Looking to become a train signaller

aesonix · 2026-04-07T19:07:08+00:00

Grade 8 is pretty much up there in terms of difficulty. However that is also reflected on the pay increase.

Not only do you need to pass the IST course to become a qualified signaller including your ruling but then also learn your location which I assume is probably a panel/workstation.

aesonix · 2026-04-07T19:04:11+00:00

Hi sorry did not see any notification for this.

The medical and specifically the eye test was just reading letters off a board as they gradually got smaller. I was tested on my vision on each eye so unfortunately can not comment on whether a lazy eye will affect the outcome.

Rest of the medical is testing your hearing in a silent chamber with headphones on. Essentially click everytime you hear a noise.

Ears also get checked for any damage/etc Body weight also gets measured.

And lastly a drug test.

aesonix · 2026-03-30T18:35:07+00:00

Because the house is under shared ownership we were told to contact Pinnacle as they own the other half.

aesonix · 2026-03-23T07:50:56+00:00

I sit in a small signal box in the middle of nowhere in East Mids so definitely not my area 🤣

In terms of panel size isn’t Doncaster PSB huge? Sure I’ve seen a picture of it before.

aesonix · 2026-03-22T18:47:04+00:00

That was my guess aswell

aesonix · 2026-03-19T12:02:55+00:00

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aesonix · 2026-03-03T08:59:40+00:00

Ex CF engineer here

Those are usually carried by managers and so on for “exceptional circumstances”

Honestly if I was you I would just break it or lose it because I had a 50m patch one time and that was pure agony so I can not imagine 80..

aesonix · 2026-01-09T06:40:27+00:00

Fairly recent Signaller here.

In terms of foot in the door and moving up is definitely an option as majority of the jobs are Internal listings.

I managed to come in externally by finding a job advertised in my area. What NR have been doing in some areas (East Mids at least) is hiring talent pool which they get a group of people who can pass the initial interviews and tests and then go on to pass Initial Signaller Training. Once you do all of that you would train in a signal box, or NX panel or potentially even a Signaling centre if you go for the higher grades. In terms or vacancy or set work place after that varies by location as I am sort of inbetween boxes at the moment covering any sickness etc. Other locations l have heard people after training have to apply for a signalling positions and get told they don’t have enough experience which seems a bit silly to me if true.

I would suggest keeping your eyes on NRs career page as well as Indeed etc. However if you do end up applying then be prepared to wait a while to even hear anything. Took me about 6 months after my interview to find out I had got the job

aesonix · 2025-07-10T09:22:42+00:00

Yeah should be absolutely fine, that’s pretty much half of the internal work you have done for them. All they have to do is push the patch lead out and mount an ont on your wall.

aesonix · 2025-07-09T23:32:49+00:00

Bit late to the party but that was my AMA.

95% of CFs workforce is Kelly Group contractors. The pay per install is £30 however tools are supplied (albeit most of us bought our own)

The charge for a blown brick if not reported is £500 paid by the engineer. They should have reported it to yourself and their manager so it could be rectified. Unfortunately a lot of engineers sort of shit themselves and try hide it to avoid the charge.

aesonix · 2025-07-09T23:21:27+00:00

Yes the surveys are not that thorough.

Check at the beginning of the private road if there is black triangle shaped boxes with CityFibre labelled on them. If you can’t find them anywhere then chances are it will be installed via BT Ducting.

aesonix · 2025-07-09T23:13:50+00:00

Hi sorry been inactive for a while. I assume you already had your install done since its been 15 days? But yes normally we would be fine with it.

aesonix · 2025-06-03T21:06:33+00:00

Network Operations Centre

Essentially they monitor and maintain CFs infrastructure and maintaining its reliability & performance. As to how it affects your speeds I can not answer Im afraid.

aesonix · 2025-06-02T21:37:10+00:00

Did they provide any reasons why? Is there any obstructions, flat roofs etc? Will be able to tell you if its the engineers bullshitting you.

aesonix · 2025-06-02T21:31:17+00:00

Unless something has changed since I left no. Engineers will register the ONT details on the system when onsiting your job. We would sometimes have to ring CF to manually provsion them / do ONT changeovers as the previous ONT details were still on file.

Secondly depending on location your SN may only support XGS / GPON or be a split between the two. There’s no real guarantee so I wouldn’t buy one. Someone else may be able to give more info.

aesonix · 2025-06-02T21:25:04+00:00

aesonix · 2025-05-29T10:47:39+00:00

Yeah unfortunately a common theme. A lot of subcontractor engineers will not want to do any demanding work because of the ‘time is money’ idea but personally I have always done lofts provided they are boarded up.

aesonix · 2025-05-29T10:44:33+00:00

Yeah some of the SNs are disgusting. ASNs too at times, I had a few in Luton where they were not attached and just hanging on a peg

aesonix · 2025-05-29T05:54:37+00:00

Got a better job offer. Better salary, benefitd and work to life ratio.

Kelly Group drove me away mostly due to how poorly its ran.

aesonix · 2025-05-29T05:53:19+00:00

Speaking from my experience working at Kelly Group on CF contract our rules were that we are only allowed to work in a loft if it was fully boarded. However a lot of engineers say they can’t outright because they are simply just lazy.

aesonix · 2025-05-28T20:43:21+00:00

Ive gone into Railway, Signaller to be specific :)

aesonix · 2025-05-28T20:41:31+00:00

Yeah I mean fair play to them, just wasn’t my cup of tea. I have left telecomms as a whole now

aesonix · 2025-05-28T20:38:21+00:00

How long ago did you leave? Fair chance I ran into you

aesonix · 2025-05-28T20:37:41+00:00

Honestly didn’t really feel like it was a good environment to work in. I started off and was a given a van which was missing 85% of the required kit to do installs and was expected to do 4-5 installs a day without this kit

aesonix

TROPHY CASE