Freightliner Various Trainee Drivers

[Diff]

For Crewe the differences are

IM lower pensionable pay than HH but they get additional payments (booking on allowances, change of shift payments, etc). They will drive 08 (Trafford Park), 66, 70, 86 and 90s. Main routes are Garston, Trafford Park, Daventry and depending on link etc Carlisle, Peterbotough and Wembley. They have more of fixed roster and more weekends off.

HH - More pensionable money and is based on knocking down your allowed hours. Rest days are now additional payments. No fixed roster but booked banding (0001-0800, 0801-1600, 1601- 2359). Along with a fixed rest day pattern (currently have a small number of floating rest days but these may change in next pay deal). HH Crewe is a very flexible work mainly based around Infrastructure work. Also cover Coal, cement, steel, etc over a varied area. Crewe HH drivers also regularly do what is called Rail Services work (moving units and currently doing testing and commissioning on CAF TPE 68/mk5a and class 397s after just finishing 3 years of 387 work). Random drivers will have diverse route knowledge and diverse traction. Mainly it's 66/70, those that do the Daventry do 90s, some cover IM work so do 86s. A couple will do the 47 as well. If it's variety try HH, if you want more fixed try IM.

Thank you for that, that’s helpful

 

[Diff]

If I didn’t have children I’d probably have picked HH well not been picky lol

Is that just because you would rather do more varied work or just the slight extra money?

 

[WirralWanderer]

Is that just because you would rather do more varied work or just the slight extra money?

The money would be great. The more you can save can only help if you want to have kids in the future. Also the more varied work would be appealing. It’s a tough one because I’ve wanted to be a freight driver for a long time so it’s pick from two great options of a career.

 

[Mgv1349]

Cheers for the replies yeah I’ll take the 2 statements just in case, maybe dig out a letter from my car insurance just in case just as something else with my name and address on.

As for the work life balance, I agree and that’s what I hate about my current job. At the moment I’m on a permanent 6 on 2 off work shift working nights. I don’t have children but I will in the future, also I’m never off when my friends are so it’s a useless shift to be working at 23. A lot of the older guys here seem to love the 6/2 shift pattern.

I imagine whatever I choose will be better than what I’m doing now.

Cheers for that @Mgv1349, I’ll have a look for the company info now

Personally I think you’d be better on IM, im only 26 and my old job I could never go out with my friends, for your age you’d probably want the more fixed so you could do that and for a 23 year old £46000 a year is still pretty good

 

[Diff]

The money would be great. The more you can save can only help if you want to have kids in the future. Also the more varied work would be appealing. It’s a tough one because I’ve wanted to be a freight driver for a long time so it’s pick from two great options of a career.

Yeah I have mates with kids and they’re often skint haha. I wonder if people change from one to another then or if they pick and end up staying with their choice...

Personally I think you’d be better on IM, im only 26 and my old job I could never go out with my friends, for your age you’d probably want the more fixed so you could do that and for a 23 year old £46000 a year is still pretty good

Yeah I definitely would like more time with friends and family but even HH would be miles better than what I have now. It’s the weekends I miss so maybe you’re right with the IM shout if they have more weekends off? It’s a hard decision to make.

 

[Mgv1349]

Yeah I have mates with kids and they’re often skint haha. I wonder if people change from one to another then or if they pick and end up staying with their choice...



Yeah I definitely would like more time with friends and family but even HH would be miles better than what I have now. It’s the weekends I miss so maybe you’re right with the IM shout if they have more weekends off? It’s a hard decision to make.

Yeah I know what you mean you will have to see what they offer you, did you put a preference when you applied?

 

[StuFreight]

I don't know what the difference is with just a shunt driver position that's what I applied for I'm assuming it's all depot based and a fixed Rota? They didn't give much away in the interview and I forgot to ask I was just happy to make it through lol

 

[Flyboy]

Cheers pal. Aye, not half!

Yeah as #seejaywalker said, they were different. Doncaster wasn't listed at all and I applied for Peak Forest, so was very pleasantly surprised when I found out.

Thanks Deano and Seejwalker.

 

[Diff]

Yeah I know what you mean you will have to see what they offer you, did you put a preference when you applied?

Yeah I did but I don't remember which, although it doesn't matter which we chose on the application day because all that did was give us the code to then access the appplication form if you remember. And the code for both HH and IM was identical so there was no way of them knowing which dropdown we actually selected for HH or IM, back then though I wouldn't even have known the difference between IM or HH so I'm glad it wasn't logged haha

 

[Diff]

Does anyone have much information on the stage 2 tests? I haven't seen much talk of them on here but mostly for the interviews so I can't really get a feel for how difficulat they're gonna be. I have read through all of the test material they sent but I feel like their mock tests aren't really all that useful as, understandibly, it's a paper booklet trying to help with computerised tests. Has everyone here been practicing with some further material or just using the material that the OPC emailed before stage 1?

WAFV Vigilance test - the test material says that on the day, I'll be doing this test for aprox. 30 minutes, is that correct in reality? Also how similar in colour is the square that changes colour?

ATAVT Perception test - this is the one I'm worrying mostly about. How quick are the images shown? Are you looking for the same items in all of the images like we did on the practice material?

2 Hand Coordination test - is the practice material even remotely similar to the real test? I didn't find the practice material too much bother at all, is the real thing much harder? Does it last long?

Written Communications Test (WCT) - there is no mention of this in the email I got inviting me to stage 2 but it is in the practice material for stage 2. Did anyone here have to do this? Is it a difficult test or does it just want basic writing skills to be shown?


Sorry for my constant questions, as my stage 2 comes ever closer I am getting more nervous haha.

Thank you all

 

[Pete C]

WAFV Vigilance test - the test material says that on the day, I'll be doing this test for aprox. 30 minutes, is that correct in reality? Also how similar in colour is the square that changes colour?

Yes, 30 mins, and the colour change is really obvious, don't be like some poor sod on my day who got sent home because he imagined colour changes!

ATAVT Perception test - this is the one I'm worrying mostly about. How quick are the images shown? Are you looking for the same items in all of the images like we did on the practice material

The images are on screen for about 0.5-1s, and it's traffic scenes, a bit like those "I'm not a robot" captcha things, so traffic lights, cars, bikes, pedestrians etc. If you look on YouTube there's an example video.

2 Hand Coordination test - is the practice material even remotely similar to the real test? I didn't find the practice material too much bother at all, is the real thing much harder? Does it last long

It's not that hard, just remember each stick is independent of each other, it's not like a Playstation. And don't pull up on them becase they will come off in your hand (I'm not joking!)

Written Communications Test (WCT) - there is no mention of this in the email I got inviting me to stage 2 but it is in the practice material for stage 2. Did anyone here have to do this? Is it a difficult test or does it just want basic writing skills to be shown

Freightliner don't require you to take the WCT.

 

[Mgv1349]

Yeah I did but I don't remember which, although it doesn't matter which we chose on the application day because all that did was give us the code to then access the appplication form if you remember. And the code for both HH and IM was identical so there was no way of them knowing which dropdown we actually selected for HH or IM, back then though I wouldn't even have known the difference between IM or HH so I'm glad it wasn't logged haha

Oh sorry I mean right at the beginning when you first applied, when I applied there were two links one for Trainee driver- IM and one for Trainee driver- HH?

 

[boogie]

I don't know what the difference is with just a shunt driver position that's what I applied for I'm assuming it's all depot based and a fixed Rota? They didn't give much away in the interview and I forgot to ask I was just happy to make it through lol

Hi StuFreight, am I reading this right that you want Shunt job? if so what depot, I have been offered this role and I appleid for IM & HH, they phoned me about a month ago and offered me this role (shunt) for Crewe, Ive had medical and my contract should be here this week

 

[StuFreight]

Hi StuFreight, am I reading this right that you want Shunt job? if so what depot, I have been offered this role and I appleid for IM & HH, they phoned me about a month ago and offered me this role (shunt) for Crewe, Ive had medical and my contract should be here this week

Hey yea shunt driver in crewe I applied for. Did my medical last week.
When do you start? I have to give 4 weeks notice. I've not heard anything since my medical. How long did it take for them to contact after your medical?
Hopefully I'll be seeing you there soon

 

[Seejwalker]

I don't know what the difference is with just a shunt driver position that's what I applied for I'm assuming it's all depot based and a fixed Rota? They didn't give much away in the interview and I forgot to ask I was just happy to make it through lol

Shunters do the same classroom based course as mainline drivers but require less mentored hours to qualify in their job. In my opinion it's a better route into mainline driving as you earn more money sooner.
You would be responsible for moving locos around depots, refuelling and getting them ready to go along with other tasks.

 

[Seejwalker]

Does anyone have much information on the stage 2 tests? I haven't seen much talk of them on here but mostly for the interviews so I can't really get a feel for how difficulat they're gonna be. I have read through all of the test material they sent but I feel like their mock tests aren't really all that useful as, understandibly, it's a paper booklet trying to help with computerised tests. Has everyone here been practicing with some further material or just using the material that the OPC emailed before stage 1?

WAFV Vigilance test - the test material says that on the day, I'll be doing this test for aprox. 30 minutes, is that correct in reality? Also how similar in colour is the square that changes colour?

ATAVT Perception test - this is the one I'm worrying mostly about. How quick are the images shown? Are you looking for the same items in all of the images like we did on the practice material?

2 Hand Coordination test - is the practice material even remotely similar to the real test? I didn't find the practice material too much bother at all, is the real thing much harder? Does it last long?

Written Communications Test (WCT) - there is no mention of this in the email I got inviting me to stage 2 but it is in the practice material for stage 2. Did anyone here have to do this? Is it a difficult test or does it just want basic writing skills to be shown?


Sorry for my constant questions, as my stage 2 comes ever closer I am getting more nervous haha.

Thank you all

Mate honestly do not stress, it's really not that difficult. Just concentrate and relax, enjoy it if anything.

 

[StuFreight]

Shunters do the same classroom based course as mainline drivers but require less mentored hours to qualify in their job. In my opinion it's a better route into mainline driving as you earn more money sooner.
You would be responsible for moving locos around depots, refuelling and getting them ready to go along with other tasks.

Sounds perfect for me that then. Really looking forward to getting started

 

[boogie]

Hey yea shunt driver in crewe I applied for. Did my medical last week.
When do you start? I have to give 4 weeks notice. I've not heard anything since my medical. How long did it take for them to contact after your medical?
Hopefully I'll be seeing you there soon

i phoned Corrine up on Friday for an update, told me they were waiting for the rest of the medicals to come in before sending contracts out. Looks like start date 07/01/19 and at Ferrybridge. My notice is going in on Monday weather i got contract or not. I did my medical on the 08/11/18.
Are you local to Crewe, Im in Stoke

 

[StuFreight]

i phoned Corrine up on Friday for an update, told me they were waiting for the rest of the medicals to come in before sending contracts out. Looks like start date 07/01/19 and at Ferrybridge. My notice is going in on Monday weather i got contract or not. I did my medical on the 08/11/18.
Are you local to Crewe, Im in Stoke

I'm in St.Helens about 45 mins from Crewe with no traffic.
Might ring up myself and see what she says then. I didn't want to be a pest and ask questions just in case they said nah get lost haha

 

[boogie]

I'm in St.Helens about 45 mins from Crewe with no traffic.
Might ring up myself and see what she says then. I didn't want to be a pest and ask questions just in case they said nah get lost haha

Ive phoned her a couple of times and she is always welcoming to answer any questions, she is very happy to help. Im sure she mentioned on the original phone call to offer me the job that training is 4 - 5 weeks Monday to Thursday and straight on 35k

 

[StuFreight]

Ive phoned her a couple of times and she is always welcoming to answer any questions, she is very happy to help. Im sure she mentioned on the original phone call to offer me the job that training is 4 - 5 weeks Monday to Thursday and straight on 35k

That's good to hear she was very nice in the interview everyone so far has been brilliant to be fair.
I'll find her number and ring up later.
I've not had a phone call it's all been by email for me so far

 

[Seejwalker]

Ive phoned her a couple of times and she is always welcoming to answer any questions, she is very happy to help. Im sure she mentioned on the original phone call to offer me the job that training is 4 - 5 weeks Monday to Thursday and straight on 35k

I wonder how this role differs from the same role at a different FOC I applied for, I was told ten weeks training.

 

[Mike121]

Just had email saying that they are looking at business needs for next year. They still have vacancies and will be in contact as soon as possible.

 

[Spyder01]

Just had an email saying they're still looking at their needs but no news yet ....

 

[ChrisC1990]

Just had email saying that they are looking at business needs for next year. They still have vacancies and will be in contact as soon as possible.

Just had the same email buddy, hopefully that’s not bad news tho

 

[Mike121]

I hope it’s not bad news too. I don’t think so, just means they are probably looking at where they need people the most?

 

[boogie]

I wonder how this role differs from the same role at a different FOC I applied for, I was told ten weeks training.

Hello mate, thats all I know just going to wait now and see.
Hows things with you? have you heard anything yet

 

[boogie]

That's good to hear she was very nice in the interview everyone so far has been brilliant to be fair.
I'll find her number and ring up later.
I've not had a phone call it's all been by email for me so far

Let me know how you get on

 

[StuFreight]

Let me know how you get on

Rang twice no answer I don't have a number for Corinne I rang Clare who organised my medical. I had a number for Brasford hall but that's dead.

 

[boogie]

Rang twice no answer I don't have a number for Corinne I rang Clare who organised my medical. I had a number for Brasford hall but that's dead.

+44 (0) 1270 452 435 this her number