GREETINGS FELLOW RAILWAY FANS HOPE ALL IS WELL WITH YOU AND YOURS.I HAVE ON QUESTION CAN ANYBODY TELL ME IF THERE ARE SCHOOLS IN EUROPE FOR TRAING TO BECOME A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINER?ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
I have no idead of European procedures.
In the US the current normal path is to hire out with a carrier as a brakeman/Conductor to gain a level of real world railroad day in day out experience. After a year as a brakeman/Conductor most Class 1, place the brakeman/conductors into the engineers training cirriculum - this training must be passed or the employee is terminate. After completing the classroom instruction for being a engineer successfully the employee is then put back on the railroad as a Engineer in Training to obtain real world, day in day out experience in handling all the variety of trains and locomotive at are operating on the territory where he is training. Presuming the OJT is successful, local supervision will make a qualifying ride with the engineer trainee and if successful he will be a certified promoted engineer. If there is work available in the engineers board, he will work as a engineer. If there is not sufficient work for engineers for his ‘turn’ to work as a engineer, he will work as a brakeman/conductor until such time as there is enough engineers work for his turn to work as a engineer. Work volume fluctuates with the economy and with seasonal commodities.
If a brakeman/conductor should fail any of the steps in becoming a certified promoted engineer their employment will be terminated. The brakeman/conductor position is being used as a step in the training of engineers - not as a life long employment opportunity. At present, some ‘old heads’ who were brakeman/conductors before the shift in policy was implemented will hold rights to be brakeman/conductors until they retire without being required to become engineers. New hires must follow the plan or be terminated.
My impression is that this apprentiship system is true of nearly all the world’s railways, and what you should do is simply request employment with those railways where you wish to spend your life.
if you wish to be a driver in the uk then training is done by the rail company both passenger and freight.though the freight companies prefer to employ drivers who have freight train experience.Dependant on the company and what type of train they operate it will take up to 18 months to be fully trained up,and you start at the bottom doing the local stoppers.promotion is done through a link structure agreed by the union ASLEF.the more service you have the better the link you work in.please note the high speed train companies do not recruit people off the street.on top of all that as an american citizen you would have problems in regards to the immigration and employment laws,to be honest wouldnt think you would have a cat in hells chance of finding employment.but nothing stopping you having a go.
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