Bristol Train Drivers Urged To Move To Australia

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Train drivers in the Bristol area are being urged to apply for jobs in Western Australia on salaries of up to ^52,000 a year (link below.)
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-train-drivers-urged-make-tracks-Oz/article-307973-detail/article.html

The Australian Railroad Group (ARG) has placed an advertisement in the Evening Post seeking locomotive drivers because there is a shortage of skilled workers.

A spokesman for Prior Recruitment, the firm recruiting for ARG, said Bristol had been targeted because of the rail freight depot in Barton Hill.

He said there were as many as 30 vacancies for locomotive drivers with at least five years' experience willing to work a minimum of a 40-hour week.

Interviews will take place in Bristol and Manchester at the end of October. Successful applicants can start as soon as their visas and medicals are completed.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, there's an interesting comparison in the package offered in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom): see http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile367/

"What salary and other benefits can I expect?

Trainee drivers are paid around ^15,000 a year.
Qualified drivers can earn between ^25,000 and ^31,000 a year.
Experienced drivers can earn over ^35,000 a year.
Free or reduced price travel is usually offered as an extra benefit.

Figures are intended as a guideline only. "

[eightf48544]

It is not really surprisng Australian railways are experiencing a boom particualrly in freight.

With Standard Gauge now running to all the principle cities and the opening of the Ghan from Darwin to South Australia, Perth and Darwin have witnesssed an explosion in ship bourne containers being off loaded in their ports. These are taken by rail, often  double stacked on the wagons on very long trains with several diesel locos in mnultiple, to the major cities in the South East.

It saves days (money) with the ships not having to travel all round the coast to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. I read somewhere the dockers in Adelaide and Melbourne are very upset at the drop of in trade since the Ghan opened.

Still you probaly need to pay ^52K to drive 300 plus miles dead straight across a treeless desert.

Passenger traffic is largely confined to suburban services round the major cities. Chritian Wolmar in one of his columns didn't rate the Sydney suburban service very highly.

[bemmy]

Great. So we can expect even more cancellations due to staff shortages. 

Not that I would criticise any driver for taking up the opportunity, it's not their fault things are as they are. Maybe we can entice some drivers from India to fill the gap.

[Super Guard]

Great. So we can expect even more cancellations due to staff shortages. 

Not that I would criticise any driver for taking up the opportunity, it's not their fault things are as they are. Maybe we can entice some drivers from India to fill the gap.

From what I can see there are no shortage of workers in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) who want to become drivers, so I wouldn't have too many sleepless nights 

[dog box]

Great. So we can expect even more cancellations due to staff shortages. 

Not that I would criticise any driver for taking up the opportunity, it's not their fault things are as they are. Maybe we can entice some drivers from India to fill the gap.

things are as they are ??....please explain

[G.Uard]

Great. So we can expect even more cancellations due to staff shortages. 

Not that I would criticise any driver for taking up the opportunity, it's not their fault things are as they are. Maybe we can entice some drivers from India to fill the gap.

From what I can see there are no shortage of workers in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) who want to become drivers, so I wouldn't have too many sleepless nights 

The selection process for drivers can take a good while.   I am friendly with a trainee who applied in June 07 and started in June this year.  Admittedly, she came from outside the railway, but even so, I believe training lasts for 54 weeks.  ( The sheer weight of technical and other important info means that I won't be applying. )

[bemmy]

Great. So we can expect even more cancellations due to staff shortages. 

Not that I would criticise any driver for taking up the opportunity, it's not their fault things are as they are. Maybe we can entice some drivers from India to fill the gap.

things are as they are ??....please explain

It's not their fault that the wages are higher in Australia than here.

[Super Guard]

Well, there's an interesting comparison in the package offered in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom): see http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile367/

"What salary and other benefits can I expect?

Trainee drivers are paid around ^15,000 a year.
Qualified drivers can earn between ^25,000 and ^31,000 a year.
Experienced drivers can earn over ^35,000 a year.
Free or reduced price travel is usually offered as an extra benefit.

Figures are intended as a guideline only. "

So a HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) driver can earn a whopping ^4k more than a 142 driver?  I was under the impression HSS drivers were on a lot more than ^35k ?

[Lee]

Passenger traffic is largely confined to suburban services round the major cities. Chritian Wolmar in one of his columns didn't rate the Sydney suburban service very highly.

Here is a related link.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5004942/rees-to-be-transport-mystery-shopper/

[willc]

I suspect the root of this is that ARG's drivers are all leaving to go to work in the north of Western Australia for the mining railways that transport iron ore to the coast for shipping to China.

Due to the demand for raw materials from China, the mines are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and drawing in labour from all over Australia, so I'm sure their rail operations are no different and sucking in all the loco drivers they can get to keep the trains running, so ARG is probably feeling the effects of that, hence the fishing trip to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

The Independent ran a story about the Aussie iron ore boom earlier this week, see

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/iron-man-move-over-murdoch--australia-has-a-new-supertycoon-923398.html

It says train drivers working for the mining lines are getting $150,000 AUS, that's about ^68,500 a year, and only half of Australia's submarine fleet is operational, because navy pay lags far behind what you earn in the mines.

Just in case you're tempted to join the rush, the downside is "This is one of the most inhospitable spots on the planet, where summer temperatures reach 45C"

[eightf48544]

I suspect the root of this is that ARG's drivers are all leaving to go to work in the north of Western Australia for the mining railways that transport iron ore to the coast for shipping to China.

Just in case you're tempted to join the rush, the downside is "This is one of the most inhospitable spots on the planet, where summer temperatures reach 45C"

It's also probably one of the most boring rail drives in the world straight across the desert.Get the train up to speed. The only thing you have to do is make sure you stop at the end of the line and presumably keep pressing the vigilance device to make sure you stay awake.

[The SprinterMeister]

Well, there's an interesting comparison in the package offered in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom): see http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile367/

"What salary and other benefits can I expect?

Trainee drivers are paid around ^15,000 a year.
Qualified drivers can earn between ^25,000 and ^31,000 a year.
Experienced drivers can earn over ^35,000 a year.
Free or reduced price travel is usually offered as an extra benefit.

Figures are intended as a guideline only. "

So a HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) driver can earn a whopping ^4k more than a 142 driver?  I was under the impression HSS drivers were on a lot more than ^35k ?

HSS are currently on around the upper ^39k mark at the moment as a basic wage. West are on ^34466 IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly).