So you have 20 years incident free but had an AWS slow to cancel 4 years ago and you'd be rejected?! Wow , someone has ideas above their station methinks.Internal chatter suggests they want a number of qualified drivers because the training demand can't be met with apprentices alone. Just waiting for the DfT to give them the nod, but good luck either way!
It'll likely be the usual caveats from when they last took qualified drivers, clean record etc. Think they want 5 years clean if you've had a minor incident in the past. I *think* the likes of CAT A SPADs are still a no-no.
We've had a few excellent trainees come through, but also a lot who've gone on to cause heaps of trouble you don't get from qualified intakes. A balance of the two is the best way to go otherwise you end up with a massive experience gap.
Internal chatter suggests they want a number of qualified drivers because the training demand can't be met with apprentices alone. Just waiting for the DfT to give them the nod, but good luck either way!
So you have 20 years incident free but had an AWS slow to cancel 4 years ago and you'd be rejected?! Wow , someone has ideas above their station methinks.
Tis on GWR, crazy as that sounds! I agree though, it really shouldn't be!Interesting to know. The current driver apprentice recruitment campaign specifically states that qualified drivers cannot apply, and that they’ll indicate on the website as and when that position changes.
AFAIK a slow to cancel isn’t counted as a safety of the line incident anywhere. It certainly shouldn’t be.
I don't decide the criteria. As I understand it it was set almost ten years ago when a number of incidents were investigated and it was found that a couple of drivers they'd taken on had poor safety of the line records at their previous TOC. From then on they mandated clean records.So you have 20 years incident free but had an AWS slow to cancel 4 years ago and you'd be rejected?! Wow , someone has ideas above their station methinks.
I’m sure it’s on the ATOC form.AFAIK a slow to cancel isn’t counted as a safety of the line incident anywhere. It certainly shouldn’t be.
What regardless on how clean your SOL is and other potential attributes and experience you may of gained with in your respective TOC?It'll likely be the usual caveats from when they last took qualified drivers, clean record etc. Think they want 5 years clean if you've had a minor incident in the past. I *think* the likes of CAT A SPADs are still a no no
It might be discrimination, as any choice is, but it’s not discrimination in a legal sense.I get there I a set criteria as with many TOCs, but to hold an incident against them for the duration of their career is potentially discrimination
Are you an LNER employee??
Unlikely as you’d still be required to learn the route and traction again.Would already signing the London to Edinburgh route and 80x traction give an advantage as well as clean SOL ?
I think the fairest way of assessing candidates is a very technical interview process with a rules exam and lots of face-to-face technical questions. I'm admittedly a bit biased because it's how I got the qualified driver move to my current TOC.
The DfT seem to be very anti-competitive for what is supposed to be a privatised railway.
Tis on GWR, crazy as that sounds! I agree though, it really shouldn't be!
I’m sure it’s on the ATOC form.
I agree it shouldn’t be though.
However I don't believe an missed AWS counts. Is it even on that TOC form?
The DfT seem to be very anti-competitive for what is supposed to be a privatised railway.
Unlikely as you’d still be required to learn the route and traction again.
At FOC’s maybe, haven’t heard of any TOC’s that will allow you to transfer routes or traction from company to company. Unless you know otherwise?Not necessarily....
I was allowed to transfer my route from one TOC to another but apparently it's quite a new thing with them, I just had to be assessed on the route driving over it and complete the assesment paper that goes with it.At FOC’s maybe, haven’t heard of any TOC’s that will allow you to transfer routes or traction from company to company. Unless you know otherwise?
Not transfer directly but you could definitely save on the route learning time if both the driver and company are happy. Pass out assessment and signing a bit of paper only takes a day compared to the several weeks learning a route.At FOC’s maybe, haven’t heard of any TOC’s that will allow you to transfer routes or traction from company to company. Unless you know otherwise?
The concept of the specific umbrella of 'SOL incidents' is a bit of a myth. There is no single industry-adopted list of whether a given incident would be considered as part of an individual's safety of the line history. Some operators may maintain a list of incident types they would and would not consider SOL incidents but yes, this will differ depending on who you are applying to. Anecdotally, both my current and previous TOC would class an AWS late to acknowledge under the 'safety of the line' banner. I'm not privy to how recruitment decisions are or were taken in considering those safety records though.Dang, SOL seems to change from what I understand from TOC to TOC correct?
Not the case.Unlikely as you’d still be required to learn the route and traction again.
It wouldn’t be a conversion course though. You’d arrive at new company not signing any traction.Not the case.
Basic conversion course 802 to 800/801 lasts about two days and rebrief on the route plus assessment. It's been done for training roles recently.
Depots are a different story obviously.
I’m surprised to hear that. The ORR stance is the route card belongs to the TOC not the driver. Unless they have softened recently?I was allowed to transfer my route from one TOC to another but apparently it's quite a new thing with them, I just had to be assessed on the route driving over it and complete the assesment paper that goes with it.
Yes but you still have to do the assessment to be deemed competent so there’s no issue and not really transferring it directly. You’re just eliminating/reducing the route learning which is all very specific and negotiated by ASLEF anyway. Route learning times vary by company and even by depot so there’s no set standard.It wouldn’t be a conversion course though. You’d arrive at new company not signing any traction.
I’m surprised to hear that. The ORR stance is the route card belongs to the TOC not the driver. Unless they have softened recently?
You’d also need the training.Yes but you still have to do the assessment to be deemed competent so there’s no issue and not really transferring it directly. You’re just eliminating/reducing the route learning which is all very specific and negotiated by ASLEF anyway. Route learning times vary by company and even by depot so there’s no set standard.
It's becoming more acceptable/common for existing route and/or traction knowledge to be transferable. You would need to be re-assessed by your new employer and potentially require any necessary briefs etc, but the full training course (traction) or number of route learning trips would not be required. This could also apply for conversion from 802 to 800/801 as the two forms of traction are effectively the same.At FOC’s maybe, haven’t heard of any TOC’s that will allow you to transfer routes or traction from company to company. Unless you know otherwise?
Not the full training no. The company can do a Training Needs Analysis to determine how much training you actually need if you already sign a route/traction.You’d also need the training.
It wouldn’t be a conversion course though. You’d arrive at new company not signing any traction.