Railway Employment

Freight Railways

2009-01-02T09:25:00.001-08:00

When Bob Billingsley hired on with Norfolk Southern railway 31 years ago, he was a rookie on work crews that were closing unused lines as the nation's economy turned its back on the railroads.

Now he's in charge of raising the roof of a Norfolk Southern tunnel in southwestern Virginia to clear headroom for the double-stacked container cars that have become the symbol of the industry's sudden surge, thanks to a confluence of powerful global factors.

"For years, we were looking for ways to cut costs to increase profits," Billingsley said. "Now, we're building business to increase profits."

The freight railway industry is enjoying its biggest building boom in nearly a century, a turnaround as abrupt as it is ambitious. It is largely fueled by growing global trade and rising fuel costs for semitrailer trucks. In 2002, the major railroads laid off 4,700 workers; in 2006, they hired more than 5,000. Profit has doubled industry-wide since 2003, and stock prices have soared. The value of the largest railroad, the Union Pacific, has tripled since 2001.

This year alone, the railroads will spend nearly $10 billion to add track, build switchyards and terminals, and open tunnels to handle the coming flood of traffic. Freight rail tonnage will rise nearly 90 percent by 2035, according to the Transportation Department.

In the 1970s, tight federal regulation, cheap truck fuel and a wide-open interstate highway system conspired to cripple the railroad industry, driving many lines into bankruptcy. The nation's 300,000 miles of rails became a web of slow-moving, poorly maintained lines, so dilapidated in spots that tracks would give way under standing trains.

The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 largely deregulated the industry, leading to a wave of consolidation. More than 40 major lines condensed into the seven that remain, running on 162,000 miles of track

Seeing the world by rail

2009-01-02T09:21:00.001-08:00

There are few better ways to see the world than from the comfortable seat of a passenger train. From the rolling hills of Europe to the beautiful mountainsides of Asia, the slow pace of the train allows sight seeing and relaxing away from the rigors of work. For drivers, engineers, and guards, the experience of seeing new places while doing a job they love is a motivating force to get involved in the railway industry. It is important to understand the international job market for railway professionals before leaping head first into a job in a far away place. The best place to consult market information for international railways is by consulting with several governing bodies. The International Union of Railways and the International Union of Public Transport, for example, provide information on transit and cargo railways throughout Europe.

One of the best places to find work in the railway industry is in Japan. The six Japan Railways companies, along with the extensive subway and monorail systems, employ hundreds of thousands of railway professionals to keep it running smoothly. Since the railway is the key manner of transit for travelers and residents alike, the railway is revered in Japan as a key part of daily life. Japanese railway positions require high technical aptitude, as the Japanese rail system features bullet trains and the cutting edge of railway technology.

Another great place to work for railway professionals looking for international work is mainland Europe. Austria features a strong railway network called the OBB, which is improving daily and requires skilled engineers and maintenance staff. Denmark's DSB system is surprisingly sophisticated in order to deal with the small land area that it covers, with rail management professionals needed to maintain an efficient system.

One of the biggest railway systems in the world, and one of the largest employers of rail professionals, is the state run Russian's railway, Russian Railways. The railway covers nearly 85,000 kilometers and employees more than a million engineering professionals to keep it running efficiently. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage to working in Russia is that some of the destinations are old industrial centers or out of the way places that are not entirely exotic. However, Russian companies rely on Russian Railways to transport goods and personnel to locations in outlying areas. This reliance means a consistent need for qualified professionals, which makes Russian Railways a secure move professionally.

Zurich Rail Services

2009-01-02T09:20:00.001-08:00

Zurich is Switzerland's largest city, and also has one of Europe's greatest concentration of rail infrastructure. As well as a comprehensive tramway system, it is the focal point for local, national and international railway traffic.

"As well as a comprehensive tramway system, Zurich is the focal point for local, national and international railway traffic."Current projects such as the Glattalbahn (VBG) and Tram Zurich West light rail schemes were partly aimed at dispersing demand by creating more interchanges around the metropolitan area. Handling growing demand at the main station, Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB) – nearing 3,000 trains daily – remains a great challenge. Switzerland's largest and busiest station by some margin, HB is mainly a surface terminus in the city centre.

Situated lengthways between the rivers Sihl and Limmat, it is fronted by busy tram stop, and its four-platform sub-surface station for S-Bahn trains (local/regional trains primarily for the Zurich canton) was turned into a through route in 1991.

However, even with the adoption of multiple units and push-pull formations which save the need for locomotive changes at surface-level platforms, reversal is still a time waster, and is inefficient use of platform and track space.

The project

Durchmesserlinie (the Diameter Line) Altstetten-Zurich HB-Oerlikon is the latest project to address the capacity issue. Bahnhof Oerlikon already handles traffic for the north and north east, each main rail arteries and including services routed via Zurich Airport. Many reverse at Zurich HB for destinations in a wide arc from Basel around to the Gotthard line and Chur, with other passengers needing to change trains for onward travel.

By allowing such services to pass through the HB hub, the Durchmesserlinie project represents a large-scale reshaping of Swiss train services with implications far beyond the confines of Zurich. Moreso than the 1991 tunnel opening, this will however allow for alterations and expansion of the S-Bahn services that account for a large proportion of train movements in the area, eventually adding long-distance trains. The symbolic groundbreaking for the project was in September 2007.

Infrastructure

Broadly describing an 'S' shape to link the end points yet incorporating Zurich HB, the Durchmesserlinie is 9.8km (6.1 miles) long. The approximately 5km (3.1 miles) Weinberg tunnel for which the tunnel boring machine began work in October 2008 is the core of the project.

Leaving the existing intensively used mainline via a reconfigured portal south of Oerlikon station, the twin-track tunnel will pass beneath the Limmat before broadening to a four-platform layout at a new Zurich HB Löwenstrasse station 16m beneath the main platforms, regaining the surface west of HB.

"Zurich uses a mix of rolling stock for S-Bahn services, including rebuilt RBe 540 EMUs mainly dating from the 1960s."Bahnhof Alstetten marks the western limit of the project, a busy suburban interchange that will also then be the western terminus of the new Tram Zurich West development.

The Weinberg tunnel passes under the south side of the HB, and like the to the north, under-cover connections will be possible entirely inside the complex which also houses a large shopping centre, RailCity, a development encouraged by trading laws that are less restrictive when within railway premises. As part of the national rail infrastructure, the line will be fitted with 15kV ac electrification.

Being met from national and cantonal public funds, the project cost estimate is CHF2.03bn (2005).

London Underground

2009-01-02T09:19:00.001-08:00

Transport for London (TfL) knows commuters have had some unfortunate experiences – crammed like sardines and sweltering onboard a tube during peak hours, praying for the doors to open and fresh air to flood in. For the general population, introducing air-conditioning seems a frustratingly obvious solution. Despite spending years searching for a solution, for TfL the challenge remains a complex one due to the set of environments and solutions unique to each line and location that must first be solved.

"The Tunnel Cooling programme hopes to mark the transition of a cooler London underground network from an 'if' into a 'when'."In an attempt to crack the solution to cooling London's underground network, which comprises 268 stations and approximately 400km of track, the Tunnel Cooling programme was launched. It hopes to mark the transition of a cooler London underground network from an 'if' into a 'when'. Over the last few years the programme's team has been conducting extensive research into the exact conditions of each underground line and developing possible solutions to combat rising temperatures.

By 2010, TfL and its supply-chain partner Metronet expect to deliver the first air-conditioned carriages to the London Underground's subsurface lines, namely the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City and District lines. Tunnel Cooling Programme director Kevin Payne says the team is more than aware of the scale of the challenge it must face to reach this.

"These are not new challenges – they were being worked on 30 years ago," he says. "In fact, searching through our archives, we even discovered that a prototype air-con system on a Northern line cart was first trialled in 1935."

"It was already recognised back then, even with lower traffic densities, that the extra heat energy caused by the air-conditioning unit would cause a problem when the train stopped in a tunnel." Thirty years on the challenge remains the same – how to cool the tunnels, without effectively making them hotter.

Climbing climates in the underground

It is not only climate change that has caused temperatures in the underground to rise. Increasing passenger numbers have also caused a rise in traffic frequency, in turn meaning an undeniable rise in temperatures. In 1900, temperatures in the Bakerloo line were recorded at about 14°C. By 2007, that figure had more than doubled.

"In 1900, temperatures in the Bakerloo line were recorded at about 14°C. By 2007, that figure had more than doubled."The challenge for TfL, however, has not so much been the incremental rise in passenger numbers but the consumption of energy in the confined environment, particular on the narrower single-track deeper-ground lines. "There is a widespread perception that the heat in the underground is a result of the people using it which is false," says Payne.

The local government body has identified that 80% of the energy used on the network is a result of train operation, which includes the energy required to move the train and losses occurred through friction braking. A further 15% is accounted for by the operation of the station and tunnel services, which includes lighting and communication services. The remaining 5% is attributed to customers and staff.

The rise in energy consumption on the network coupled with 7% year-on-year passenger growth means the situation is one TfL cannot afford to leave unresolved, particularly given the fierce customer demand for journeys in comfort.

"We are on the brink of a line-up programme that will progressively tackle each of the deep tube lines in turn and in doing so will offer more trains, more capacity and ultimately more energy will be consumed," says Payne. "We need to ensure the more is as small as possible."

New York Underground

2009-01-02T09:18:00.001-08:00

Getting in or out of New York via the Hudson River can be a traumatic experience for drivers and train passengers alike. While the roads are congested, the rail service is often disrupted by delays, which is hardly surprising considering the number of riders has quadrupled to 44 million from just 10 million in 1984. To make matters worse, the only passenger tunnel under the river is nearly 100 years old and only has two tracks – one in, one out.

The solution of adding extra train tracks seems obvious, especially if it means commuters not having to change trains to reach New York. Not only would it improve the commuters' rail experience, it would also encourage more people to ditch their cars.

"One of the biggest criticisms of the ARC project is that it does not go far enough, either metaphorically or physically."However, since New Jersey Transit (NJT) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announced their $7.6bn plan to do just that by building a Trans Hudson Express [THE] tunnel, criticism of the proposals has been fierce. Under the banner of Access to the Region's Core [ARC], the project to date has been beset by problems.

One rail advocate described it as a "fiasco, boondoggle and pork barrel" and in October all 17 Republican members of the New Jersey senate signed a resolution to challenge the legality of one of the tunnel's proposed funding streams.

Problem – solution - problem

So how has such a seemingly straightforward solution to an increasingly troublesome problem become mired in controversy? More importantly, what does it mean for the future of the project?

One of the biggest criticisms of the ARC project is that it does not go far enough, either metaphorically or physically. When the feasibility of the project was being studied one of the proposals put forward, known as Alternative G, had twin tunnels connected directly to Penn station, added tracks within the station and tunnels connecting the system to Grand Central.

At the time Alternative G was overlooked in favour of the chosen proposal, known as Alternative P, which lacked the Grand Central connection.

"New Jersey Transit's project would not improve trans-Manhattan mobility for either residents of the greater New York area or for Amtrak intercity train passengers."But now rail advocates, including the independent not-for-profit Regional Plan Association, are calling for the extension to the ARC project tunnel to allow New Jersey commuters to reach Grand Central station, in-line with Alternative G.

"As proposed, New Jersey Transit's project would not improve trans-Manhattan mobility for either residents of the greater New York area or for Amtrak intercity train passengers," says retired transportation planner Howard Harding.

"The original intent of the ARC project was to permit through-running of regional and intercity trains across Manhattan via Penn and Grand Central Stations.

"These through routings would vastly improve the efficiency and convenience of existing services and reduce congestion within Manhattan, making it easier for both stations to handle greater train volumes.

However, by only connecting to a new small station deep below Penn Station, the new tunnels would exclude intercity trains from their use while precluding extension of tracks to Grand Central Station on Manhattan's east side. The through-running could therefore not occur."

USA rail transportation

2009-01-02T09:17:00.001-08:00

Since President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, senior transportation voices within the US have been drawing up wishlists for federal spending on a wide range of issues – rail investment being one of the main priorities. Their proposals call for a radical overhaul in rail policy, across the heavy, light and freight arenas. Obama's own statements of intent on reducing his nation's dependence on foreign oil imports and building a 'green' economy could very well mean that the time is right for investment.

"Rail is being seen as a way to help the US create jobs during the current economic downturn."Rail is also being seen as a way to help the US create jobs during the current economic downturn. The value of rail projects nationally as a source for growth and employment seems obvious to many US transport officials and consultants.

Schemes that may have stalled under the Bush administration are being dusted off, and the historical links to a highway-based economy and culture are crumbling as rapidly as the infrastructure on which the nation's near-250 million vehicles regularly travel.

Organisations such as Transportation for America, alongside key local and national governmental figures, argue that the nation must move forward and compete in global markets as a true 21st-century nation with a modern transportation network as its heart.

During his election campaign Obama rallied the call of stimulating the American economy through investment in tangible public works projects. It is also obvious to many that 'infrastructure' was going to be the political buzzword of 2009.

Link this to Obama's previously stated belief in a green economy, and it's easy to see how by the end of his (first) term in 2012 hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans, could be employed in lucrative jobs and contracts building transit lines, associated infrastructure and the wind turbines and hydroelectric power plants to power them.

For example, in late October 2008, the key New York Transportation players and their national partners promoted Transportation for America's 'Build for America: A Five Point Plan to Get Our Economy Moving' plan. These proposals have the potential to create 100,000 green jobs in New York alone, and millions more if rolled out nationally.

In New York, the rebuilding of the century-old subways is seen as a priority, along with completion of major projects such as the Second Avenue Subway, Access to the Region's Core (ARC) and East Side Access, along with the development of initiatives such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). As well as providing jobs, these will diversify the commuting choices for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, cut congestion, reduce the city's carbon footprint and drastically reduce America's dependence on oil.

Elliot Sander, executive director and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) says it is impossible for New York to compete with other big cities around the world without the support of Congress to maintain and improve the city's public transit systems. "Our ridership has grown 40% over the past decade, and this year is up another 6%," he says. "The MTA's mass transit network keeps New York economically competitive, so it is vital to match investment with cities like London and Shanghai that are investing in their transit systems."

Obama – using rail to expand and compete

In 2009, Congress and Obama's administration face the expiration of the $286bn national transportation programme, in which historically oil and automaker lobbies have held a grip. But breaking this hold on the US economy won't solve the funding issue for rail projects altogether. New models need to be developed to fund growth, including partnerships with private industry. Models already in practice worldwide show capital and operating funding partnerships relieve some of the burden on federal finances by matching sums with local and state administrations and the private sector while maintaining public control.

While 78 metropolitan areas in the US have identified $240bn is needed in transit investments to expand or create service, it is also obvious that expenditure of that magnitude has to come from non-traditional, non-federal sources. In this context, the transportation agenda of the Obama Administration can be viewed as a two-stage strategy: a short-term action agenda and longer-term policy. A good portion of the short-term action agenda is already known; it is tied to a job stimulus (or 'economic recovery') bill – a $100bn spending package a portion of which (perhaps as much as $25bn) is expected to be dedicated to roads, bridges and other public infrastructure.

With new figures suggesting the typical American can achieve average annual savings of almost $10,000 by taking public transport instead of driving, immediate and significant projects have already received the popular vote. In addition to the Presidential election on 4 November, there were several state and local referendums to increase taxes and put the resulting billions into public transit.

Of 32 ballot measures in 17 states that asked for new or increased taxes or bond issues, 25 passed. Among these is the $9.9bn bond issue to help build the 340km/h high-speed train service from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Railway job opportunities 2009

2009-01-02T09:16:00.001-08:00

How to get on the rail industry job ladderThe railway industry is one that requires a variety of skills. To keep the transport network running requires the skills of all types of engineers (transport, mechanical, electrical, civil and specialist railway infrastructure) as well as drivers, operators, IT personnel, business personnel, customer service personnel, station staff, chefs and a whole host of others. The industry is as diverse as it gets and the likelihood would be that an interested candidate could find a position to suit them.

Jobs with UK rail companies
Rail in the UK includes some of the country's largest employers with EWS (English, Welsh and Scottish Railways), the largest freight operator in the UK, employing over 5,000 people and First Great Western, one of the largest passenger companies, employing 4,500.

However, one of the most important companies in rail in the UK has to be Network Rail, responsible for the entire rail network and many of the stations, employing over 32,000 personnel. Network Rail's many responsibilities include the laying and maintenance of track, installing and maintenance of signalling and providing infrastructure improvements.

There are also many smaller companies to produce and supply a range of equipment for the network, who could also be prospective employers for those looking to get into the railway industry.

Graduate and apprentice recruitment schemes for railway jobs
Many of the larger companies have graduate and apprentice recruitment schemes, which will provide an excellent start for anyone wanting a job in the industry. First Great Western has a dedicated training academy which provides comprehensive training and development for its employees, whether they are graduates or apprentice level. Their courses are recognised by the City & Guilds and the Centre for Rail Skills and will ultimately provide the candidate with national qualifications while they earn and learn. There is also the Leadership Horizons programme, for first line managers, which can lead to a nationally recognised BTEC award in Advanced Leadership.

Network Rail runs a very comprehensive graduate program and has an annual intake of engineers and other graduates on six different schemes including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, commercial property, finance and general management. The company is looking for graduates who have a minimum of a 2:2 honours degree (with accreditation by one of the recognised institutions) in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or a land and property management and of course recognised business qualifications. Network Rail does not normally offer sponsorship but is involved in the ICE Quest Scheme for Civil Engineers. Starting salaries would be around £22k to £25k with an additional one-off £3k bonus when you start.

Transport for London is another company worth considering as they control the London Underground rail system. They have graduate training intakes each September in disciplines such as civil engineering, commercial management, electrical engineering and electronic engineering. It is always best to apply early in the year for graduate training as the places tend to fill up rather quickly. So the best advice is to do your research early and then submit your applications in plenty of time to give yourself the best possible choice of opportunities

China railway spend 2009

2009-01-02T09:13:00.001-08:00

China says will raise spending on railway construction by 80 percent in 2009 to $88 billion

BEIJING (AP ) — China will raise its spending on railway construction by 80 percent in 2009 to $87.9 billion as part of a stimulus plan to boost domestic demand, state media said Wednesday.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the figure of 600 billion yuan ($87.9 billion) for railway infrastructure projects was announced at a national railway meeting. The country spent $48.35 billion (330 billion yuan) on railway construction in 2008, it said.

The spending is part of a $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) stimulus package announced by the government in November.

Xinhua did not say how much of the spending was new money and how much was previously budgeted.

It quoted Railway Minister Liu Zhijun as saying 3,200 miles (5,148 kilometers) of new lines would be built in 2009.

Five high-speed passenger lines will also go into operation next year, Liu said. Most of the lines are in southern China.

Liu said 70 projects would be started in 2009 as part of a goal of easing a rail transport strain by 2012.

"There could be a historic change in the country's railway transport by 2012. The bottleneck restraints both in passenger and cargo transportation could be removed," Liu was quoted as saying.

Total railway lines could reach 68,000 miles (110,000 kilometers) in 2012, up from 48,500 miles (78,000 kilometers) at the end of 2007.

Xinhua said about 1.46 billion people traveled by rail in 2008, up 10.9 percent from the previous year. About 3.3 billion tons of cargo was delivered by rail in 2008, up 4.9 percent from 2007, it said.

The Toenail ridge garden railway

2009-01-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

There can't be many people who can say honestly that they bought a house on the basis of its suitability for a garden railway.
We did.
I became interested in Large-scale a number of years ago, after having built a model kit of the General, and then buying an old Lima O-scale train-set at a garage sale.
The Lima was very European, very modern (ie. no coal or steam bits) and very big compared to the N models I was struggling to see at the time.
I had been experimenting with scratch-built O-scale bodies on HO trucks as a kind of psuedo-narrow-gauge, when it hit me that a 1:24th. model built on O-scale trucks would make a nice decoration.
Subsequently, I made a board-by-board model of a free-lance narrow-gauge box-car, mounted on the frame and trucks of the Lima German 90 ft. goods wagon.
It was an eye-opener to find in this scale that the doors could be made to slide and latch, the brake rigging could be modeled instead of just suggested, and that balsa wood planks looked like real wood planks, complete with scale grain and paint absorption.
Needless to say (I know I am speaking to the converted!), the N-scale rapidly got sold off and the Large-scale search was on!
One of the early shocks I'm sure we all experience when moving to G from the little stuff is the sheer cost of it in comparison.
I decided very quickly that this foray into G was going to be more a scratch-building procedure than a purchasing one.
Over a few months, therefore, the balsa box-car was joined by half a dozen other pieces of rolling stock and a very second-hand Bachmann radio-controlled 10-wheeler.
The original box-car had MDC G-scale trucks mounted in place of the O-scale Limas, and they all sat proudly on pressed tin track on top of the bookcases.
About this time, a bushfire threatened our house and property and the decision was made to sell the 15 acres and move back into the suburbs.
The fire was the final decider but we were also tired of the upkeep that a large property requires and also the commuting to work was becoming a strain, and of course, I couldn't find a good, reasonably level spot for a railway.
We began the search for a normal house and property in the suburb closest to our work-place and anyone who has run the gambit of the Open House merry-go-round doesn't need me going into any details here about what the next 6 months were like.
Every place we entered, my wife Kathy would head for the kitchen and I would head for the back yard.
Found some lovely kitchens with lousy yards and lovely yards with lousy kitchens and some with lousy everythings.
Eventually, the ideal place came on the market, perfect kitchen and disused, elevated rear garden

Railways

2009-01-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Outright purchases and consolidations are supplementing thc "community of interest" in overcoming the disabilities imposed upon the transportation companies by the anti-pooling provisions of the interstate commerce law, and the anti-rate agreement provisions of the anti-trust law. This tendency is not new, but its development just now is certainly noteworthy.

Related Results
Railway wins case against website.(Deutsche Bahn )(Brief Article)
SAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI RAILWAYS 5-YEAR PLAN.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data...
Jack Simmons.(historian of British railways)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
MIDDLE EAST: CONFERENCE OF THE ARAB RAILWAY FEDERATION.(Brief Article)
Railway Supply Institute: one year and counting - supply side - Brief Article Among all of the rumors of consolidations with which the daily papers have been filled during the past week, the only reports positively confirmed are that control of the Central Railroad of New Jersey has been passed to the Reading Company, and that a considerable amount of stock of the Lehigh Valley, formerly owned by the Packer estate and by Lehigh University, has been bought by J.P. Morgan and his associates. Floating rumors point once more to the absorption of the Delaware & Hudson by the New York Central.

That these actual and possible amalgamations involve nothing new in theory or in practice may be repeated with emphasis. Significantly, too, demagogical attacks upon the capital invested in the public service in transportation have not been for a long time less frequent or less persistent. Railroad companies have been uniting with each other ever since the beginning of railway history. Capitalists have invested without number in parallel and competing, as well as in connecting, lines. Evidence that such unions of interest have proved detrimental to society is altogether wanting. Indeed, abundant proof exists that the evolution of the railway system up to the present highly concentrated form has constantly promoted economy of service, into the fruits of which economy, as seen in the uninterrupted cheapening of the cost of transportation, the people at large have entered.

New Delhi Railway Tenders

2009-01-02T09:04:00.001-08:00

NEW DELHI: The Centre's policy of providing reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities in commercial contracts has come under Supreme Court scanner. The apex court has asked the Centre to explain why preferential treatment

A Bench comprising Justice BN Agrawal and Justice PP Naolekar on Monday admitted a petition challenging the government's preferential treatment to such groups in the name of affirmative action while awarding catering tenders within the world's largest commercial and utility employer. The court issued notices to the Centre and others on the plea of Railway Catering Contractors' Association.

The court also directed continuation of its interim order. It had restrained the railway authorities from finalising the tenders. However, they could invite the bidding. Senior counsel Harish Salve, who appeared for the petitioner association, termed the government policy of extending reservation on matters of purely commercial transaction as "illegal and unconstitutional".

The court wanted to know from Attorney General, Milon K Banerjee, who represented the Centre, that under which provision of the Constitution, the government was going ahead with its reservation policy concerning purely commercial transactions. The court then glanced through the constitutional provisions that deal with government power on quotas. But it wondered if such a policy can be extended in the economic realm.

"Article 16 provides for reservation in public employment. Article 15 (5) deals with policy of reservation in education. Similarly, the state is empowered to come up with special provision for the advancement for SCs, STs and OBCs," the SC noted. "But does awarding of commercial contracts fall within any of the above-mentioned articles?" it asked.

Furthermore, the court took exception to the policy of reservation to the minorities in the government's commercial transactions. "Under which constitutional provision, you (Centre) are giving preferential treatment to minorities in commercial matters?" the court sought to know from the country's top law official.

When the AG replied that the government contracts were related to the services, the court said services and matters related to services were two different things. The AG also cited the Bombay High Court verdict relating to the dismissal of the plea of the appellant association. The court maintained that the issue had come up before it perhaps for the first time, as pointed out by Salve, and it wanted to know which constitutional provision allows reservation on commercial matters.

Following the query, the AG sought time to file reply. The court granted six weeks to the Centre and others while admitting the petition. Mr Salve then drew to the court's attention that the issue in question was significant and has come up for the first time before it. Though Balco case has economic undertones, it's mainly confined to the mining matter, Mr Salve contended.

Railway Construction

2009-01-02T09:02:00.001-08:00

The North Luzon railway, currently under construction from Metro Manila to Northern Luzon, is essential and necessary to the economic progress and prosperity of the Philippines, said Arsenio M. Bartolome III, President and Chief Executive of North Luzon Railways Corporation (Northrail).

He appealed to the public to support the project as it would benefit millions of Filipinos, including commuters, farmers, traders, workers and students, who would profit from the cheap and fast mass transportation system.

Bartolome explained that once Northrail becomes operational, it would accomplish four objectives: 1) it would provide fast, cheap and reliable mass transport services for passengers and goods from Metro Manila to Northern Luzon; 2) it would enhance and accelerate the development and growth of Central and Northern Luzon; 3), it would decongest motorized traffic in Metro Manila; and 4), it would provide linkages to the MRT and LRT light rail systems.

Bartolome added that the construction of the railway would also afford employment to hundreds of Filipinos, and benefit thousands of farmers by providing them with cheap access to markets.

Bartolome said that the Northrail was conceptualized in 1994 during the term of President Fidel Ramos. But it was only during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when the project was firmed up with the signing of an executive agreement with the Peoples' Republic of China.

Under the agreement, the PROC shall design, supply and construct Phase 1 of the Northrail project. PROC designated China National Machinery and Equipment Corp (CNMEG) to handle the design, supply and construction of the project while the Export Import Bank of China takes care of its financing. Contracts and loan agreements have been finalized and signed and the construction has begun last month.

The project is divided into four phases -- Phase 1 from Caloocan to Clark Field, Pampanga; Phase 2 from Clark Field to Subic Bay; phase 3 from Caloocan to Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, and Phase 4 from Clark Field, Pampanga to San Fernando, La Union.

According to Bartolome, Northrail will utilize the existing right of way of the Philippine National Railway (PNR) from Caloocan all the way to San Fernando, La Union. This right of way of PNR had been abandoned for more than 30 years.

Bartolome commended the National Housing Authority under the leadership of Vice President Noli de Castro for effectively and efficiently clearing all the informal settlers on the PNR right of way from Caloocan to Malolos, paving the way for the start of the construction. He described the two phases of the construction as follows:

Phase 1 is subdivided into two sections, namely, section 1 from Caloocan to Malolos, and section 2 from Malolos to Clark Field, Pampanga. The project cost for Section 1 is $ 421 million while Section 2 would cost $ 586 million.

The track length from Caloocan to Malolos is 32.5 kilometers with six stations located in Caloocan, Valenzuela, Marilao, Bocaue, Guiginto, Malolos. Travelling time will be cut to 30 minutes. It will be used by 19 diesel multiple units which are upgradeable to electric multiple units. Some 125,000 are expected to use the trains for the first months. Expected completion is the first semester or 2010.

Section 2 from Malolos to Clark Field Pampanga, will cover a distance is 51.5 kilometers with six stations located Malolos, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles City and Clark Field. Travelling time is 30 minutes and number of trains is 23 Expected completion is 2011.

Rail Prospects for 2009

2008-12-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

The UK Rail Industry - Job Prospects for 2009

Everyone who rides the rails knows things have not been the same since efforts have been made towards privatisation. In a scramble to make things work, companies have been struggling to find qualified workers to help run a smoother and safer system. Rail jobs in the UK have become one of the fastest growing needs to fill.

Parliament has created policies which allowed an investment towards upgrading the rail infrastructure throughout the United Kingdom in 2008. This has forced the creation of new rail jobs, many with fantastic opportunities for those interested in pursuing a career within the transportation sector.

The rail industry is in a tough position when it comes to finding qualified engineers and construction workers who contribute to a safe and reliable rail network. Jobs in the rail industry cover a wide range of skills and talents from janitorial and ticket agents to engineering and management.

Professional, technical, managerial and supervisory personnel are needed by the industry to train operators, consultancies, contractors and manufacturing companies to help the rail system safely function. These positions require advance degrees and some level of experience. Although university graduates can start out in some entry-level positions in management, the greatest need is for engineers, particularly with some experience.

Ever since the London rail bombings, there is a greater need for security and it creates a niche for those who can serve as safety agents prepared to deal with emergency and/or criminal situations. These positions are ideal for former military enlistees who have served in some form of security.

People are also needed to help maintain the structure and integrity of the rail system. Construction on the rail lines is an ongoing need to assure the safety of the trains running on the tracks and that the trains are in perfect order. With a bit of mechanical or construction background, you might find a position working outdoors on the rails.

Customer service issues rank as one of the biggest complaints for riders. Rail companies are in dire need of professional ticket agents who can process ticket purchases in a speedy and courteous manner. These agents also need to be prepared to handle questions and complaints without putting off the customers. It does not take an advance degree to fulfill the requirements, but it does take dedication.

For young people just out of school, janitorial and minor maintenance work at the rail station can lead to greater opportunities later within the industry. Stations need to be kept clean and safe which require a bit of effort that does not take a lot of skills or require a university education.

If you are looking for a job, consider the great opportunities offered in the rail industry. This is a career path that is going to be in high demand for a long time.

Russian Railways Rescue

2008-12-11T09:44:00.001-08:00

An ambitious plan to rejuvenate Russia’s sprawling and antiquated railways will cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars, and the nation’s rail freight system is leading a hunt for new capital in London with this week’s listing of Globaltrans.

Globaltrans, the second-biggest freight operator after the state-owned Russian Railways (RZD), has tapped the London market for $449 million (£228 million), but its move is only the start of a huge and lengthy fund-raising, according to the Russian Government, which intends to privatise the business of freight carriage, to replace 20,000 locomotives, overhaul a railway network of 84,000km (52,000 miles) and eventually bring private capital into the passenger transport network.

Dealings in Globaltrans stock will begin this week, valuing the company at about $1.5 billion, but further corporate activity is expected later in the year when RZD spins off Trans-container in a public offering. A 15 per cent stake in the freight subsidiary of the national railway was sold to a consortium of investors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Moore Capital and GLG, for eight billion roubles (£171 million) and RZD plans to offer a further 30 per cent of the stock in November. First Freight, another freight company from the RZD stable, will be sold off next year.

Russian railway bonds, an icon of Imperial Russia in the 19th century, may soon return as a feature of global capital markets. RZD has approved an 80 billion rouble capital-raising via bonds in the local market, but it has plans to borrow 325 billion roubles by 2010, including $7 billion in overseas markets to fund expansion and upgrading.

Russia’s rail network is the backbone of a country divided by distance. The profitable business of moving the nation’s mineral resources has been lumbered until now with the task of subsidising unprofitable services. RZD reckons that the cost of subsidising the passenger is 53 billion roubles a year. The Government wants to liberate freight, to enable it to invest and improve the commercial infrastructure. Igor Levitin, the Transport Minister, has said that the company needed to raise nine trillion roubles for rail transport to rejuvenate a system that had received no investment for 20 years.

The burden of passenger traffic is huge and, in a three-stage reform programme, it was decided to remove the freight cross-subsidy, to bring private capital into freight transport and to shift the burden of supporting passenger traffic to a direct state subsidy.

The first stage, the creation of a joint stock holding company for OAO Russian Railways (RZD), was completed in 2003. The second stage is under way, with the hiving off of commercial activities, such as freight, into profit-making ventures. The final step is the most complicated and politically difficult, since involves the rejuvenation of the passenger service and solving the subsidy dilemma.

Mr Levitin said that vast distances in Russia made passenger rail transport costly. “The longer you go, the cheaper it is [for passengers] by kilometre,” he said. “The Government is going to have to compensate for this difference.”

Private operators will be brought in to run new high-speed trains on shorter routes that might compete with air traffic, but introducing private capital to passenger transport must wait until after 2015. The priority is to get freight moving more efficiently and profitably. Eighty per cent of freight goes by rail in Russia and 60 per cent of passenger traffic.

Mr Levitin said: “Reform of rail transport is a very challenging task and we could do it faster, but it is the backbone and blood vessels of the country. There must not be hesitation, but we must not make mistakes.”

Rescuing The Railways

2008-12-11T09:43:00.001-08:00

Sir, Currently, in real terms, the £5 billion total cost to the State of funding the railways is more than three times greater than that of the former nationalised British Rail (report, Nov 22). This financial commitment is unsustainable and passenger fares must continue to increase. Already, the Government has shifted a considerable burden of funding to the rail traveller. Within the next six years passengers who currently contribute 50 per cent of the cost of operating the railways will see their contribution increase to more than 67 per cent.

Many train operators, especially in the South East, obtained their franchises based on highly optimistic levels of predicted growth in passenger numbers. Most of these train companies have high fixed costs and are unable to reduce their main costs either quickly or meaningfully in an economic downturn. In a recession, the loss of a relatively small volume of commuter and leisure traffic will result in significant trading losses for train operating companies.

The recession in the early 1990s provided evidence of how relatively small declines in passenger numbers can rapidly hit the bottom line. If the present economic turmoil becomes deeper than previous recessions then it is likely that it will be the rail passenger — and not the Government — that will foot a financial rescue package for the train operators.

John Stittle

Essex Business School
The Times

Dissatisfied Rail Service users

2008-12-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

I commute daily to London from Peterborough and although it is my choice to do so, I do it to earn a living. I feel commuters and rail passengers are held to ransom by the rail companies as they know they have a captive audience. The fare for me has just increased to over Â£600 per month. I have to pay this fare regardless as to whether I get a seat or not. My feeling is that if you buy a ticket, you should buy a seat. Rail travel in Britain is hugely more expensive than in France, Italy and even Switzerland. In Italy last year I travelled the equivalent distance that I travel here daily for Â£11 return! The train was on time, clean and was an express. The reason being of course that Trenitalia is subsidised. Public services should not be run for profit, they are an essential part of a civilised society. The maintenance work that has just been done over the Christmas period is long overdue but were not done without the shareholders taking their cut first of course.

Stephen Palmer, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

Railwasy -"company structure, which can then be held financially accountable for any failures" - it is the shareholders not the passengers who would benefit or lose. I am a customer of the railways companies but have no say whatsoever.

Jane Fleming, Whittlesey, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

Look after the Railways

2008-12-11T09:40:00.001-08:00

Sir, I am surprised at the lack of comment from government ministers over the recent fiascos at Rugby and Liverpool Street (report, Jan 3). This is in contrast to the manner in which the Government spoke out whenever Railtrack failed in its duty.

Perhaps there is some embarrassment that the Government’s own creation is proving to be so incompetent and a dawning realisation that if you create a “not for profit” company there is no way that you can punish it by hitting shareholders through a financial penalty — any penalty will only reduce the funds available for improvements and repairs.

Come on, ministers, face up to your responsibilities and integrate track and operations through the private company structure, which can then be held financially accountable for any failures and rewarded for success.

Brian Noton
Cowbridge, Glamorgan

Sir, On Wednesday I returned to work to find Liverpool Street station closed and all trains terminating at Stratford, where our train arrived 50 minutes late because of the difficulty of turning trains around there. Our driver informed us that the police were limiting the number of trains at Stratford because of overcrowding, and when we finally got there we concluded that the police were not wrong.

This is the station that in four years’ time will have to cope with crowds exceeding even the weekly rush hour. It is surely not a moment too soon for those responsible to set about enabling Stratford station to do just that, to prevent the London Olympics from turning into a travellers’ nightmare.

Hazel R. Morgan
Witham, Essex

Sir, In the internet age, the concept of shuttling workers hundreds of miles back and forth every day is ludicrous. No one “forces” commuters to commute, and train operators are entitled to charge the best market rate they can get.

Let’s phase out subsidies and let prices rip: employers can then decide whether they want to provide workspaces where people live, or pay their employees enough to live where the work is.

Ian Morrison
Wareham, Dorset

Sir, The railways need to be on a level playing field with other forms of transport.

A coach pays £165 a year in road fund licence for which it has access to a maintained, improved and policed infrastructure. If a single passenger rail carriage of similar size paid the same sum for access to the rail infrastructure would any further subsidy be required?

Better still, the electric car pays no road licence or tax on the fuel it uses but still has access to the whole of the road infrastructure on environmental grounds, so presumably an electric train should make no contribution at all.

David Crick
Barnstaple, Devon

Sir, Roger Lewis attributes the success of Chiltern Railways to the former “investment by BR in the early 1990s” (Jan 3). He is mistaken. Chiltern’s performance is the consequence of its own massive investment in redoubling track (reduced to single by BR), rebuilt and new stations, and good management that cares for trains and motivates its staff, communicates with customers and negotiates with skill the minefield of Network Rail and the DfT.

Geoffrey Holroyde
Warwick

Sir, How nice to read the words “railways” and “renationalisation” on your front page (Jan 4). The idiocy of having one company manage the trains and another manage the tracks was obvious to the layman from the word go. I never thought I would say it, but come back British Rail, all is forgiven.

Jo Rees
Cheltenham

King of Tracks

2008-12-11T09:39:00.001-08:00

If you get on an early-morning train somewhere on the Oxford line and notice a crop-haired man in a train worker’s jacket sinking a little lower in his seat, you’re probably squashed next to the head of Britain’s rail network.

Iain Coucher wears his Network Rail coat, with a badge displaying his name and title, whenever he travels. “If you don’t believe me, look, here’s my iPod,” he says, emptying the pockets of the anorak hanging on the back of his executive chair.

It’s brave, because only a few months after he became chief executive, the company had a PR disaster. Tens of thousands of passengers were left without trains on the West Coast line because Network Rail couldn’t finish repairs in time.

Mr Coucher, whose organisation demands £5 billion of taxpayers’ money a year, will receive the biggest public questioning of his life in front of MPs in the next few days.

He says that when commuters nobble him on the train, their attitude is . . . what? Tearful? Hostile? Violent? No, he says: “Sympathetic.”

What? They don’t complain, not even since the new year fiasco?

“No, no, they don’t complain.” This is hard to believe. “Honestly, I kid you not. A couple of people will say, ‘I’ve had disrupted journeys’.” And here he recounts being on a train down from Bolton last week, which came to a grinding halt.

“The driver spoke about a signalling problem. In reality, we were actually held there because we had reports of vandals putting stuff on the track, and we wanted to make sure it had been cleared. So when I spoke to them, they went, ‘Thank you very much for explaining, now I understand. Can you tell me about the works on the West Coast? When are they going to be completed?’.”

They talk of “disrupted journeys” rather than complain – through the sheer steely force of his character Mr Coucher manages to transform what sounds like a grumble into a vote of support.

It is a talent that will serve him well in the coming weeks as, after the honeymoon years when everyone was just so pleased they were better than the old Railtrack, Mr Coucher is coming under fire from all sides.

His task is to drag a Victorian system into the 21st century, making Britain a greener, faster, prouder nation. Fans say this driven “hard man” (“I’m ambitious, I’m driven, I like to push people hard”) is one of the few people forceful enough for this challenge, but he can also be just as dogmatic in his resistance to radical change.

On a rail map of Britain on his wall, his 12-year-old son has written his father’s job description in felt tip, “King of Tracks/Dad”.

Yet our King of the Tracks is an unlikely railwayman, arriving almost by chance via aviation and IT: he rides a mountain bike, and confesses to sometimes driving home in his Aston Martin.

As a boy he preferred Airfix planes to train sets, never wanted to be an engine driver, and the closest he came to feeling that trainspotter tingle was illegally jumping across the tracks that ran near the back of his home in Leeds.

“Like many kids, I was bored, I found myself playing on the railways. Only now do I realise the danger of doing so.”

Does he love trains? “I’ve learnt to love them . . . It’s now reaching a point where we are seeing a genuine renaissance in rail. For the past 50 years or so, it was an industry which wasn’t going anywhere, and now we’re combining the heritage and legacy that we’ve got, a proud history of huge great bridges and stations and saying, ‘Actually, we’re going to build something new and better’.”

On the back of his office door are lots of drawings that his children have done of trains, all with plumes of smoke.

“They say choo-choo, and they go clackety-clack, which of course trains don’t do these days. They have never seen a steam train as far as I know, but they still like to draw steam coming out of trains. It’s a little thing that makes me smile.”

So his children didn’t learn that the sounds trains emit is not choo-choo but “we’re sorry for the delays”?

“No because there’s never any delays,” he says with a wry smile – delays, have, admittedly, fallen dramatically.

Later, when one of us complains that a romantic weekend was spoilt by an eternal rain journey, he jokes about providing “quality time”.

He’s mostly deadly serious about modernising. “Because we’ve got such a huge demand for railway now, we need to do things differently. We now need to run railways every single day of the week, we need to run them on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

“We have traditionally taken weekends and Bank Holidays to do engineering work, but we know that there is demand to use the railways 365 days a year so we’ve got to change what we do and how we do it, and find ways in which we can do both: improve the railway, invest in the railway; and allow people to use it later at night, earlier in the morning, Bank Holidays and weekends.” It sounds as if he is planning to put the trains on his own relentless work schedule.

He gets up at 6am in his London pad, at which time he will, most mornings, be greeted by a call telling him of problems on their 22,000 miles of track. Anything serious, they’ll wake him in the night. He works until 8pm, and goes home to his family in Banbury only on Wednesday nights and weekends.

“I’m sure that my family would like to see me more, but I try to make the most of what time I have with them.” When things go wrong, as with this new year, journalists camp outside his home: “It’s difficult on the family.”

Meanwhile, Mr Coucher was hauled in to see the Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, recently. Was she furious? “I’m not going to say exactly the mood of the meeting, but it was – you know, we let the passengers down, we let our stakeholders down, and we resolved to make sure that doesn’t happen again. But, yeah, it was serious stuff.”

Some were surprised that Mr Coucher was not more visible during that crisis. What they did not know was that just as the news broke, his father died. When we ask about it, he says: “I don’t want people to use that as an excuse.”

Once, he said that his job was the most thankless in Britain. “Sometimes it feels like that,” he says. “It can be a thankless task, because we are measured against perfection.

“For us, if everything goes perfectly, everybody’s happy, but sadly we’re such a large railway, moving parts, so many things going on in any one day, roughly 10 per cent of the trains will be late. With three million people travelling every day, that’s a lot of people that can be affected. So, you know, always, at some part of the country, that somebody’s going to be upset.

“But,” he says quickly, aware he has become downbeat, “we’ve made a huge difference in what we do, which in itself is translated into a much better railway for people who use it every single day, so that side is very rewarding.

“It’s a great challenge, and I’ve always been attracted by challenges and seemingly impossible jobs, and this is one of those.”

Is his determination blinding him to the need for change? Over the new year he said that the disruptions were “inexcusable” – a nod, perhaps to the weariness train users have with endless and sometimes farcical excuses for train delays. In the intervening weeks he seems to have mustered his, well, excuses.

Of course, “with hindsight”, he would have done things differently, and he’s very sorry, but the project was huge, the timescale was short, etc, etc. He excuses himself at length without addressing the reasons for his failure.

He hopes that MPs will give him an “objective and fair hearing”, but instead they may challenge him on greater reform.

What about changing the strange, nonaccountable nature of Network Rail’s board?

“The last thing that this industry can need is fundamental change. We have got too big an agenda now, that the passengers need investment, we need to get on and do that, quickly and efficiently without having to constantly reexamine structures and . . . We can’t hang around, there’s a lot of work to be done.”

What about experimenting with a company owning track and trains? “The last thing this industry needs is radical restructuring and change. The passengers won’t see a better railway for it, it won’t save any money, it won’t make it any safer and it won’t make it perform better . . . Change will be the enemy of the passenger.”

Mr Coucher may be the man with a great, Victorian-scale vision, for a second age of the train. But first he has to get on friendly terms with change.

Rescuing the Railways

2008-12-11T09:38:00.001-08:00

Graduate Careers in the credit crunch

2008-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:00

Like the winter weather, the employment landscape seems to be getting steadily bleaker. For students who face the prospect of job-hunting in Britain’s worst recession since the early Nineties, it is likely to mean tough choices.

A year ago, many would have left university to go into highly paid City careers, but the downturn has radically altered their choice of employment, according to a survey of 1,000 final-year undergraduates by TMP Worldwide, a recruitment communications agency and the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) .

Working in the public sector has become much more appealing to graduates – the Civil Service has risen from eighth to fourth-most popular destination and teaching from seventh to sixth. Investment banking has fallen in popularity from second place to ninth (see graphic, right). Accountancy remains the most stable career choice and the finalists’ top choice, regardless of the credit crunch.

“At the moment, graduates are going for what they see as safer career options. It will be interesting to see whether the Civil Service and teaching professions have a problem retaining graduates in two or three years’ time,” Neil Harrison, the head of research and planning at TMP Worldwide, said.

Top 100 Graduate employers: Transport for London
The drop in graduates’ confidence has been rapid. When the AGR undertook the same survey in April, 55 per cent said that they were “very confident” of finding a job. Now only 10 per cent are very confident. Almost half say that they are not confident.

Undergraduates who might once have turned up at the university career service brandishing their degree certificate are being forced to be more proactive, Mr Harrison said. “People are getting their applications in earlier and spreading the net wider.” About 4 per cent admitted to embellishing their CVs in order to get a job, he said.

Two thirds said that they would accept a lower salary and be “much more flexible” on where they worked, while 47 per cent would put up with a poor work-life balance while they rode out the recession.

Yet most will not compromise on training, the survey found. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR, said: “It doesn’t matter what the state of the market is – graduates always want to work for jobs they will grow in. This generation puts enormous value on career development.”

Mr Gilleard predicted that 30 per cent of graduate recruiters would recruit fewer graduates this year. Starting salaries were unlikely to fall but fewer jobs could mean settling for less, he said. Some graduates plan to ride out the financial storm by going travelling or returning to study. However, Mr Gilleard said: “We are not sure that 2010 will be a better year. Employers won’t penalise you for taking time out if you can point to the skills and experiences that have made you a better prospect.”

Alexandra Harrison, 23, graduated with a 2.1 in English from Southampton University and is studying for a masters. She is applying for graduate schemes in marketing and retail management: “I probably wouldn’t have chosen to do a masters if I’d known what the market would be like. Hopefully, it will give me a bit of extra employability. There are jobs out there, but the competition will be harder.”

Laura Fletcher, 21, is in her final year of a child psychology degree at Oxford Brookes University. “I was originally planning to go straight into work in September, but I’ve decided to take time out to earn money and do a PA [personal assistant] course, which I hope will improve my prospects,” she said.

The Healthy Work/Life Balance

2008-12-09T05:59:00.000-08:00

Nine to Five may have been a hit for Dolly Parton, but, for most of us, it’s no longer true of working life. Longer hours and e-mail make it hard to switch off and balancing the demands on your time is a challenge, particularly if you have family commitments. But having a meaningful job doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your personal life. Weigh up what the experts have to say about finding that mythical equilibrium.

1. Join the revolution.
“Flexible working [is] on the rise,” says Stephen Overell, a researcher at the Work Foundation, a charity. “Employers will go to surprising lengths to accommodate you.” So if starting an hour later or working from home one day a week would improve things, ask for it. “Sell [the arrangement] to your employer as a business case,” says Steve Williams, head of equality at Acas, the employment relations service. Legally, managers are obliged to consider your request, although they don’t have to agree to it.

2. Manage your time.
Self-discipline is your saviour. “You might work 11 hours a day but if four are spent chatting or being interrupted it’s not productive,” says Peter Flade, a managing partner at Gallup, a consultancy. He also advises setting aside sacrosanct time outside the office where work is not allowed to interfere.

3. Say “no” positively.
“If you take on too much, [then] you can’t deliver on it well, it eats away at you and you let people down,” Flade says. “Saying ‘no’ is better for your clients, colleagues, and family.” Overell agrees. “Everyone has the urge to please, especially younger workers. But you get more respect by saying ‘no’ than saying ‘yes’.”

4. Focus on outcomes.
Measure your performance by what you achieve – don’t stay late for the sake of it. “It could be that you can do [your work] in 35 hours and your colleague takes 50, ” says Flade. “It’s the quality of the work that counts.” Overell: “Graduates are often pushed very hard and it’s intoxicating to be in that elite group. But retain a sense of perspective.”

5. Sharpen your skills.
“Take advantage of every training opportunity – you’ll improve your skills and find ways to become more efficient,” Williams says.

6. Look after yourself.
Sleep and diet are often the first casualties when work becomes too much. “Consistently working long hours is not good for you,” Overell says. “Stress can lead to mental health problems and heart disease.”

7. Take time out.
“Some people go to the gym at lunchtime, others go out for a walk,” Williams says. “A break will make you more productive and prevent that 3 o’clock output slump.”

8. Don’t neglect your friends.
Working relationships can lead to lasting friendships, but more often than not they fade when people move on. “It’s very easy to let workmates become proxy for friends and family,” Overell says. “But it’s a superficial network and needs to be checked.”

9. Talk to someone.
If you’re feeling stressed, say something early, Williams advises. “Don’t wait until you’re cracking up and your work is hopelessly behind.” Usually your line manager is the best person to approach, he says.

10. Work is not the enemy.
“Work can be a huge source of wellbeing,” says Flade, who puts in 60-hour weeks but refuses to own a BlackBerry and never works at weekends. “There’s a huge difference between being busy and being stressed,” Williams says.

How to Get Promotion

2008-12-09T05:58:00.001-08:00

Earning a promotion is a complex affair. Matters such as pay and benefits begin to look easy compared with manoeuvring your way up (or sideways) through the ranks. Look around you before you jump at a new opportunity – a new job title could be the least important of many considerations, according to our experts.

1. Put yourself out.
There’s more to a job than a 12-line description, Simon Copeman, the acquisition and alliance manager at 3M UK and Ireland, says. “I’m looking [to promote] someone who does a pretty good job... but also someone who comes up with solutions. Someone who has taken the initiative within their current role [and] has managed new experiences outside the strict job description.”

2. Own up to itchy feet.
Few people are honest about their aspirations when they speak to their manager, says Julie Bowen, the head of organisational development at Adecco, a recruitment company. “At formal appraisals, people should be honest and not say what they think their boss wants to hear. They have to have the courage to say, ‘look, I love this job but’.”

3. Ask for help.
With luck, your manager should have noticed that you are ready to take on extra responsibility, Copeman says. Take his or her advice on what role you are ready for and when you are ready for it.

4. Think twice.
It’s important to know what motivates you before you move. “Be cautious,” Bowen says. “Yes, it’s a step up but is it at the loss of everything else?” Could you find yourself better paid, but uninspired by your new colleagues or working longer hours when time at home is more important to you, for example?

5. Consider all the options.
The smart move is not always up, says Helena Clayton, the director of open programmes at Roffey Park, an executive education college. “Employability is about the range of skills that you have,” she says. “Taking a role that gives you those skills may not necessarily mean a promotion. Some of the most challenging roles might be sideways.”

6. Put yourself about a bit.
If you’re looking for a more challenging role it’s important to raise your profile, Clayton says. “Volunteer for cross-cutting projects and jobs... where you can make your mark. Put yourself in front of senior people and find yourself a senior-level mentor.”

7. Know the known knowns.
There’s no excuse for a lack of research when you’re pitching for a more senior role. Make sure you have a copy of the job description and the low-down on the skills required so that you can talk about the ways in which you shape up, Bowen says.

8. Play nicely.
“What you have achieved is important but how you achieved it is equally so. How you treat people – your management style or the quality of your interpersonal relationships – carries more weight when you go for promotion because ultimately you can achieve results only through other people,” Clayton says.

9. Be flexible.
“You might have a pretty clear idea of where you want go but that might not be possible. If you are flexible about your next move, the chances of being promoted are that much higher,” Copeman says.

10. Don’t burn your bridges.
Always leave on friendly terms – you might find yourself working for the same manager again.

Find out more

Put your best foot forward with How To Get The Perfect Promotion: A Practical Guide to Improving Your Career Prospects, by John Lees (McGraw-Hill Professional, £12.99)

Getting through Recession

2008-12-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

An economic slowdown doesn’t necessarily mean mass redundancies, but it can certainly make it harder to keep moving up the career ladder. Graduates might find it harder to get the exact job that they want while experienced managers will need to think carefully about how to avoid getting stuck in one position for too long.

1. Don’t panic. “The best data we have at the moment is that we are not going to go into a full-blown recession,” says Russell Hobby, an associate director at Hay Group, an HR consultancy. “Growth will slow for about 18 months but it will then recover.”

2. Assess your sector. On average, employers are looking to cut about 1 per cent of their work-force, but this varies considerably by industry. Something like a third of all job losses are likely to be in banking and finance, Hobby says. Other potentially shaky sectors include retail and construction; the public sector, particularly local government, is also tightening its budget and is no longer the safe haven that it once was.

3. Graduates will stay in demand. Some firms cut their graduate recruitment programmes during the last economic downturn but found that this left them short of trained staff when it got moving. They’re not likely to make this mistake again. Some get around this by signing graduates up now but inviting them to defer for 12 months. For example, UBS’s 2008 recruits can choose to spend a year doing voluntary work with the bank’s financial support.

How ethical are you?
Are you an enforcer, philosopher, judge, angel, teacher or guardian? Find out the composition of your moral DNA with our test

4. Study. With things expected to pick up again in 18 months, it’s worth looking at doing a masters degree in the meantime, Hobby says. Students and new graduates might find that further study is a good way to wait out a slow patch without getting stuck with a period of unemployment on their CVs; people who are already established in their careers, however, need to be sure that the higher degree will add enough value to justify taking time off the ladder.

5. Don’t be dogmatic. Graduates should be more open-minded about their options, Hobby says. For example, if you want to work in finance, you could take a position in industry for the moment and move across when things brighten up. Flexibility will also benefit people already in work, particularly if belt tightening means that where or how they work changes.

6. Reconsider quitting. The idea of jumping ship can be tempting – particularly if you’re desperate for promotion – but it might not be a good idea, says Nick Parfitt, a consultant at Cubiks, an HR consultancy. “For a start, if you quit you lose redundancy protection.” You may move and find that, regardless of how well you do your job, you are cheap to get rid of and therefore vulnerable if redundancies hit.

7. Keep on moving. Stagnating in your present role is not a good idea. Recruiters may peg you as lacking in drive or ambition if you stay in one position for too long. “It’s very important to keep up momentum,” says Max Williamson, a director of careersinaudit.com. “In an economic slowdown that promotion might not come. If you cannot see the next step in the UK, you can look overseas and leapfrog it.” Hobby says: “China, the Middle East and India are growing fast [although] we expect that to slow in a few years.” Go overseas for a time and move back when growth picks up.

8. Internal progress is better than nothing. If an international move is out of the question, look for training or promotion opportunities with your current employer, Parfitt says.

9. Think about your profession. Engineers are in a good position, says Chris Cole, the managing director of Darwin Park, a recruitment consultancy. “Demand is up 19 per cent this year and is set to outstrip supply by 23 per cent by 2010,” he says. Across other professions, companies are continuing to hire people for sales, marketing and customer-facing roles while those in back-office jobs – HR, finance, IT and so on – are more likely to feel the crunch, Hobby says.

10. Don’t demand a pay rise. “If your company is laying people off left right and centre and you walk in and try to negotiate a 20 per cent increase, you will really get up your boss’s nose,” Parfitt says. If you can prove that you’ve added value, consider asking for an increase in the performance-related aspect of your pay – this is easier to justify than a rise in base salary.

Taken from the times

Railway Industry 2008

2008-11-04T02:03:00.001-08:00

Working in the Railway Industry in 2008

Despite the existence of many other modes of transportation, many jobs can still be found in the railway industry in 2008. A simple web search turns up many sites advertising for rail jobs, railroad jobs, or railway jobs worldwide. The positions range from traditional train oriented jobs to more clerical ones in the train lines' offices. As with any other industry, pay ranges from a volunteer job or internship to a full time career complete with salary and benefits. In the United States, we expect the trend of train travel to grow as more people are using trains to commute to and from work as well as travel on leisure time.

Many local and tourist railroads, which generally operate on small sections of track no longer used for shipping freight, hire volunteers at first. These rail jobs range from office workers who set up the tours on the trains to the engineers on the trains themselves and costumed conductors who ride the train with the guests. The organizational staff in the office answers the telephone, helping to book special events like birthday parties on the train as well as selling tickets to regularly scheduled excursions and answering guests' questions about the events. Some of these volunteers later earn their way into paid positions as ridership increases and they have remained with the railway for a few seasons. The guests of these scenic railways enjoy talking with the costumed conductors and the other workers who ride along. Some of these workers are purely train enthusiasts who take the excursions and narrate tours for guests, while others are paid historians who write the narrations.

Naturally, both the tourist trains and the large passenger and freight systems do hire people of the same job descriptions. Both types of railways need engineers to operate the trains. These essential railway jobs, of course, would receive higher pay and benefits due to the vast amounts of training that the applicant would need to possess to do the jobs. For example, a person wishing to become a locomotive engineer will often train first as a brakeman or conductor while learning to operate the train during the period of on the job and classroom training. This specialized training is only allowed to be completed by men and women at least 21 years of age who are in good physical health who have graduated high school. As of 1992, engineers for trains are only certified when they prove that they not only handle trains safely, but also possess clean driving records with other vehicles, are drug and alcohol free, and have the necessary visual and hearing acuity in addition to having successfully completed all of the training and testing set forth by the government.

Mechanics to keep the trains in working order are also necessary for the survival of the railway industry. Because of the nature and size of a train engine, prior training in diesel mechanics is crucial for those wishing to work in this field. This rail job also requires at least a high school education to enter into training and once the applicant has trained for it, he or she can become employed full or part time repairing the engines. A logical way to begin training for this type of position caould even include studying engine maintenance and repair at a techincal school while attending high school, moving on to more specialized training and apprenticeships in train engine repair after graduating from the technical school.

Without track construction and maintenance, no passengers or freight could arrive at their destinations on time. This line of work encompasses many people, from those who inspect the tracks and train cars for safety to thos who do the actual construction and repair. Project managers with specialized companies perform the inspections and recmooned how the rail company should clean the track or detail what parts of the track need to be repaired and how in order to keep functioning. Some of these companies also rent to the railroads the tools necessary to perform these tasks. Inspections are tailored to each railroad based on what it transports and how frequently trains run on each track. These inspectors, and the planners who design the railways, must take training in civil engineering to learn how to plan out the rails and bridges to be safe in the area in which they are built before giving the plans to the people who will execute them. Both on paper and in the building, the tracks need to be horizontally and vertically set for the type of terrain the train will travel to make its journeys effiecient and save the railroad money on operating costs. The inspectors and reapirmen on the line must be highly skilled at fixing only what needs it at the time to preserve this efficiency as well

Rail Industry

2008-10-22T03:46:00.001-07:00

A new project worth some £5 million that aims to bring improvements to the railway line between Blackburn and Clitheroe has been announced.

Construction workers in the area may like to know that the work will see new track and sleepers be laid out so that the speed limit can be increased and the noise level can be cut down.

Currently, trains are limited to just 20 mph along some sections of the track, but once the work is completed, this will rise to 45 mph.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, some 11,661 yards of track will be given a new lease of life, with concrete or steel sleepers being put down in place of the current ones.

Workers may like to know that a 24-hour continuous shift pattern will be used to ensure that work is completed within the given time.

"Ultimately we are aiming to develop our service and ensure that our performance in this area is improved," the newspaper claims route director at Network Rail Peter Strachan said.

In related news, Network Rail earlier this month announced that major infrastructure work on the west coast main line is closer to completion.

Knutsfod Rail

2008-10-22T03:45:00.001-07:00

Investment into Knutsford’s rail infrastructure would provide "tangible" results to residents in the Greater Manchester area, it has been claimed.

The Knutsford Guardian reports that up to £3 billion of improvements have been planned for the years leading up to 2013.

Should they go ahead, Lord Peter Smith - leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities - asserts that 50 years of investment would be delivered within the space of the next five years.

"The public will be able to see tangible results happening by 2012," he comments.

Among the proposals are the introduction of new carriages and trains between Knutsford and Manchester, which could increase the number of rail jobs in the region.

Station improvements are also suggested, with summer 2013 set as the deadline for the upgrades to be completed.

In other news that may be of interest to those with rail jobs, HR Zone has noted the need for train drivers’ uniforms to differ from those of platform staff.

The publication adds that different rail franchises are likely to operate uniform policies which conform to varying rules.

Filed under: Rail | No Comments »

Construction gloom anticipated
Posted on September 19th, 2008 by admin
Experts in the construction sector have predicted that the current economic climate may bring a gloomy spell for the industry as a whole.

According to news provider Building.co.uk, speakers at the recent Future Forecasting conference suggested that market turmoil of recent times could have an effect on the sector until at least 2010.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Stephen Stone, chief executive of Crest Nicholson, apparently said that the banks have been "very supportive" of the construction sector on the whole throughout the credit crunch.

"Past cycles have demonstrated that there is a way to trade through this," the news provider claims he said.

Indeed securing finance for new work could come from any number of institutions, even for bigger projects. Over a quarter of lenders on the market would give upwards of £50 million for new projects, the head of structured finance at Barclays, Nick Salisbury, reportedly suggested.

One new project that’s going to be getting started before the predicted 2010 end of the current downturn is a facelift at New Street station in Birmingham.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Gas engineer shortage ‘results in 1,000 new jobs’
Posted on September 18th, 2008 by admin
British Gas is creating 1,000 new jobs over the next 18 months, investing £40 million in the project, the energy firm says.

There is a UK skills shortage of 20,000 domestic gas engineers, the company claims, but women apprentice recruits have trebled in the last two years.

For those of you considering a career in this area, the investment will fund two new academies in Scotland and Leicester, which are expected to open in 2009.

"Our people are our greatest strength and our engineers are the most visible aspect of our business on a daily basis," says managing director of British Gas Services Chris Weston.

Apprenticeships have not been consigned to history and the scheme has increased the success of the business, he adds.

The new apprentices will be trained to NVQ Level 3 standard and will join an existing workforce of 9,000 gas engineers, those of you involved in the utilities sector may be interested to hear.

In related news, the Confederation of British Industry director general Richard Lambert claims students’ time-management and communication skills can be improved with specific training at university.

Filed under: Utilities | 1 Comment »

£10.8m contract won for ‘new generation’ Holiday Inn
Posted on September 18th, 2008 by admin
A £10.8 million contract to build a ‘new generation’ Holiday Inn in Winchester has been won by construction business Morgan Ashurst.

The contract, won from Bond Contracting, is to build 120 rooms at the hotel located off the M3 near junction ten, cnplus.co.uk reports.

What’s more, work is expected to begin later this month, with a deadline of October 2009, according to the website.

Morgan Ashurst will build a wildlife conservation area as part of the project, contractjournal.com claims.

In related news, the Premier Inn is set to open a green hotel in Staffordshire in December which is expected to use 80 per cent less energy than conventional hotels.

Those of you in the construction business with an interest in the environment may be impressed to find out that heat pumps from the earth will heat and cool rooms and low carbon technology and materials are used.

Earlier this year, Morgan Ashurst won a £44 million contract to build a college in Devon, which, according to its website, will be a model for sustainability both in construction and environmental management.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Scottish firm wins award for eco-home
Posted on September 17th, 2008 by admin
A Scottish construction company has won a green award for its affordable energy-efficient homes.

Ballyconnelly Developments of Greenock won an award for its three-bedroomed family homes in Dunoon, which included features such as an efficient heat recovery system.

Those of you especially interested in the green side of the construction industry might be impressed that these homes can be built for £150,000, claims green website newbuilder.co.uk.

Also, 95 per cent of the materials used are from forests managed by the Forest Stewardship Council or based on recycled products.

"We are extremely proud that these new homes will enhance quality of life while hugely reducing energy costs for their new owners," managing director of Ballyconnelly Developments Pol Stewart tells the website.

There is the potential to build hundreds more eco-homes to address the housing shortage in Scotland, she adds, which those of you involved in the construction industry may want to know.

Automated smart electricity meters, thermal barriers and low maintenance roof tiles should see home heating bills stand at 80 per cent lower than conventional-built houses, the green building site claims.

When starting out in 1999, the Ballyconnelly Group focused on property development and renovations and now operates from the Greenock base.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Runcorn power plant given green light
Posted on September 17th, 2008 by admin
A power station that is fuelled by waste has been approved by the government to be built at Runcorn.

One interesting fact you may wish to know is that waste that would have otherwise gone to landfill sites will fuel the power station instead.

Ineos Chlor will be allowed to construct the combined heat and power (CHP) station, with a capacity of 100 MW, after gaining permission from energy minister Malcolm Wicks.

"The key concern of impact on public health will be properly addressed through planning conditions at the construction stage and when the station is operational, through the environmental permitting regime regulated by the Environment Agency," says Mr Wicks.

Two new public sector energy-producing waste incinerators, along with mechanical treatment plants, could be built on any of the 11 sites on Merseyside which have been marked, the Liverpool Daily Post reports.

For those of you interested in the proposed projects, public consultation on these is expected to start in November.

According to its website, Greenpeace supports CHP plants as an alternative to nuclear ones.

Filed under: Utilities | No Comments »

Rail project in north-west confirmed
Posted on September 16th, 2008 by admin
A new project worth some £5 million that aims to bring improvements to the railway line between Blackburn and Clitheroe has been announced.

Construction workers in the area may like to know that the work will see new track and sleepers be laid out so that the speed limit can be increased and the noise level can be cut down.

Currently, trains are limited to just 20 mph along some sections of the track, but once the work is completed, this will rise to 45 mph.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, some 11,661 yards of track will be given a new lease of life, with concrete or steel sleepers being put down in place of the current ones.

Workers may like to know that a 24-hour continuous shift pattern will be used to ensure that work is completed within the given time.

"Ultimately we are aiming to develop our service and ensure that our performance in this area is improved," the newspaper claims route director at Network Rail Peter Strachan said.

In related news, Network Rail earlier this month announced that major infrastructure work on the west coast main line is closer to completion.

Filed under: Rail | No Comments »

Upgrade scale-down endorsed
Posted on September 16th, 2008 by admin
A scaling-down of a project to upgrade the north London line has been endorsed by Network Rail, it has been reported.

The plans, which originally come from Transport for London (TfL), call for less of the line to be turned into a four-track stretch, Transport Briefing notes.

However, it has been claimed that such a change should not lead to a drop in performance for services on the line.

According to Transport Briefing, TfL may consider delivering the full scheme in the future, should more funding become available.

Apparently, it now claims that the cost of bringing disused railway bridges back into service is too much for the scheme to be effective.

The changes to the plans are now open for consultation, the news provider notes. However, it also claims such changes indicate the increasing pressure on finances for new infrastructure and engineering projects in the capital.

TfL has recently noted that engineering work to develop a more efficient system on the London Overground network started at the beginning of the month.

Filed under: Rail | No Comments »

Third Heathrow runway backed by 100 businesses
Posted on September 15th, 2008 by admin
A third runway at Heathrow has been backed by a group of 100 businesses - as long as it stays within environmental regulations.

You may be interested to know that Ruth Kelly, transport minister, tells the Financial Times (FT) that "aviation contributes over £11 billion to the national economy and Heathrow directly or indirectly supports over 100,000 jobs".

The group of businesses include the Hilton Hotels and the British Chambers of Commerce, according to the BBC.

But environmental standards have to be adhered to when building the runway, which the companies say is essential for business.

As you may know, airports in Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt are expected to have four runways by 2012, the FT reports the union of businesses as claiming.

Campaign group Hacan ClearSkies say expansion is not necessary for improved access to countries such as India and China, the chairman John Stewart tells the BBC.

Limiting short-haul flights would provide space for long-haul ones, Mr Stewart adds.

Heathrow is owned by BAA, whose website informs you that it is the world’’s leading airport company, running seven airports in the UK.

Filed under: Aviation | No Comments »

UK has a ’skills shortage in engineering’
Posted on September 15th, 2008 by admin
A Staffordshire engineering firm has announced that out of 400 UK applications for vacancies at the automotive company, only two or three are suitable, a report says.

The organisation, Zytek Automotive, might consider engineering recruits from Romania and Germany because of the skills shortage in our country, says newspaper the Birmingham Mail.

"There is a genuine shortage because everybody has been going into careers in finance or the media - engineering is not considered sexy enough," Zytek finance director Stephen Wallis tells the newspaper.

You may be interested to hear that the company, which is currently developing electric cars, has a £15 million turnover and 135 staff, the Mail says.

Zytek needs to take on more qualified staff because of the rise of inquiries from companies such as Peugeot and Ferrari, Mr Wallis adds.

As such taking the time to find those workers with the right skills set could become increasingly important.

There are 20 immediate vacancies for the firm, which is half-owned by German car group Continental, although more posts could be created, the finance director claims, which may interest some of you recruiters in the industry.

The engineering company has previously provided engines worldwide for Formula 3000 and the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.

Filed under: Engineering | No Comments »

Assembly calls for action with Cross River Tram network
Posted on September 12th, 2008 by admin
Those operating in the rail industry might be interested to hear of the call made by the London Assembly to build a new tram network in the capital.

Although financing for the research and design of the Cross River Tram network is in place, the Assembly is demanding that Boris Johnson, mayor of London and chair of Transport for London, explores options into the construction of the rail project.

Such a network would cross the River Thames and link Euston and Waterloo.

It would extend as far as King’’s Cross and Camden Town in the north and to Brixton and Peckham in the south.

Val Shawcross, London Assembly member, stated that there is a "real need to progress the Cross River Tram to combat the woeful inadequacies in public transport services, particularly in some parts of south-east London, and alleviate overcrowding on the Tube".

It was also claimed that the existing Croydon Tramlink network should be extended.

As you might already be aware Network Rail recently unveiled plans for a multimillion pound regeneration of Reading’’s rail services.

Filed under: Rail | No Comments »

Olympic workers ’staying safe’
Posted on September 12th, 2008 by admin
With the clock increasingly ticking down to the start of the 2012 Olympics in London, those operating in the construction sector might be interested to hear of a new report highlighting the working practices of such a major project.

In figures released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), it was revealed that a total of more than one million working hours on the Olympic Park site have been recorded without a reportable accident taking place.

This is the fifth time since work began on the development that the one million hours milestone has been surpassed.

John Armitt, chairman of the ODA, said: "To complete a million hours without a reportable accident on a project of this size and complexity is challenging enough, so to do this five times is a real accomplishment."

As you might already know more than 2,600 workers are currently on site.

In other news, plans for the venues for cycling events at the 2012 Games were recently unveiled and include a 6,000 seater velodrome.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Olympic workers ‘’staying safe”
Posted on September 12th, 2008 by admin
With the clock increasingly ticking down to the start of the 2012 Olympics in London, those operating in the construction sector might be interested to hear of a new report highlighting the working practices of such a major project.

In figures released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), it was revealed that a total of more than one million working hours on the Olympic Park site have been recorded without a reportable accident taking place.

This is the fifth time since work began on the development that the one million hours milestone has been surpassed.

John Armitt, chairman of the ODA, said: "To complete a million hours without a reportable accident on a project of this size and complexity is challenging enough, so to do this five times is a real accomplishment."

As you might already know more than 2,600 workers are currently on site.

In other news, plans for the venues for cycling events at the 2012 Games were recently unveiled and include a 6,000 seater velodrome.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Hundreds of utilities jobs to be created at Sheffield
Posted on September 11th, 2008 by admin
Sheffield could soon yield hundreds of new jobs in news that could interest those of you operating in the utilities sector.

However, in order for around 200 new jobs to be created in the Yorkshire city, Sheffield Forgemasters International must secure around £20 million of funding from the government, the Sheffield Telegraph reports.

The firm is attempting to build the largest forging press in Europe, which could then be used to create parts for next generation nuclear reactors.

Group board director of Forgemasters Peter Birtles said: "We have proposed a very major capital investment of £120 million to install a 15,000 tonne forging press and all the equipment going with it."

While these jobs have not yet been confirmed, it is possible that plans by Welsh Power and NPL estates to build a new power station in the north-west of England may well be successful, in which case some 600 positions would be created by the construction of the building.

Filed under: Utilities | No Comments »

Plans put forward for Reading rail revival
Posted on September 11th, 2008 by admin
Reading might soon be at the heart of a railway revamp that you may interested to know could boost job prospects in the area.

Network Rail has outlined a £400 million scheme to revive the town’’s railway station that would be completed by 2015.

Councillor Tony Page described the benefits the move will have on the area.

"Different communities in Reading will gain in different ways, through easier travel, the re-routing of traffic, protected jobs and a better business and urban environment," he said.

Work has already started on the project, which includes the construction of an elevated railway.

You might already be aware that there have been calls for the South Wales Ebbw Vale rail service to be improved.

Rail News reported that some trains are overcrowded as many residents use the service, but improvements to the lines might be good news for jobseekers.

Filed under: Rail | No Comments »

Denham unveils plans to improve construction skills
Posted on September 10th, 2008 by admin
Worried about attracting skilled builders? Well you may have to fear no longer!

Those in the construction sector might be interested to hear of recent comments by John Denham, secretary for skills, where in a speech to the Trades Union Congress numerous initiatives were unveiled to support demand for skilled workers in the industry.

You could prick your ears to his plans to set up a construction task force - made up of trade unions and large employers - which will help to advise the government on long-term issues in regards to boosting skills levels and expanding apprenticeships.

Meanwhile, those firms which win government contracts will receive encouragement to ensure they train more members of their staff.

Mr Denham said: "The [construction] industry today is experiencing great difficulties in house building.

"But look just a few years into the future; we know that we will need many more skilled people working in construction than we have today."

And as you already are likely to know, he claimed the need for more skilled workers is due to major projects such as Crossrail and the 2012 Olympics, in addition to plans for new homes, schools and hospitals.

Earlier this year ConstructionSkills Apprenticeships director Max Hamps claimed that despite the bitter economic climate it is important that plans are in place to improve the number of skilled workers in the construction sector.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Contractors to face new training levy rules
Posted on September 10th, 2008 by admin
Recruiters operating within the construction industry might be advised to make themselves aware of forthcoming training regulations.

You may be interested to read a recent Contract Journal article which reports that CITB-ConstructionSkills has given the green light to charge those contractors who either delay - or duck out from paying altogether - the training levy.

Firms which do not pay such a fee are to be charged interest of eight per cent on any cash which is overdue.

The publication claims that about 2,500 employers could be affected by these changes - the equivalent of £375,000 in interest to be payable.

It was also pointed out that such a levy charging plan is currently prevalent in Northern Ireland, with the latest scheme set to begin from the 2008 levy assessment which is to be issued next year.

As you might already know that offshore contractors blocked plans to double the statutory training levy for the engineering sector earlier this year due concerns about cash.

Filed under: Construction | No Comments »

Cycling facilities unveiled for 2012 Olympics
Posted on September 9th, 2008 by admin
You might wish to get on your bike as plans for the venues which will host the various cycling events for the 2012 Olympic Games in London have been unveiled.

Revealed by London mayor Boris Johnson and Chris Hoy, three-time gold medal winner at the recent Beijing Games, the latest designs for the VeloPark have been made public and include proposals for the velodrome.

Containing some 6,000 seats, the velodrome will host not only indoor track events for the Olympic games but also for the Paralympic events.

Once the London games are over, the development will be converted for legacy purposes and will not only retain top-class cycling facilities for elite athletes and members of the public, but will also include a cafe and a 360-degree concourse level providing views of the London skyline.

Other proposals for VeloPark include a BMX circuit, a 6 km mountain bike trail and a road cycle circuit, with planning permission to be submitted later this month.

As you are already likely to know the contract for the facility has been awarded to ISG who relaid the track at Manchester’’s Velodrome.

Towards the end of last month, it was reported that the majority of the permanent foundations for the Olympic Park for the 2012 games had been fitted.

Rail Industry

2008-10-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

Balfour Beatty has been awarded a £60 million contract by Network Rail to lay new track on the Airdrie to Bathgate line.

The existing line of Airdrie and Drumgelloch will be double tracked and the entire route is expected to be electrified prior to commissioning in late 2010, Transport Briefing reports, which may interest those of you interested in rail construction and engineering.

"Awarding this contract at this stage allows them to get off to a flying start. Key elements of the work they will carry out will start during the nine day blockade planned for later in October," Network Rail director in Scotland Ron McAulay tells the transport website.

Those of you living in Scotland or simply interested in the rail industry may already know that the original route between Airdrie and Bathgate was closed 50 years ago, according to Mr McAulay.

Communities in the area will benefit from the new rail service, which Balfour Beatty is proud to be part of, he adds.

In related Scotland rail news, Harsco Corp, the industrial services company, said it had secured a three-year, $20 million (£10.8 million) extension to a contract for the repainting of the Forth Rail Bridge

Railway employment

2008-10-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest choices that needs to be made by a young railway professional early in their career is where they want to go in the rail industry. Some rail workers want to be able to do their jobs, come home at the end of the day, and take home a decent wage. Other rail workers want to experience a wider array of experiences and keep themselves unfettered by the restraints of home. Both of these ideas, and others in between those two, have merits but it is important for a young professional to make their mind up early in their career. Their decision is essentially between working with a smaller, local railway and a large international railway.
The small railway in the United Kingdom and Europe is a place that brings back the romantic notions of rail travel. The engines are typically designed and painted to resemble old trains, with a distinct red, blue, or green colour to show its attempts at authenticity. In fact, there are a number of historic lines throughout the European continent that allow tourists, residents, and railway workers to experience what travel was like in the 19th and early 20th century.

Railway workers have to consider a number of factors before delving into small railways. Local and historic lines allow professionals to establish a home base with their family and travel a bit while returning home on a regular basis. Often, small railway workers get an opportunity to familiarise themselves with regular travellers and develop a community aboard the train. However great these quaint touches are, railway workers at speciality lines or short transit lines may become frustrated with outdated equipment.

International railways and larger national railways offer cutting edge technology for its workers and customers. Workers aboard international trains get to see world famous destinations and travel to far-off places on a regular basis. Indeed, the allure of travelling across Europe, Asia, or South America can be a primary motivator for young professionals. However, there is a balance to be struck between this sense of adventure and the atmosphere of major railways. Young rail professionals may chafe a bit at the corporate atmosphere of larger railways, with a long list of guidelines to follow in order to keep the customer happy. As well, unlike the familiarity of the small railway, workers in large railways are often anonymous to the hundreds of thousands of passengers they see. For railway workers, it can be a difficult choice but they need to find the right situation for their needs

Working for SYSTRA

2008-10-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Who we are
A world leader in international rail and urban transport engineering, SYSTRA offers the opportunity of working on major French or international projects in multicultural teams.

The technical expertise of our colleagues and our regular collaboration with RATP and SNCF mean that we can train new recruits in the latest rail and urban transport technology.

Your international experience
Our engineers must be able to demonstrate broad international experience :

fluent English is essential ; Spanish is an advantage ;
mobility - whether for business trips or for an overseas posting ; and
ability to work in a multicultural environment.
How we develop your career
an international career path ;
job rotation between design and site supervision ; and
transfers between technical expertise and transverse functions such as project management or commercial activities.
What your job involves

preliminary and detailed designs ;
operational and technical specifications ;
cost estimates and control ;
analysis and assessment of projects ;
testing and commissioning of transport systems ;
project management ; and
assistance to the owner.

Trans Siberian Railway Journey

2008-10-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Don't panic! The route that your daughter is taking via Mongolia is the most popular Trans-Siberian route and she will be among plenty of other travellers.

The conflict between Russia and Georgia is, at the time of writing, confined to the separatist region of South Ossetia and the border with Georgia.

This is south of Russia and a couple of thousand kilometres from Moscow where your daughter will be. Check out the Department of Foreign Affair's Travel Advice pages for country-specific information and general travel advice: www.dfa.ie/home. As the majority of the trip will be through Russia I would reco m m e n d your daughter tries to learn some R u s s i a n .

Admittedly it's not the easiest language to pick up but the country can be a struggle as you are unlikely to come across any written or spoken English.

Ask her to keep in regular contact to minimise your sleepless nights, once a week should be fine. A good source of advice for her is www.gogapyear.com.

Share Digg del.icio.us Google Stumble Upon Facebook Reddit Print Email Text Size
NormalLargeExtra LargeSponsored Links
Holiday in Peru for Less Family Vacations, Tour Packages to Peru. Book Online and Save.

www.peruforless.com
New Mordern Antrim Hotel from £39 New hotel in antrim, full irish breakfast, close to airport.

www.hiexpressantrim.co.uk
Royal Caribbean Experience Europe and the Med direct from Southampton.

www.royalcaribbean.co.uk
Top Searches
Business Bank Ireland
Car Ireland
Car Ireland Used
Dublin Ireland
Ireland Ireland job
Ireland loan
Ireland travel
Ireland weather

Advertiser Links

Most Popular
Read Beyond the bling of Dubai
Getting travel insurance for 15-18 months
Taking a trip along the Inca Trail
A picture can say a thousand words, in every language
Legality of Drugs in Amsterdam
Preparing to go solo in India
Unusual break for the family
Has Ryanair cancelled all its flights?
Time your visit to Venice
Taking the Trans-Siberian railway

View more most popular

BNSF Railway Applications

2008-10-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

You need to put your application in at www.bnsf.com/careers/ hit the apply now button. Watch your email and if you are invited to test and interview they will contact you by email to attend a group testing. You will take a test relating to your field, and you will take a drug test. They will then reject you or accept you BY email. If you are accepted you are hired, but it is depenent on you passing their physical exam. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WATCH YOUR EMAIL DAILY THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THEY WILL COMMUNICATE WITH YOU! Test dates, acceptance, dr appointments etc.

Australia Rail Opportunities

2008-10-21T06:07:00.002-07:00

A number of engineering employers are attending the Johannesburg expo looking for railway specialists in the following areas:

* Rail/Track Engineers
* Railway Civil Infrastructure Engineers
* Railway Electrical Overhead Wiring Engineers
* Railway Signaling Technicians

If you are looking for a job in Australia and have the skills that these employers need, then book your tickets online at www.expo-australia.com.

At the expo you can also get advice about visas, look for a new home, meet reputable shipping companies and more.

All the employers will be recruiting at the expo, so don't apply online - come to the expo and meet them in person.

UK Train Driver Opportunities

2008-10-21T06:07:00.001-07:00

You can find work with passenger train operators, freight companies, and underground, light rail and metro companies.

Recent reports suggest that there has been a huge increase over the last decade in passengers and freight on both commuter and long-distance routes. As a result, the demand for drivers is forecast to grow, with more opportunities on the busy networks in and around London and the south-east.

With experience, you could gain promotion to driver instructor and then driver safety manager jobs. Beyond this level, you could move into operations management. You may be able to move up from driving light rail and local routes to long distance trains by changing employers.

You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and general reading: (links open in new window)

Working Hours

2008-10-21T06:06:00.002-07:00

You would normally work 35 to 42 hours a week. This could be spread over four or five shifts (known as 'turns') including weekends, evenings and nights. If you work on freight or engineering trains, you would usually do more night shifts.

On long distance routes, you may have overnight stays, returning home the following day.

You would usually work alone in the cab for the duration of the journey, except when accompanied by a trainee driver or driver inspector

What Salary To expect

2008-10-21T06:06:00.001-07:00

What salary and other benefits can I expect?

Trainee drivers are paid around £15,000 a year.
Qualified drivers can earn between £25,000 and £31,000 a year.
Experienced drivers can earn over £35,000 a year.
Free or reduced price travel is usually offered as an extra benefit.

Train Driver Interest

2008-10-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

You do not always need specific qualifications to get into this type of work, although most employers will expect you to have a good general standard of education, including maths and English GCSEs. Some mechanical or electrical knowledge may also be useful.

You can apply directly to train operating companies for information about vacancies. Alternatively, you could start work in the rail service in another job, for example, as part of the station staff or maintenance crews, and then apply for trainee driver posts when they come up. Train companies often promote from within.

You normally have to be at least 21 to work as a train driver on the national rail network. If you are aged between 18 and 21, you may be able to train and work in yards and depots away from passenger lines. To work on the London Undergound you must be at least 18.

If you are successful in your initial application with a company, you will be invited to a training centre where you would sit tests on:

basic mechanical knowledge
ability to recall information
reaction times
concentration skills.
If you pass these tests, you go on to the interview stage.

You will also have to pass a medical, which will test your fitness levels, eyesight, colour vision and hearing. Employers have strict rules on drug and alcohol abuse, and can carry out random screening at any time.

Overseas rail qualifications are not recognised in the UK. You will have to follow the same application process as UK candidates.

See the GoSkills websites for more details about rail transport careers and contacts for train operating companies.

What further training and development can I do?
Your training period would normally last between nine and 18 months. Some of your training may take place in a cab simulator, which recreates real-life situations such as trackside hazards, bad weather or mechanical failure.

Your training would be split into four stages:

Rules and Regulations – driver cab controls, signalling systems and track safety
Traction Knowledge – engine layout, safety systems and fault identification
Train Handling – 200 to 300 hours' practical driving skills, including night driving
Route Knowledge – route information, such as braking distances, speed restrictions and signal positions (you can only drive on routes you have been assessed on, so you would continue to learn more routes once you qualify).
You must complete assessments at the end of each stage to fully qualify as a train driver.

You would also complete a Personal Track Safety (PTS) certificate during the training period.

You could take on-the-job qualifications like the NVQ Level 2 in Rail Transport Operations (Driving) or NVQ Level 2 in Rail Transport Operations (Shunting).

A driving standards manager would regularly assess your driving skills throughout your career.

Great Southern Railway Jobs

2008-10-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

We have an ongoing recruitment process seeking quality hospitality professionals to work on board our trains; The Ghan, Indian Pacific and The Overland. All on board staff members must be based in Adelaide and be flexible with regards to working away from home. Applicants must hold a current Senior First Aid certificate and be able to obtain a Police Clearance. Please send your resume to employment@gsr.com.au.

Railway Advertising Job Opportunities

2008-10-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

In order for a railway line to run effectively, there needs to be a full staff in the rail car and at the rail station. Indeed, without a full complement of personnel, a railway in the UK cannot run efficiently. Railways need to have train drivers, attendants to provide customer service, and engineering personnel in order to deal with problems in the middle of a trip. At the station, a railway needs to have ticket agents, security, and mechanics to deal with the various problems that an incoming train may have. The railway is a people-powered business and it is important to fill vacancies immediately.

However, managers and human resources personnel at railways may not be familiar with the best ways to advertise employment opportunities. Many railway professionals come through recruiting firms or through civil service opportunities, which allow an easy pipeline to new talent. While these methods are effective, railways need to learn how to advertise railway employment opportunities effectively. Self reliance in railway hiring is not only important as a competitive tool but it maintains the financial bottom line by cutting consulting fees.

The first step in effective advertisement for railway work is to promote the lifestyle of the railway. When young professionals think of train travel, they may have a view of train cars cutting through the countryside on their way from one small town to another. This view is an important recruiting tool because it is a perk of being on the railway. Employment opportunities should be couched in language that promotes the travel perks of working on the railway.

Another important step for advertising railway vacancies is to emphasise the importance of railway work in the UK. While many people have chosen to travel by bus or automobile the last few decades, the railway is still a vital part of the UK economy. Graduates and young professionals may be leery about the future of the railway, as they may not have travelled by train in a long time. Advertisements should point out that rail is still the preferred manner of transport for millions and used by corporations to move finished products.

Finally, no employment advertisement is complete without financial particulars like wages and benefits. Workers may be impressed by the future of the railway or the opportunity to travel but often choosing a railway job comes down to tangible benefits. Advertisements for railway employment opportunities should include this information toward the end, as it is a fitting conclusion to an online or newspaper ad.

Advertising Railway Recruitment

2008-10-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

Recruitment Services

2008-10-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

At Wynnwith Group we pride ourselves on being one of the premier recruitment firms in the world and we have been in business since 1973. Our recruitment experts serve employers and candidates for employment not just in the United Kingdom, but in many other countries. We work in many different areas such as Aviation Recruitment and Rail Recruitment For example, if you are a candidate for Railroad Jobs we have the specialists on our staff that can help you find the ones that fit your needs.

Wynnwith Rail is one of our sections that have over 30 years of experience in locating and filling Railroad Jobs. We have established a great reputation for placing the right people in the right jobs and as a result many companies that seek top employees come to us to fill their Rail Recruitment needs. These include Train Jobs and other Railway Jobs. This puts us in a wonderful position to help you as a job seeker.

If you visit our website you can see a list of the jobs that we are currently looking to fill and this list is constantly updated. This list will include Railroad Jobs of all types and you may soon find ones that interest you. Then you can quickly and easily register your CV with us and we will assist you in applying for the job you want. If you don’t see anything you can still register your CV with us and we will actively search for the job you want.

You will be contacted by one of our Rail Recruitment experts who will discuss your current employment and what you are looking for in the way of compensation and other benefits at a new position. We can search for part time Railway Jobs, full time positions, and contract positions depending on what you tell us you want. We can also look for Train Jobs or other Railroad Jobs in the area where you currently live and work or in any other area where you might be willing to move to.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your career; we can help you find entry level Railroad Jobs or Train Jobs that will allow you to make a good career move. You don’t have to stay in a position that you find unrewarding and unfulfilling. At Wynnwith Rail we specialize in helping people enhance their careers. Our Rail Recruitment specialists are experts at monitoring the job markets all over the United Kingdom and throughout the world. We know when and where the best jobs are opening up and we can help you get the one that fits your specifications. We can even help you prepare for the interview.

There are many recruitment firms that make extravagant promises that they can’t keep. However, when you work with the team of Rail Recruitment experts at Wynnwith Rail you will know you will have the help of one of the most respected recruitment companies in the world. We will leave no stone unturned to help you.

Essex Railway Jobs

2008-10-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked out into one of the many empty but picturesque fields that sprawl across the county that is Essex? Flying through the Constablian scenery on your way to an urgent business appointment, have you ever pondered the rich heritage that Essex oozes? This article examines the history of Essex jobs and specific sites of employment which are embedded in the culture of Essex.

Essex jobs have always been abundant and not just because of its close proximity to the capital. It has been a place of industry and agriculture, none more prevalent than the bay and say trade otherwise known as the wool industry. Bay and Say was the name given to a certain type of wool woven by Flemish settlers from the beginning of the fourteenth century.

The original settlers came over from Bruges to Harwich and then settled around Braintree, Halstead and Dedham. Edward III encouraged this practice increasing Essex jobs, as the Flemings brought with them their art of weaving which the monarch encouraged them to teach throughout the county. The chief influx of Flemmings came around 1570 in the middle of the reign of Elizabeth I.

The clothing towns were Colchester, Braintree, Coggeshall, Bocking, Halstead, and Dedham, employing some 60, 000 families were employed in Essex jobs as spinners, weavers and combers. This industry flourished until the latter part of the eighteenth century as it is thought that the nationalisation of gunpowder, shipbuilding and increasing colonial ambitions saw it loose precedence.

Gunpowder was produced in Essex as early as 1560 in Waltham Abbey and became a major industry. After the government acquired the works in 1787 production increased considerably. By 1900 it had created 1200 Essex jobs and produced a large amount of the national requirements for Gunpowder. Around this period there was a development which would change the face of Essex and the entire country forever.

This was of course the introduction of the railway system. This meant that agricultural goods such as milk and garden produce could transported more effectively to the lucrative markets of London. This did also create problems for certain specific Essex jobs such as the production of salt via sea water evaporation and the manufacturing of cheese and hops, as it opened East Anglia up for produce from other parts of the country.

Essex was famous throughout the world for the production of crepe and silk. Various monarchs obtained their garments and ceremonial robes from different towns in Essex including Braintree, Bocking, Halstead, and Earls Colne. 2000 Essex jobs were created by this industry and the crepe in Braintree was known throughout the world.

Places closer to London such as Walthamstow created Essex jobs in industry sectors such as copper-rolling and from 1807 to 1845 the British Copper Company had the main works there leading to the naming of one of the roads as Coppermill Lane. Shipbuilding on the Thames was another lucrative industry that gradually declined however Essex jobs were created in other areas such as steel works.

Essex jobs have always been diverse in nature from cottage industry to nationalised manufacturing and some areas of Essex have gained worldwide acclaim in the areas of expertise. With the current economic climate one has to ask the question if Essex jobs will be so abundant in the next century

Railway Industry

2008-10-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

In spite of the pressure placed on businesses across the country by the current 'credit crunch', the UK's rail industry seems to be enjoying a renaissance that will define it as one of the major rail industries in Europe, if not, the world. The government is continuing to invest huge sums into the improvement of existing rail networks and is dedicated to providing a 'greener' service by the year 2014, aiming to bring carbon emissions down to an absolute minimum, whilst looking at factors such as trackside biodiversity, reduced intrusion on communities and their landscapes, air quality, noise and vibration levels. There is even research into rainwater harvesting and the use of photovoltaic cells to generate electricity from the sun's rays.

The increase in fuel prices is doing what the government could not and is turning people to the trains for transport to and from work. In addition, with a larger portion of Britons deciding to holiday at home, there is a steady increase in rail use for holiday travel. The UK's rail industry appears to be an impressively sustainable form as transport, one of which that has a major impact on the nation's economy. As well as transporting commuters and holiday-makers, it also devotes a significant portion of its services to freight and industrial transport. Major international operators look to the UK's rail industry for guidance for rail structure and expertise on minimising the environmental impact of such a vast and efficient system.

As the rail industry strives to meet public and legislative demands, the demands of its staff grow with it. As the service grows more varied, so too do the types of rail vacancies; as well as the more traditional rail jobs on the market, such as engineering posts, planners, electricians, schedulers and IT operatives, there are now posts surfacing for jobs such as research scientists, environmental specialists, technical strategists and technological consultants.

These jobs offer opportunities for skilled workers already in the industry, as well as newly-qualified graduates. Compared to most other industries of this size, staff turnovers are relatively low, with management preferring to allow jobs to evolve with the system, but its continued expansion means that the opportunities for new recruits in all aspects of the rail industry are consistently significant.

Another aspect of the rail industry's size is the location of jobs for employees. With over 100 of the UK's networks having been privatised, there are rail jobs available right across the country, from regional head offices and stations to travelling engineers and technical experts. Obviously the capital employs a vast section of the country's workforce, but the quantity and quality of jobs to be found in the rail industry across the UK does seem to fly in the face of the predicted recession. In addition, wages seem to remain unaffected by the current economic climate - perhaps reflecting the industry's potential as a lifeline to commuters and commercial goods during hard times.

Finding the right job in the rail industry requires a little acumen, as there are a vast number of posts available, many of which are not immediately obvious to those seeking work in this remarkably resilient industry. In this case, it is worth seeking advice from recruitment consultants to ensure that your skills and qualifications are considered by the right people.

What you need to know working in railways

2008-10-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

Employer-employee relation is another name for industrial relations in the academic world. It is a system of communication between the employer and the employee, which seeks to maintain and develop work productivity, motivation and morale.

Contrary to common misconception, employer-employee relation is not limited to underlying unions or collective bargaining issues but also covers over-all employee management and the employee’s relationship towards his employer, i. e., the boss.

Employer-employee relation is governed by existing labor laws, related jurisprudence and administrative rules and regulations on the matter.

Labor laws on the other hand consist of federal law, state law and judicial decisions.

The laws are primarily focused oh the relationship between employers and employee who, for practical reasons, group themselves into union for more effective bargaining power. Employees are granted by these laws the right to unionize, picket and strike while employers are granted the right to seek injunction and lockouts.

In the US, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hears relationship disputes between the employer and the employee or their union. It is also the NLRB, which determines which union will represent an employees’ unit.

But for those whose employer-employee relations are not governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), NLRB cannot exercise jurisdiction over them. However, they may bring their disputes for resolution under other federal and state laws.

For those who belong to the railway and airline industries, their employer-employee relations are governed not by the NLRA but by the Railway Labor Act.

For public employees in federal government agencies, their relations are governed by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

To those who have been taken advantage by their employers, they may invoke the provision of the law. Issues that usually arise out of this employer-employee relationship include, but not limited to, the following:

• Hours of work

• Overtime pay

• Benefits

• Working conditions

In the State of California, the employer-employee relations between the state and the employees are specifically dealt with under the California Government Code. The law seeks to promote full communication between the state and its employees by providing a reasonable method of resolving disputes regarding:

• Wages

• Hours or work

• Other terms and conditions of employment

The law also promotes the improvement of personnel management and employer-employee relations within the State of California by providing a uniform basis to recognize the right of state employees in joining organizations of their own choosing and to be represented by those organizations in their employment relations with the state.

Some of the counties in California follow suit by having their own employer-employee relations policy or rules and regulations to govern the relations between the county and its employees. Some of them include the counties of San Mateo, Solano, San Joaquin and Humboldt County.

Railway employment

2008-10-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

Despite the existence of many other types of transportation, many jobs can still be found in the railway industry in 2008. A simple web search turns up many sites advertising for rail jobs, railroad jobs, or railway jobs worldwide. The positions range from traditional train oriented jobs to more clerical ones in the train lines' offices. As with any other industry, pay ranges from a volunteer job or internship to a full time career complete with salary and benefits. In the United States, we expect the trend of train travel to grow as more people are using trains to commute to and from work as well as travel on leisure time.

Many regional and tourist railroads, which generally operate on small sections of track no longer used for shipping freight, hire volunteers at first. These rail jobs range from office workers who set up the tours on the trains to the engineers on the trains themselves and costumed conductors who ride the train with the guests. The organizational staff in the office answers the telephone, helping to book special events like birthday parties on the train as well as selling tickets to regularly scheduled excursions and answering guests' questions about the events. Some of these volunteers later earn their way into paid positions as ridership increases and they have remained with the railway for a few seasons. The guests of these scenic railways enjoy talking with the costumed conductors and the other workers who ride along. Some of the workers are purely train enthusiasts who take the excursions and narrate tours for guests, while others are paid historians who write the narrations.

Naturally, both the tourist trains and the large passenger and freight systems do hire people of the same job descriptions. Both types of railways need engineers to operate the trains. These essential railway jobs, of course, would receive higher pay and benefits due to the vast amounts of training that the applicant would need to possess to do the jobs. e.g. a person wishing to become a locomotive engineer will often train first as a brakeman or conductor while learning to operate the train during the period of on the job and classroom training. This specialized training is only allowed to be completed by men and women at least 21 years of age who are in good physical health who have graduated high school. As of 1992, engineers for trains are only certified when they prove that they not only handle trains safely, but also possess clean driving records with other vehicles, are drug and alcohol free, and have the necessary visual and hearing acuity in addition to having successfully completed all of the training and testing set forth by the government.

Mechanics to keep the trains in working order are also necessary for the survival of the railways. Because of the nature and size of a train engine, prior training in diesel mechanics is crucial for those wishing to work in this field. This rail job also requires at least a high school education to enter into training and once the applicant has trained for it, he or she can become employed full or part time repairing the engines. A logical way to begin training for this type of position could even include studying engine maintenance and repair at a technical school while attending high school, moving on to more specialized training and apprenticeships in train engine repair after graduating from the technical school.

Without track construction and maintenance, no passengers or freight could arrive at their destinations on time. This line of work encompasses many people, from those who inspect the tracks and train cars for safety to those who do the actual construction and repair. Project managers with specialized companies perform the inspections and recommend how the rail company should clean the track or detail what parts of the track need to be repaired and how in order to keep functioning. Some of these companies also rent to the railroads the tools necessary to perform these tasks. Inspections are tailored to each railroad based on what it transports and how frequently trains run on each track. These inspectors, and the planners who design the railways, must take training in civil engineering to learn how to plan out the rails and bridges to be safe in the area in which they are built before giving the plans to the people who will execute them. Both on paper and in the building, the tracks need to be horizontally and vertically set for the type of terrain the train will travel to make its journeys efficient and save the railroad money on operating costs. The inspectors and repairmen on the line must be highly skilled at fixing only what needs it at the time to preserve this efficiency as well.

Rate this Article:

India RAILWAYS

2008-10-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

India’s trains are a shining legacy of the British Raj, a track record of which they can be proud. The railway system unified India as little else did, sparking economic development and social sharing. The system of rails that ran from Calcutta to the Khyber Pass provided employment, training and a way of life for thousands upon thousands of Indians. The development of a railway system necessitated the construction of thousands of miles of steel tracks which sparked industrial development, galvanized the iron and steel producing industry. Trains became social levelers which broke down caste as millions shared crowded quarters. Trains facilitated the movement of vast numbers of Muslims who moved to Pakistan and millions of Hindus who moved to India.

Without the railway system the present economic boom in India would never have taken place. The British Raj left behind an efficient and smoothly operating infrastructure, India Railway, second to none in the world!

Sound familiar?

True? It depends on who writes the history

Railway Employment

2008-10-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

Name and Address of Company: Government of India (Ministry of Railways) Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), Thiruvananthapuram Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram - 695001 E-mail : crrbsc@hotmail.com Website : www.rrbthiruvananthapuram.net Indian Railways Centralised Employment Notice No. 01/2008 Applications in the prescribed format are invited from eligibile Indian Nationals for filling up of posts by Railway Recruitment Boards on Zonal Railways/Production Unites. Application should be sent directly to the respective RRBs and not to RRB Thiruvananthapuram. 1. RRB Ajmer Â 1.1. Staff Nurse : 14 posts, Pay Scale : Rs. 5000-8000, Age : 20-40 Â 1.2. Pharmacist : 08 posts, Pay Scale : Rs. 4500-7000, Age : 20-35 Â 1.3. Lab Assistant Gr.II : 08 posts, Pay Scale : Rs. 3200-4900, Age : 18-33 Â 1.4. Health & Malaria Inspector Gr.III: 39 posts, Pay Scale : Rs. 5500-9000, Age : 18-33 Visit http://www.rrbajmer.org/ for further information. Applications to be Addressed to The Assistant Secretary, Ra...

Santa Fe Railway

2008-10-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

Ever see the movie Gattaca? One of my favorites. In the movie, the main character cannot realize his dream to become an astronaut, becuase his genes are sub-par. An op-ed in the Seattle Times discusses the issue, and brings to light a case where a company has already begun researching a genetic correlation with job-related injuries:

A couple of years ago, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tested the genes of injured workers, without their permission, to try to detect a genetic predisposition to carpal tunnel syndrome. The railway, apparently, was looking for a way to avoid workman’s compensation claims by using an unproven genetic test. Only media coverage and action by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stifled those threats.

The Railway

2008-10-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

The chances of you having a Victorian relative who worked on the railways is pretty high.
Railways were THE growth industry of the mid-late nineteenth century with even tiny villages being connected to the ever-increasing rail network.

The North West was at the centre of this burgeoning industry with the Rainhill trials, the Liverpool-Manchester railway and the huge amount of construction work in and around Liverpool.

Porters, platelayers, signalmen, guards, drivers, wheeltappers, coach builders, drivers, firemen, engineers . . . there was a plethora of occupations connected with the railways. And of course there were the people who built them - thousands of (mainly Irish) navvies laid mile upon mile of track at an astonishing speed. The pace of change must have been truly amazing for people who had been born in the eighteenth century. The sight of a locomotive charging through the countryside at (then) unimaginable speeds, linking towns within hours, must have been truly mind-blowing.

There are some very useful on-line resources and many publications which can help you track your railway ancestors. However, there is no national database of records and where they survive, staff records will be found in local or society collections.

You can start your research at http://www.railwayancestors.org.uk/