Since I've had multiple PM's asking "How does one get a job driving trains?", here's the basics:
I work for Pacific National, in Newcastle on coal trains. The Coal division is after new trainees for Newcastle, Mudgee, Antiene (Muswellbrook) and Port Kembla depots. Look on the company website
here about 4 jobs down and follow the links. Sell any heavy vehicle experience you've got, your attitude to safety and following the rules, as well as being a team player. "Liasing with Air Traffic Control, refuelling staff, passengers and maintenance personnell" sounds good to managers.
Queensland Rail is also on the lookout for people. Otherwise use Seek and search for "Locomotive".
Depending who and where you work will depend on how much you get paid (It varies depending on hours worked, train types, crewing arrangements and a host of other things), but straight off the street you'll be on around $35,000 during your 3 months probation, then step up to around $60,000 or so, and when you get qualified (12-24 months depending on depot) you can expect as a minimum $80,000 or thereabouts. The $140K+ talked of a page or two ago is limited to the Iron Ore trains in WA pretty much.
The hours genuinely suck, shifts can be worked upto 11 hours generally, with around 11 hours (minimum) off between shifts, but this will vary with who and where you work. Depending on what depot you're at you might do "barracks" working, our version of onvernight trips, where you'll signoff away from your home base and then work a train home the next shift. Reasonable $$ doing this, as you get meal allowances and the like.
Overtime is paid for working on your RDO's and if you exceed 152 hours per 4 week cycle, which is easy to do here, but other depots won't even get close. for PN, it's paid at 1.7x your base rate. Be warned though, officially my base rate is about $55,000, and various percentages currently 27.5% make up our "Aggregate Rate" which is the absolute minimum you'll earn a year. It is this "Aggregate Rate" that I called my base rate on the previous page when I referred to the $75,000 salary.
Leave is 5 weeks a year, 15 days sick leave a year (Varies with employers), some operators pay penalties if your rostered shift changes (we don't get that) and equipment varies between locomotives that are nearly 50 years old to some of the latest engines on rails.
Air con is fitted to all locomotives, some have CD players, all have fridges kettles and hotplates, some have microwaves, and the majority have loo's fitted, even though on the older loco's this just drops straight through to the trackbed.
If anyone's planning on applying, forget having a social life, and be warned that driving trains has resulted in many marriage breakdowns due to the shiftwork and godawful hours. But in saying that, the $$ are alright, and it certainly isn't a phyiscally demanding job.
I wouldn't be caught doing anything else.
