Train Controller

I’m Sam Caughan, I’m 18 years old and I’m interested in the rail industry.

Clinton: Well Sam’s off to spend some time with the Auckland operation of Kiwi Rail, New Zealand’s rail industry operator. Kiwi Rail run both freight and passenger services.

Colin: There is a huge range of jobs available in the rail industry – there’s mechanical engineers, there’s train drivers, there’s shunters, there’s signalmen, or if you want to work inside there’s the office side of it.

Clinton: Keeping Sam on track is Colin Vickery.

Clinton: First up, Sam’s headed to the Takapuna administration centre.

Colin: Welcome Sam, this is where we do everything in Kiwi Rail to make sure that we’re getting the right containers on the trains, make sure we’ve got the right locomotives, make sure we’ve got the right drivers and make sure that we’ve got the right freight. Over here on this side here is part of the train-bill team, and they will actually allocate the wagons to be used on the train and they will virtually build that train in the computer system to make it look like it’s exactly what they’re doing.

Chris: Ok Sam, this is our CTMS programme – it’s pretty much a visual representation of the way we’re going to load the train. Up here, they’re our wagons, and all these boxes down here are our containers. It’s got all of our info we need to know about the container down here, it’s a simple click and drag operation.

Clinton: Chris builds up the train - 1000 tons. Destination –Christchurch, and the information is mailed to the Marshalling Yard.

Colin: Out here are the Westfield yards, this is what’s called a Marshalling Yard, where the trains are marshaled into the correct order. Some of the customers here might be wanting to send wagons to Mt Maunganui, others to Palmerston North, so when they say they’re marshalling a train, they’re putting all the Palmerston North wagons together and they’re going to put all the Mt Maunganui wagons together.

Clinton: It’s all like one giant sized postal sorting office and it’s the job of a shunter to shuffle the wagons into the right order. Three wagons have to be dropped off this train and the shunter today, Lee, first shows Sam how the wagons are coupled.

Lee: And the bridle, that goes over there.

Sam: So what does the bridle do?

Lee: The bridle stops our hook from jumping, as the train is moving.

Clinton: Before any train can travel, the wagons have to be checked.

Lee: Would you like to put that inside?

Colin: The locomotive shouldn’t move without a shunter on board, so they’re used as pilots and they’re the ones that actually tell the locomotive engineer how far they have to come back, how far they have to go forward and also ensure that it’s safe for them to carry out that movement.

Colin: One of the good things about working in the railways is that whether you’re a shunter or a driver, or if you’re looking after the points or if you’re a signalman, everyone knows one another and you’re all actually working together.

Clinton: Our loco is about to head out on the road but first it has to be serviced.

Colin: This here is the sand department, so we put sand inside the locomotive so when the wheels start to slip, the actual locomotive senses the wheels are slipping and it puts sand down on the track to be able to give it some kind of adhesion to the rail, traction.

Clinton: Once the loco is refuelled it’s ready for the rostered driver to take charge.

Colin: I suppose one of the good things about being a train driver is - if you like trains, it’s the perfect job. It’s the kind of job where you work by yourself a lot of the time and you get some really big toys to play with.

Clinton: Neil Messiter hails from a railway family. Both his father and grandfather were locomotive drivers.

Neil: Coming out Lee.

Neil: This particular locomotive is the most powerful class of locomotive that we have in this country. I actually love this locomotive. It’s a diesel/electric locomotive – it’s basically an electric locomotive with it’s own power plant.

Neil: So how does it feel sitting in the seat, Sam?

Sam: It feels pretty good, let’s go for a drive!

Clinton: Lee gives the wagons one final check and it's time for Sam’s ride.

Lee: 183, you’re ready to leave?

Neil: Receiving Lee.

Colin: To become a locomotive engineer to drive a freight train, currently you have to do on-the-job training for 1040 hours, and you get sent away to school in Woburn and you get taught how the trains work, how the motors work, how the locomotives work and you’re also taught how to shunt and about road knowledge, so you have to know that bit of track like the back of your hand

Neil: Road knowledge is very important – 99% of knowing the road makes a good driver.

Neil: Because the terrain we travel over can be hilly - we only have so much braking power, and once you use that brake up, you’ve lost control of your train and then you’re in serious trouble.

Colin: It’s like a big family – everyone gets on and everyone gets in together and they pull their weight together. The other good thing about the job is that working in the railways you can either work inside or outside and you can do a number of different things.

Colin: I’ve been in the rails 17 years old and I’ve worked in a lot of different parts of it so far and I’m still not bored with the industry.

Clinton: So how has Sam done?

Colin: Sam’s done surprisingly well, he’s got a lot of knowledge, he seems to have taken a lot in and he’s been enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Sam: I think it surprised me quite a bit that there’s a lot of variety in the industry, because I thought it would be just as simple as jumping in the train and driving off, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Clinton: There’s a wide range of opportunities for anyone wanting to join the rail industry. Practical on the job instruction is a major part of training. The level 2 National Certificate in Rail Transport is an introduction to a career in the railways. The level 4 Certificate in Locomotive Engineering recognises the skills required for driving locos. There’s a strand for the additional skills needed for driving a freight train.