Irish Rail Jobs Discussion

Quadrivium

This article makes for interesting reading. https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-rail-recruitment-drive-5741951-Apr2022/

The article states that the first 50/50 female to male class for drivers commenced recently...which is strange as the female applicant numbers are far below the number of male applicants which means there was obviously a lot of discrimination against men based on their gender.

Rootsblower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119004072#Comment_119004072

yes there are promotional opportunities but very hard to get. Company invests a lot in your training so want a return on that investment. Promotion also depends on if the company are short drivers in your depot or not. Seen loads of good drivers lose out on promotion because of a driver shortage in the depot.

I’d just concentrate on getting a driver job first.

Quadrivium

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119004472#Comment_119004472

That makes sense, so it looks like the chances of getting promoted before you'd reach the top of the pay scale are slim.

Quadrivium

Food for thought for anyone going for the driver job. €45k (€35,600 after tax) isn't the worst wage for a single man with no significant expenses but it's not great for anyone with a family paying the current market rents and with the recent inflation that wage is barely enough to get by if you have a kid. The average rent in Dublin is over €2000 per month or €24,000 per year. Irish Rail should really start thinking about offering a Dublin weighting increase similar to what is offered in London.

I've seen the train drivers in the UK are paid between £60k and £70k within two years of starting, no 10 year pay scale. That would be the equivalent of up to €83,000 per year and the cost of living over there isn't as bad as in Ireland, with the exception of London.

Bare in mind the hoops you have to go through to get an offer, the working environment, sitting in a box moving up and down a railway all day, unsociable hours etc.

Unless Irish Rail increase that wage by at least €10k to €15k I can't imagine they'll hold on to many drivers who might find the current buoyant jobs market offering more money for less stress and less erratic hours. Examples being, trades such as Bricklayer, Electrician, Plumber making €1200 to €2000 per week after 3 or 4 years training. Professions such as accountant, Solicitor, Construction manager making well over €100k after 4 or 5 years experience, HGV driver making €60k within a couple of years.

Jamie2k9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119004078#Comment_119004078

Its just a coincidence!

i posted beofore about internals or people close to existing staff can benefit when applying as well on the assestments with Q&As.

Quadrivium

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119006848#Comment_119006848

There's nothing coincidental about a 50/50 gender class. It is 100% intentional and outright discriminatory when the gender profile of applicants is not 50/50 to begin with.

Mundo7976

sudocremegg

Take the whinging to after hours tbh. Any chance we could have a new thread for the new recruitment drive like they do in other forums? Thread has gotten way too bloated for multiple jobs and multiple campaigns over the years. Makes it annoying for people who have to read the same chit chat over and over again that was had 3 years ago when we're long beyond that stage.

Willie Stroker 1976

This thread is called “Irish Rail Jobs”. If you want this thread specific to a certain Irish Rail job or stage of said job then maybe start there.

Lordsnutchi

Hey all,

Does anyone have a rough idea of what the shift patterns or times are for Customer officers?

Cheers, Dee.

lord lucan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119009183#Comment_119009183

Some of it will depend on location,depots such as Galway and Westport for example will have early birds to Dublin that will require a very early start. Heuston for example would see 06.00 as the earliest start.

Shifts are generally about 8 hours though you often work less,there's padding built in to rostered hours to allow for delays.

An example is the early Galway from Heuston.

Arrive at 06.35,an hour before departure,prep and board train. Depart at 07.35,arriving Galway at 10.05. Time for a coffee and sambo and ready for return working which is 11.05. Arrive in Heuston at 13.39,quick check of the train on arrival and sign out and go home.

Lordsnutchi

Thanks for that :)

PadraigCoghlan

Surprised the driver job is still advertised.

Thought they would of reached their quota in a couple days.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119010584#Comment_119010584

Maybe it wasn't the dream job people thought it would be.

And people get tired of being messed around in a lengthy process with poor communication.

MrBumBum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119007849#Comment_119007849

That 50/50 class started almost 3 years ago.

Your other comment is strange. Is there any rule that states based on gender the pass ratio has to be the same as the applicants ratio?

27000 applied for the original jobs 3 years ago, approx 90 people made the grade. Do you really think they could discard male applicants in favour of female when they struggled to get enough drivers that met the standard?

This is the third time it has been advertised because they have exhausted the two previous pools.

Jamie2k9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119007849#Comment_119007849

I'm actually agreeing with you. I would expect ethnicity category next...

These tests have no bearing on how good you are at driving a train.

JanuarySnowstor

To be honest I think the tests are too stringent and a lot of well capable drivers don't make the grade! Your not flying a rocket into space, your driving a train. I for one am disappointed not to have made it to interview stage.

Jamie2k9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119009232#Comment_119009232

Are you rostered for Cork or are that group seperate? or just Galway/Waterford out of Heuston.

lord lucan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119012694#Comment_119012694

Heuston mainly Galway and Waterford,a run to Westport once every 12 weeks and a couple of runs on the Tralee as far as Mallow.

Cork run has Hosts on a separate roster though CSO's cover the hosts due to illness etc.

Mundo7976

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119003177#Comment_119003177

Anyone?

Lordsnutchi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119012727#Comment_119012727

Last question, I’m assuming the shifts rotate. Or do you have the same times everyday?

Cheers, D.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119012342#Comment_119012342

They're a blunt instrument to whittle down numbers to a manageable figure mainly.

Rootsblower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119012342#Comment_119012342

No disrespect meant here but your comment of “your only driving a train” is the reason the tests are so stringent so as to weed out that attitude. There’s an awful lot of stuff to know to be a successful train driver. A healthy respect for the rigours of the job is a good start.

lord lucan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119013072#Comment_119013072

They do rotate,the odd week you might do a week of all early shifts but usually you start on later shifts and as the days go by work down to middle shifts and finish on early shifts before your days off.

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119013072#Comment_119013072

I'm not related to IE in any way, shape, or form, but yes, you usually do different duties every day. That "Westport once in 12 weeks" is part of proof, I've also seen a Bray Electric roster at one stage - all CIE companies "scroll" through different duties, although it'd appear that IE doesn't really have a solid pattern of days on-off like the bus companies do.

intercity124

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119010635#Comment_119010635

The length of time hanging around is definitely a factor, we are talking years not weeks. Once fully through all of the stages and passed fit there is zero communication, not even when prompted. They will just ring you one day out of the blue and expect you to drop everything. Some people can do that, some cannot. They aren't doing themselves any favours with their lack of engagement and forward planning.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119011400#Comment_119011400

They haven't exhausted the panels from the two previous campaigns, I am on one (rural 2019, not Dublin), how many are still on it with me, I have no idea. It does make me wonder how many of the 30,000+ applicants from the first two campaigns are still in the system. I think the well has run dry in Dublin hence the new campaign. as a previous poster mentioned they may need to review the salary in Dublin in order to get the numbers required (which will cause another batch of issues!).

MrBumBum

I said pools, not panels.

superfly75

Genuine question, whats the difference between pools and panels?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119015311#Comment_119015311

Justaburner

I assume that pools are applicants still in the process. Panels have interviewed and are awaiting courses to start.

There was a guy here who's friend interviewed for Cork and was offered a job here a year later. Was offered Dart in the meantime but obviously, didn't want to move to Dublin.

MrBumBum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119015658#Comment_119015658

More or less what justaburner said. Think of a panel like a standby list.

There's no guarantee they will be offered a job but they are still in the running. If I remember correctly the panels are good for 2 years, so anyone on the panel could get a call during that time.