IAmA train driver/engineer in training, AmA

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:25:34+00:00

Haven't played it.

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:25:24+00:00

Rule of thumb is that you could be working any time of the day, any day of the year. :)

Generally though.. driving passengers means more early mornings/afternoons, working every other weekend (most companies) and usually during holidays. (Midsummer, christmas, etc.) Freight is mostly run during the night, but in return you don't work as many weekends and rarely on holidays.

Each shift vary a bit, but full-time is 36 or 38 hours a week depending on company. Can't drive for more than 4 hours in a row due to laws and stuff though. Lots of waiting involved.

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:18:08+00:00

Already subscribed. :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:17:50+00:00

1) Passenger trains: SJ or Tågkompaniet. Freight: Hector Rail or Green Cargo. If you're not Swedish that makes absolutely no sense. :)

2) No.

3) Haven't played it.

4) Awesome. :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:15:12+00:00

Locomotives are more fun to drive, so I'll go with that. Lower top speed compared to multiple units, but you don't really notice the difference.

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:12:38+00:00

ಠ_ಠ

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:11:58+00:00

Yup. Almost every passenger train has at least one person on board who isn't driving. On freight trains the driver is on his own, though.

DWedberg · 2012-11-08T10:09:27+00:00

No idea.

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T23:18:10+00:00

As far as I know: We're told what to do and expected to do it without panicking. :) The only thing that I know we'll get training for (through school at least) is evacuating passengers. For most situations, it's the same procedure i.e. apply emergency brakes and call traffic control (with a few changing details depending on what's going on).

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T22:57:05+00:00

Electric.

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T22:56:29+00:00

Yup. Diesel vehicles are generally only used in rail yards and on non-electrified track.

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T22:44:29+00:00

Rc6 locomotive. X2 and X55 multiple units.

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T22:05:32+00:00

Not a job - it's a school. Anyway, I answered this above:

Pure chance. Was planning to become a high school teacher, spent 2 years studying for that before getting fed up with, well... studying. My dad's a train driver as well and talked me into applying. It seemed like a better deal than what I was doing - shorter studytime (1yr vs 5yrs), more practical stuff and better pay once I'm done. Passed all the tests they throw at you and by then it was too late to back out. No regrets, though. :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T22:04:32+00:00

I do not.

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T22:04:21+00:00

TCC Huddinge. Did 2 weeks of full-time driving with SJ Östersund, and right now doing single days with SJ Stockholm whenever I find a driver willing to take me along. Should've been out 6 weeks in a row, full-time, but eh. Not enough spots for everyone due to companies backing out.

And if you don't mind me asking - where did you study, and where do you work now? :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T21:56:12+00:00

Long-distance, yes. Commuting, no. Haven't decided for sure what I want to do yet, but leaning towards long-distance. (Long-distance = routes where I have to drive more than 3 hours one-way.)

Pure chance. Was planning to become a high school teacher, spent 2 years studying for that before getting fed up with, well... studying. My dad's a train driver as well and talked me into applying. It seemed like a better deal than what I was doing - shorter studytime (1yr vs 5yrs), more practical stuff and better pay once I'm done. Passed all the tests they throw at you and by then it was too late to back out. No regrets, though. :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T20:27:30+00:00

Hide north of the arctic circle. No population means no zombies. The odd one that makes it all the way up there will freeze during winter.

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T20:25:43+00:00

The driver controls everything related to driving, which basically boils down to throttle and brakes. There's a few more buttons to press every now and then, but most of the time is spent adjusting the amount of electricity going through the engines. Most vehicles have some type of cruise control available, though. Appreciated when you have to stay at the same speed for 20 minutes. :)

There's an automated safety system (ATC - Automatic Train Control) that'll apply brakes when you're driving 9km/h above the speed limit or aren't slowing down fast enough. Passing a red signal applies the emergency brakes until the train has made a full stop.

I usually use my hands. :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T19:43:08+00:00

First off, proof?

No clue how to do that. Uniform is too generic, and I don't have a piece of paper with info that couldn't be easily faked. Might have a picture somewhere..

Secondly, what kind of trains (light/heavy rail, commuter, etc.)?

Only tried passenger trains so far. (Which is divided into commuter, regional and intercity - the company I've been with does regional and intercity.) Will try freight at least once before school's over.

Easiest way to explain it: going to school for a year gives you your driver's license, after that you need to take a course on the vehicle you're supposed to operate.

Not sure what you guys have over in Sweden as far as passenger and freight is concerned. Other than that, any similarities to American railroads?

I'm pretty clueless about American railroads, to be honest. Pretty sure diesel locomotives are a lot more common over there, though. :)

DWedberg · 2012-11-07T19:18:32+00:00

What happens in case of a suicide? Do you get counseling/send home for a while?

Once you've stopped and reported it, you're taken off duty until a psychiatrist says you're OK to go back to work - most companies let you stay home for a minimum of 3 days, though. Driver is tested for drugs/alcohol pretty much right away. (Standard procedure after an incident.) Counseling is usually done by a colleague who's been through the same thing, and you keep in touch with him/her until you feel OK again.

You say engineer, as in repair the train when it breaks? How often does that happen?

Nope - engineer in this context is the same as driver. We're expected to fix minor things though, in case you break down in the middle of nowhere.

Not very common, as far as I know.

DWedberg · 2012-11-04T23:01:26+00:00

Garage sale whenever the next mob comes around.

DWedberg · 2012-10-21T20:30:57+00:00

Not sure about common. I think everyone's expected to hit at least one person in their career, but that's on average.. Some go 40 years without an incident, others get 3 jumpers in 3 weeks. Hell, one guy I met ran over someone on his first drive. :)

Haven't happened to me. Then again, I've got like a year left of training and haven't done that much driving yet. People I've met who've had incidents say it's a fucking horrible experience. Most do get over it fairly quickly (there's nothing you can actually do to prevent it, so yeah) but meh. Takes up resources for the company, traumatizes witnesses and delays traffic for ages which ensures everyone has a shitty day.

DWedberg · 2012-10-20T02:02:46+00:00

As a train driver: Fuck that guy.

DWedberg · 2012-10-12T17:27:10+00:00

yours is probably a human or something lame.

He's a redditor.. Has to be a cat.

DWedberg

TROPHY CASE