RSIE carried out a record recruitment drive earlier this year, adding signifi-cantly to their Operator Team.
A total of six new apprentice on track machine driver operators (OTMDOS) joined RSIE in March and began their studies at the Iarnród Éireann / Irish Rail (IÉ) driving school.
The trainees were the greatest number of new team members to join RSIE on a single day, with the six adding significantly to the existing Operations Team.
The six - Deborah Larkin, Marius Ciorba, Donal Walshe, Mikey Landers, Liam McGlynn and Connor Nicoll – had an initial nine-week training period in the Driving School, where the focus was on general practical knowledge (GPK) and specific practical knowledge (SPK) of the railway regulatory infrastructure. The course was divided into blocks of two-week periods of theory in the Driving School and one week of practical out road experience covering rules, regulations and scenarios. The theory part related to the Rulebook of which 17 sections are covered.
The trainee drivers must be proficient in their know-ledge of routes, complex signaling systems, junctions, sharp bends and inclines within the rail network.
The Driving School has a driving simulator, where the students learned to drive and follow a route which is an exact duplicate of a section of track. The simulator sessions focused on emergency procedures, calls and events. The out-road experience gave maximum exposure to the rail network and the trainees completed logbooks for different driving scenarios.
On completion of the professional training and on passing all assessments, a train driving license - a European Train Driving License (EDTL) - was issued by the Irish licensing body, the Commission for Railway Regulation (CRR), to the train driver. The license is valid for 10 years.
After completing training in the Driving School, the new cohort returned to the Kildare Depot where they underwent intensive internal training supervised by the RSIE training department. The full training period can take up to 12 months to complete.
The new OTMDOs will build up experience in route knowledge, driving hours, driving by day and by night, entering possession, mixed in with traction knowledge before they become fully fledged drivers. The apprentices will be mentored and supervised with ongoing assessments to obtain their competency for each specific machine.
The hiring of the new contingent fits into the overall strategy of Hiring and Training, which is part of the RSIE continuous improvement plan and will assist in boosting productivity and give more flexibility in managing staff rosters.
