THE rail industry has of course come a long way since the formation of a union to represent locomotive engineers and firemen (Aslef was in fact founded in 1880). It is not clear how many youngsters dreamed of one day being employed to shovel coal into furnaces, but many in days gone by yearned to grow up to become train drivers. Now that is once again a real and viable option.
ScotRail yesterday launched a recruitment drive that will create up to 100 new train driver jobs.
The role may not carry quite the same glamour as it did in the days of the Mallard or the Flying Scotsman, but the rates of pay on offer in 2015 are certainly attractive – recruits will be paid a starting salary of £24,559, gradually increasing to £43,212.
Behind the move is ScotRail’s ambition to move to a seven-day working week. It follows the resolution of a dispute over pay and conditions which had led to a drop in the number of drivers volunteering to work Sundays.
An increase in the number of available drivers can only be good news for passengers, and provides a welcome boost to employment figures. To borrow a phrase from the past, it is full steam ahead for the railways.
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