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Old July 11th 15, 07:30 PM posted to uk.transport.london
Recliner[_3_] Recliner[_3_] is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Oct 2014
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Default How well off are London's tube drivers and why are they striking?

Paul Cummins wrote:
In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

If the day ever comes when the job genuinely is deskilled to
"pressing
a button" as so many dull people seem to believe it consists of
then a
genuine argument about paying peanuts to employ monkeys might be
warranted.


all I'm going to say is that I still can't master driving a train or tube,
after much more emulator practise than I needed to learn to fly a plane.

And that really can be reduced to "press a button"


I see it takes about six months of training; not trivial, but a lot less
than a professional pilot.

From
https://www.how2become.com/careers/l...-train-driver/

Becoming a London Underground train driver requires that you have numerous
qualifications. Most are preliminary qualifications prior to any specific
training regime required to drive a train. Here is a list of qualifications
that you will need to have.

First, you need to be at least 21 years of age to start training to be a
train driver with any entity other than London Underground. In addition,
you will need to have good GCSE grades to show that you have a good
standard of education. While there are really no formal education
requirements to enter this field, having A Level grades will appeal to the
organisation.

You will also need to present your formal application to the company and
then attend a formal training centre. Here, you will sit several aptitude
tests, which will assess your skills, knowledge and proficiency in many
different areas. You will also need to pass a physical examination, an
eyesight examination and drug tests.

In general, becoming a London Underground train driver will require that
you undergo 22 weeks of training. However, if you opt to train outside of
London Underground, you might have to sit through 48 weeks of training.
London Underground has some of the lowest training requirements in the
industry for potential drivers.

Your training will be multifaceted, and will cover hands-on driver training
with an instructor, driving theory and safety training. You will have to
complete a Personal Track Safety Certificate, as well as an NVQ Level 2 in
Rail Transport Operations (Driving) before your training is complete. You
will also need to be familiar with the rules and guidelines of working on
the railroad.