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Only then can you use one of the simulators. These are full-size replicas of the cabs with large screens to simulate the view ahead, complete with realistic representations of signals, junctions, speed restrictions, stations and everything else you are likely to see
along the railway.
The image portrayed on the screens responds to the movement of the controls, speeding up or slowing down as required. Signals and speed limits are all accurately reproduced. Then, just when the driver’s confidence is beginning to grow, at a flick of a switch the instructor can simulate night, fog, heavy rain or falling snow, an obstruction on the line or all manner of faults on the “train” itself.
Next, it is time to learn, digest and be prepared to be tested on every part of the 600-page rule book, which is the bible for everybody on the railway across the country. Then it is back to the simulator to test these theories before eventually being allowed out for eight weeks of practical handling of a train under the supervision of a driver instructor. This is the time when you hone the art of starting and controlling the train in all conditions. And, most importantly, says Alan, stopping. Bringing up to 500 tons of train to a smooth stop at a station, within one or two feet, to enable passengers to use all the doors is no mean feat, particularly if the rails are wet or slippery.
Every driver’s worst fear is a “jumper”—somebody who commits suicide by jumping in front of a train. Sharon Maguire says that there are about 30 a year, and sadly the number is rising. Drivers are always relieved of duty in the immediate aftermath, but it affects each one differently.
Some deal with the shock and are back driving quite quickly. But Sharon says that others understandably take fatalities badly, particularly if they involve women or children, and can be off work for months. Others never return, so there is a real cost to them and the railway.
But whatever the reaction, all drivers who have experienced a fatality are offered counselling and are initially accompanied when they first return to driving.
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