Have the utmost respect for train drivers but anyone fancy a 35 hour week?
Train Driver Pay
So that's the pay, what other benefits are there? Well you will get free travel for you and you're spouse on your chosen companies network, and you will also get 75% discount on all other rail travel (with some minor exceptions)
You get roughly 7 to 8 weeks holidays per year, and you are only working a 4 day week. They are the main attractions of being a train driver and one of the main reasons why 300 people apply for every vacancy.
However there are many more attractions about the job in my opinion - good job security, protection provided from being part of a strong union, and a limit to the number of hours you can spend driving per day are some of the many many agreements which the unions have negotiated into the contracts.
Many people also love the lifestyle - varied working weeks, working alone for most of the day without interference from anybody, and work that is actually quite fun - you get to drive a train, which may or may not have been the stuff of dreams for many in their childhood (or adulthood in the case of spotters)
During a period of unemployment as pilot I looked into becoming a train driver but was above their upper age limit of 45 which applied at the time!