How hard is it to drive a train?

[tigersaw]

Evidently very hard indeed if drivers are striking over their latest pay offer of ?40,447 basic for a 37 hour week

I was watching the news this evening, in which they discussed the impending strikes. My first thought was to replace the drivers with robots....or monkeys...or an amalgamation of the two.

Whilst i admit to having little knowledge of the demands of the job, ?40k does seem a joke. I would have banded them in the circa ?20k bracket if i wasn't given a figure.

Well lets see:
All the sings they have to learn........about 20
Finding the right way You know , all them turn offs and that.......... keeping the thing on track...... may be not
Steering, clutch, gears......... blank on that one two
AHHHH .....they can turn the wind screen wipers on and of
They have to press a pedal so the computer that does the driving bit knows that the " driver " is not asleep or it will stop the train.

40 grand sounds about right

ATB

Michael

Originally Posted by Scuba1

Well lets see:
All the sings they have to learn........about 20
Finding the right way You know , all them turn offs and that.......... keeping the thing on track...... may be not
Steering, clutch, gears......... blank on that one two
AHHHH .....they can turn the wind screen wipers on and of
They have to press a pedal so the computer that does the driving bit knows that the " driver " is not asleep or it will stop the train.

40 grand sounds about right

ATB

Michael

Exactly i was under the impression that its mostly automated these days and the driver is only there to ease public concern. I say dispense with them and let computers do it.

Originally Posted by ASM-Forever

Exactly i was under the impression that its mostly automated these days and the driver is only there to ease public concern. I say dispense with them and let computers do it.

Ever noticed that trains are the only form of transport where the any passenger can hit the brakes.

modern trains are now staffed by 1 man & a dog, the mans job is to feed the dog, while the dogs job is to bite the man if he trys to touch any of the buttons....

Jas...

1 deads mans handle isn't it?

Originally Posted by ASM-Forever

Exactly i was under the impression that its mostly automated these days and the driver is only there to ease public concern. I say dispense with them and let computers do it.

Think that's the Underground, and even then maybe only selected lines.

Either way it's an unskilled job and the pay should reflect that.

A friend of ours left a well paid job in a bank to drive trains, he is very well paid. He works very unsocial hours, and has someone throw themselves in front of his train though...

[G]

They have alot to contend with, Constantly watching for damaged rails/slipped banks, people on the line, kids throwing bricks of bridges, kids putting logs across the lines, idiots trying to get in their cabin, people trying to commit suicide, seeing the mess of when people do manage it 500+ a year....amongst all the other ****, all of which is a daily occurence.

They have a fair amount of responsiblity and risk placed on their hand to be fair.

Lorry drivers get paid about the same and have just as boring a job.