodal for the Ts and Cs which are more similar to TOCs (albeit for a lower basic pay). The nearest depot to you I would assume is Tilbury.
Signal_Box
Member
Thank you for your response , you'll be surprised to know I found out that GBRf pays even more than the TOC I'm at lol .
I can only echo the Freightliner Intermodal as an overall package.
GB may well offer more buck, but you’ll the terms and what your expected to put up with it’s much much worse - you definitely work for every penny of the slightly more base salary.
In general are TOC terms better than those of FOCIf any Passenger Driver wants to make the move to freight, the only company I would suggest is Freightliner Intermodal for the Ts and Cs which are more similar to TOCs (albeit for a lower basic pay). The nearest depot to you I would assume is Tilbury.
Dieseldriver
Member
- Joined
- 9 Apr 2012
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- 974
TOC terms are 100% betterIn general are TOC terms better than those of FOC
No RPS and no free travelI'm passenger driver at Northern and have been offered a job at gb rail freight. Definately considering it.
Atishyou
Member
The only ones I know who enjoy it are those who have been at freight, left for a TOC and gone back.I'm passenger driver at Northern and have been offered a job at gb rail freight. Definately considering it.
Those I know who have always been at a TOC and gone to freight have either hated it, or left for another TOC.
100% agree mateThe only ones I know who enjoy it are those who have been at freight, left for a TOC and gone back.
Those I know who have always been at a TOC and gone to freight have either hated it, or left for another TOC.
The ones I know who've left northern love it. The no travel and rps is a definite downside. I prefer lates and nights too. We shall see.The only ones I know who enjoy it are those who have been at freight, left for a TOC and gone back.
Those I know who have always been at a TOC and gone to freight have either hated it, or left for another TOC.
Atishyou
Member
We obviously know different people. The freight lads I have worked with who have moved to passenger have done so for specific reasons:The ones I know who've left northern love it. The no travel and rps is a definite downside. I prefer lates and nights too. We shall see.
Plan a life (e.g. childcare, some sort of social life) through a more planned link
Better pension
Better conditions
Travel facilities
Not working Christmas
Less nights
Damage to hearing
Neither one is perfect and some do suit some people better. I can see that a regular stopping service might not be to everyone's taste, but there's downsides to driving freight, such as hot air being shoved in a non-air conditioned cab on a 66 on the hottest day of the year whilst your ears are bleeding from the noise, then getting shoved in a loop just as you've got going.
If your mates love it, go for it.
Estrella709
Member
Done my time bored out of my skull on stoppers. Go somewhere, change ends, go back and repeat all day. To me the likes of TPE, EMR etc are not much better and tbh don't interest me, its the same boring job. There are those who think it is fantastic but i know drivers at the above who are bored to death and trapped there because they have had incidents (which in my opinion are down to the repetitive , groundhog day nature of pass work).
I moved to freight a while back and absolutely love it. I get way more weekends off than the TOCs and more time off generally and i know where all my rest days are. I think there are about 7 days out of a 13 week link where i can get moved within the time bands, usually works out ok though. Granted there is a bit more flexibility required, but it works both ways. There are more nights, yes but doesn't bother me. Couldn't care less about no free travel, the only place i might ever go on a train is London and you can get cheap tickets in advance anyway. Working conditions, well you might get your hands dirty now and then, but generally PNB facilities are ok , just not as plentiful as say you will find on pass. The work is way more interesting and really no 2 days are the same, you can't say that for pass, where, as said before, its groundhog day, every day. The pension where i am is sorted now, a lot of these TOC pensions will end up in trouble at some point like many do.
Rarely do i have to work christmas.
Hearing damage? You mean 66's? Dont see them as a problem myself. Yes they are hot on the odd day in summer, but not as hot as crappy old units that are well past their scrapping date. There are many worse work environments.
Personally , I would never go back to passenger work. Ever.
Edit- the above does not apply to GBRf!
As i don't work there and don't know about their T&C's.
I moved to freight a while back and absolutely love it. I get way more weekends off than the TOCs and more time off generally and i know where all my rest days are. I think there are about 7 days out of a 13 week link where i can get moved within the time bands, usually works out ok though. Granted there is a bit more flexibility required, but it works both ways. There are more nights, yes but doesn't bother me. Couldn't care less about no free travel, the only place i might ever go on a train is London and you can get cheap tickets in advance anyway. Working conditions, well you might get your hands dirty now and then, but generally PNB facilities are ok , just not as plentiful as say you will find on pass. The work is way more interesting and really no 2 days are the same, you can't say that for pass, where, as said before, its groundhog day, every day. The pension where i am is sorted now, a lot of these TOC pensions will end up in trouble at some point like many do.
Rarely do i have to work christmas.
Hearing damage? You mean 66's? Dont see them as a problem myself. Yes they are hot on the odd day in summer, but not as hot as crappy old units that are well past their scrapping date. There are many worse work environments.
Personally , I would never go back to passenger work. Ever.
Edit- the above does not apply to GBRf!
As i don't work there and don't know about their T&C's.
Last edited:
care to give us a clue? im after a move to freight for many of the reasons you have outlined above. Having been a lorry driver before i came on the railway I think I would enjoy the varied work, especially quarry stuff..Done my time bored out of my skull on stoppers. Go somewhere, change ends, go back and repeat all day. To me the likes of TPE, EMR etc are not much better and tbh don't interest me, its the same boring job. There are those who think it is fantastic but i know drivers at the above who are bored to death and trapped there because they have had incidents (which in my opinion are down to the repetitive , groundhog day nature of pass work).
I moved to freight a while back and absolutely love it. I get way more weekends off than the TOCs and more time off generally and i know where all my rest days are. I think there are about 7 days out of a 13 week link where i can get moved within the time bands, usually works out ok though. Granted there is a bit more flexibility required, but it works both ways. There are more nights, yes but doesn't bother me. Couldn't care less about no free travel, the only place i might ever go on a train is London and you can get cheap tickets in advance anyway. Working conditions, well you might get your hands dirty now and then, but generally PNB facilities are ok , just not as plentiful as say you will find on pass. The work is way more interesting and really no 2 days are the same, you can't say that for pass, where, as said before, its groundhog day, every day. The pension where i am is sorted now, a lot of these TOC pensions will end up in trouble at some point like many do.
Rarely do i have to work christmas.
Hearing damage? You mean 66's? Dont see them as a problem myself. Yes they are hot on the odd day in summer, but not as hot as crappy old units that are well past their scrapping date. There are many worse work environments.
Personally , I would never go back to passenger work. Ever.
Edit- the above does not apply to GBRf!
As i don't work there and don't know about their T&C's.
But around Manchester there are only really 2 focs to consider.....FL and DB
Dieseldriver
Member
- Joined
- 9 Apr 2012
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- 974
Just adding my view again. I don’t look upon freight favourably at all.care to give us a clue? im after a move to freight for many of the reasons you have outlined above. Having been a lorry driver before i came on the railway I think I would enjoy the varied work, especially quarry stuff..
But around Manchester there are only really 2 focs to consider.....FL and DB
However, if someone was to ask me which FOC to go for, I would say Freightliner Intermodal. Better Ts and Cs and a more ‘stable’ roster enabling you to plan your life a bit better.
I appreciate your reply but I think its absolutely a subjective view and different people want different things....My main worry with freight has always been the losing of contracts etc but freight seems to be a very hot topic at the moment as a tool to combat global warming etcJust adding my view again. I don’t look upon freight favourably at all.
However, if someone was to ask me which FOC to go for, I would say Freightliner Intermodal. Better Ts and Cs and a more ‘stable’ roster enabling you to plan your life a bit better.
YingYing
Member
Unless you were counting out GBRf because of Estrella's comment, they also operate in the area, out of Crewe and Peak Forest. Im not sure how close to Manchester you were looking, of course.But around Manchester there are only really 2 focs to consider.....FL and DB
Atishyou
Member
Yup, I know loads of drivers who now wear hearing aids due to constant drone from them. I noticed my hearing getting noticeably worse too.Hearing damage? You mean 66's? Dont see them as a problem myself. Yes they are hot on the odd day in summer, but not as hot as crappy old units that are well past their scrapping date. There are many worse work environments.
Personally , I would never go back to passenger work. Ever.
Edit- the above does not apply to GBRf!
As i don't work there and don't know about their T&C's.
As I said it's different strokes for different folks. Freight isn't inherently bad and passenger work isn't inherently good. Each will suit different people for different reasons. There's pros and cons for each TOC and FOC and then it'll be dependent on the depot too.
both crewe and buxton are 45-60 mins drive from where I live....not idealUnless you were counting out GBRf because of Estrella's comment, they also operate in the area, out of Crewe and Peak Forest. Im not sure how close to Manchester you were looking, of course.
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