Transport for Wales - Trainee Train Drivers

[StaGuardDriver]

When I started I was getting around that but got better and better
Keep plugging away

on the day the pictures are definitely easier
The practice software will have one person right in the background that you miss or something so don’t fret
Others have found the same so just use it as good practice and you will be fine on the day

train hard fight easy

Thank you that makes me more confident.

 

[MOB91]

Good afternoon,

I sat and passed the paper tests on Wednesday, 30th June. I received the email saying that I passed and that they’d be in touch in a few weeks to sit the computer tests. However, I have not heard anything back since this.

Anyone else in the same boat?

Thanks.

 

[BrokenSam]

Good afternoon,

I sat and passed the paper tests on Wednesday, 30th June. I received the email saying that I passed and that they’d be in touch in a few weeks to sit the computer tests. However, I have not heard anything back since this.

Anyone else in the same boat?

Thanks.

Wouldn't worry there is a few yes.

 

[Burt807]

Hi mate, the contract gets sent to you after the completion of your medical.

Hi mate. Cheers

 

[Voo]

Getting slightly worried about the ATAVT test (traffic scenes). I’ve got the practice download and even with the time set at 1.5seconds (I believe it actually 1 second) I’m struggling to get more than 20% score. I’m hoping the real assessment scores it differently from the practice material. Anyone with any experience got any advice. Thanks.

I've said this before earlier on this thread, my only advice is, if you think you saw something then select it cause you probably did. The brain works incredibly fast, don't start second guessing yourself with 'did I, didn't I' see a particular item. Good luck.

 

[SR2019]

Getting slightly worried about the ATAVT test (traffic scenes). I’ve got the practice download and even with the time set at 1.5seconds (I believe it actually 1 second) I’m struggling to get more than 20% score. I’m hoping the real assessment scores it differently from the practice material. Anyone with any experience got any advice. Thanks.

 

[HeresHoping]

Anyone have a sample rota for what the shifts would look like for TFW? Also i know in their advert they stated they have adopted family friendly working policies etc but has this actually happened, what options are available? I ask as I have a 5 year old daughter and a partner who works shifts also and am wondering how exactly we would manage this should I ever be successful. I am not against working all types shifts i am more on about ability to swap if you need to for childcare reasons etc.

Thank you!

 

[railwaymania27]

Usually at some depots you can swap for permanent earlys or lates depending on if there is someone who wants to swap. Again, should not worry too much until you get into your depot. Your like me worry about stuff before it happens.

 

[ShannyDaw]

So I sat the 2nd stage assessments in Cardiff yesterday but ended up failing on the WAFV vigilance test (the grey and black squares).

That was the one I thought I’d done relatively well on and had maybe not done quite so well on the others. Also was the one I did better on with the training materials! Frustratingly the girl from HR running the assessment yesterday couldn’t tell me what my score was or how close I was/wasn’t to passing…

She did “strongly encourage” me to apply again when I can after the 6 month wait is up and seemed keen to stress that lots fail the 1st time but get through on the 2nd attempt.

Bit disheartening in all honesty but not much else I can do apart from hope I get through a 2nd time.

 

[6opher]

Anyone have a sample rota for what the shifts would look like for TFW? Also i know in their advert they stated they have adopted family friendly working policies etc but has this actually happened, what options are available? I ask as I have a 5 year old daughter and a partner who works shifts also and am wondering how exactly we would manage this should I ever be successful. I am not against working all types shifts i am more on about ability to swap if you need to for childcare reasons etc.

Thank you!

You normally can’t swap any shift for a number of months as the company want you to cover all shifts and as many shunts etc. as possible and you will have to do your first week of nights.
Shifts tend to be:
Earlies 3-4am starts
Days 6-8am starts
Mids 10-1ish
Evenings 3-4ish
Nights 10-11pm starts

These are all approximate but it’s a mixture of all. Sometimes you might have 2 weeks of earlies on a trot and then could have 2 mids/evenings. It’s not a set pattern. Rest days are though. Mo-Tu off 1st week, then Wed-Thu, then Fri-Sa and then start again so every 3rd week you get 5 straight days off. You won’t be rostered a Sunday during your long weekend but will have a few through the year so unless you get rid of them there are times where you could work 7 days on a trot.

Once you’ve done your time, you can swap as much as you possibly can. You aren’t guaranteed to get what you want though and if that’s the case then you just have to crack on. If this could cause an issue then you’ll obviously have to bring this up with the company beforehand to see what can be done. There are some accommodated links for permanent morning/evenings but looking at them there are only so many vacancies available in them. I also think you wouldn’t stay in these forever. They might accommodate whilst your kids are young but when they get to a certain age you go into the main links as there comes a point where you just get treated the same as everyone else.

Don’t take this as 100% though. It’s just what I’ve heard and the powers that be can tell you more but the above might give you a bit of an idea of how it works.

 

[Plodster]

So I sat the 2nd stage assessments in Cardiff yesterday but ended up failing on the WAFV vigilance test (the grey and black squares).

That was the one I thought I’d done relatively well on and had maybe not done quite so well on the others. Also was the one I did better on with the training materials! Frustratingly the girl from HR running the assessment yesterday couldn’t tell me what my score was or how close I was/wasn’t to passing…

She did “strongly encourage” me to apply again when I can after the 6 month wait is up and seemed keen to stress that lots fail the 1st time but get through on the 2nd attempt.

Bit disheartening in all honesty but not much else I can do apart from hope I get through a 2nd time.

Sorry to hear that
Keep at it and try again. I don’t know how it works but hopefully you will go straight into Stage 2 or even just the WAFV next time

 

[Lankywhale]

Is it unusual to be asked for mainline/valleys preference prior to the dmi?

 

[railwaymania27]

You normally can’t swap any shift for a number of months as the company want you to cover all shifts and as many shunts etc. as possible and you will have to do your first week of nights.
Shifts tend to be:
Earlies 3-4am starts
Days 6-8am starts
Mids 10-1ish
Evenings 3-4ish
Nights 10-11pm starts

These are all approximate but it’s a mixture of all. Sometimes you might have 2 weeks of earlies on a trot and then could have 2 mids/evenings. It’s not a set pattern. Rest days are though. Mo-Tu off 1st week, then Wed-Thu, then Fri-Sa and then start again so every 3rd week you get 5 straight days off. You won’t be rostered a Sunday during your long weekend but will have a few through the year so unless you get rid of them there are times where you could work 7 days on a trot.

Once you’ve done your time, you can swap as much as you possibly can. You aren’t guaranteed to get what you want though and if that’s the case then you just have to crack on. If this could cause an issue then you’ll obviously have to bring this up with the company beforehand to see what can be done. There are some accommodated links for permanent morning/evenings but looking at them there are only so many vacancies available in them. I also think you wouldn’t stay in these forever. They might accommodate whilst your kids are young but when they get to a certain age you go into the main links as there comes a point where you just get treated the same as everyone else.

Don’t take this as 100% though. It’s just what I’ve heard and the powers that be can tell you more but the above might give you a bit of an idea of how it works.

Thanks for clearing that up 6opher was not too sure how it worked but knew you could swap shifts because a lot of people at my current TOC seem to do this.

 

[HeresHoping]

Is it unusual to be asked for mainline/valleys preference prior to the dmi?

I was asked before even sitting stage 1 tests!

You normally can’t swap any shift for a number of months as the company want you to cover all shifts and as many shunts etc. as possible and you will have to do your first week of nights.
Shifts tend to be:
Earlies 3-4am starts
Days 6-8am starts
Mids 10-1ish
Evenings 3-4ish
Nights 10-11pm starts

These are all approximate but it’s a mixture of all. Sometimes you might have 2 weeks of earlies on a trot and then could have 2 mids/evenings. It’s not a set pattern. Rest days are though. Mo-Tu off 1st week, then Wed-Thu, then Fri-Sa and then start again so every 3rd week you get 5 straight days off. You won’t be rostered a Sunday during your long weekend but will have a few through the year so unless you get rid of them there are times where you could work 7 days on a trot.

Once you’ve done your time, you can swap as much as you possibly can. You aren’t guaranteed to get what you want though and if that’s the case then you just have to crack on. If this could cause an issue then you’ll obviously have to bring this up with the company beforehand to see what can be done. There are some accommodated links for permanent morning/evenings but looking at them there are only so many vacancies available in them. I also think you wouldn’t stay in these forever. They might accommodate whilst your kids are young but when they get to a certain age you go into the main links as there comes a point where you just get treated the same as everyone else.

Don’t take this as 100% though. It’s just what I’ve heard and the powers that be can tell you more but the above might give you a bit of an idea of how it works.

Thanks for your reply. Think i will just have to see how far i get and worry about it then. I think if it would be months / a year before i could be offered any flexibility it wont be any good for me. Working all earlies or lates wouldn't work either as my partner does earlies, lates and nights.

 

[craigybagel]

I was asked before even sitting stage 1 tests!


Thanks for your reply. Think i will just have to see how far i get and worry about it then. I think if it would be months / a year before i could be offered any flexibility it wont be any good for me. Working all earlies or lates wouldn't work either as my partner does earlies, lates and nights.

Does your partner have a regular pattern to their shifts? If so you might be able to pick a position in the link (the roster) that means that you often match up.

Other than that you can rely on ad-hoc swaps to a degree. If you need to work late shifts on a particular week you're not likely to struggle but if you want earlies you might find it harder.

The good news is your roster is pretty much set in stone for years to come - maybe not the exact working hours each day but the days that you're working and the broad hours they cover rarely change, so you can plan ahead to organise baby sitting if required. There are plenty of train crew with small children so it is possible - but it may take a lot of compromises on your part.

Ultimately it's a 24 hour job and you're getting recruited on the basis that you're available to work at any time. It's something we all have to accept when we become part of this industry.

 

[Tomo22]

Has anyone who did stage one assesment last Thursday at Chester heard about results yet.

Cheers

Hi,

I completed stage one at Chester on 19th.

I passed and have been invited to the second stage in Cardiff this Thursday (2nd).

Have you heard back yet?

 

[Jay1985]

Hi I've tried clicking on the link but no option to apply? Anyone else had same problem

 

[glasgowceltic1]

Hi I've tried clicking on the link but no option to apply? Anyone else had same problem

It's an old link, applications have closed now.

 

[Plodster]

Yes next Thursday

Good luck for today

 

[StaGuardDriver]

Good luck for today

Thanks plodster. Travelling down soon.
practice materials finished with now just trying to stay calm.

 

[Plodster]

Thanks plodster. Travelling down soon.
practice materials finished with now just trying to stay calm.

Ah yes
Silly me thought it was a Thursday

 

[Slipper]

Hi all

Does anyone have any information on what the pension is for train driving please? How much do you pay into it each month, what % the contributions are etc.
I have had my medical so hopefully I will be starting soon, due to my age I can probably work for another 20 years, so would be interested to know what kind of pension I would get as it will not be a full term scheme.

Thanks for any info

 

[Plodster]

I've been told there are lots of courses planned for the next few months. We will see I suppose.

Hi mate - what’s the word on courses?

 

[BrokenSam]

Hi mate - what’s the word on courses?

That's all that's been said to me mate by my Conductor Manager. Nothing on dates as of yet.

 

[Plodster]

That's all that's been said to me mate by my Conductor Manager. Nothing on dates as of yet.

Cheers buddy

 

[DanniG]

Yes next Thursday

 

[Simotrfc]

Does anyone have an idea how long it takes to hear back from the Computer assessment day. Passed computer tests Tuesday, waiting to hear back from the results of the MMI.

 

[CPFC#1]

Does anyone have an idea how long it takes to hear back from the Computer assessment day. Passed computer tests Tuesday, waiting to hear back from the results of the MMI.

Should be within a week normally and then if you passed you will probably have the DMI invite as well

 

[6opher]

Thanks both

I’m in Merthyr so closer to Taffs wells!

Taffs wells would probably be were I would be based from once its complete I take it? (If I pick valley)

I was also told the talent pool is empty so won’t be long before a start date!

Have you been given a start date yet? If so, Mainline or Valleys? Only wondering as you stated the talent pool was empty back in July so just trying to gauge how long it’s taking some from around July time assessments/DMI success to get offered a course start date.

 

[Sparky9909]

So I sat the 2nd stage assessments in Cardiff yesterday but ended up failing on the WAFV vigilance test (the grey and black squares).

That was the one I thought I’d done relatively well on and had maybe not done quite so well on the others. Also was the one I did better on with the training materials! Frustratingly the girl from HR running the assessment yesterday couldn’t tell me what my score was or how close I was/wasn’t to passing…

She did “strongly encourage” me to apply again when I can after the 6 month wait is up and seemed keen to stress that lots fail the 1st time but get through on the 2nd attempt.

Bit disheartening in all honesty but not much else I can do apart from hope I get through a 2nd time.

sorry to hear about your results, hopefully the next six months go by quick enough for your 2nd attempt and good luck

I've just passed my stage 1 assessment and would like to know what tests you had at stage 2 please as im trying to collect info so I can prep correctly

thanks