New railcar drivers sought ahead of METRONET expansion
New railcar drivers sought ahead of METRONET expansion
Friday, 16 August 2019
- New round of recruitment for Transperth railcar drivers opens today
- 60 new drivers sought to cater for natural attrition and METRONET network expansion
- New recruits to be among the first to drive on the Forrestfield-Airport Link, due to open in late 2021
- Key METRONET projects including the Ellenbrook-Morley Line on track
Applications opened today for 60 new Transperth railcar drivers - who will be among the first to drive trains on the METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link.
Recruitment for railcar drivers is so competitive it is only conducted bi-annually, with four classes of 15 drivers each to be run over the two years.
Transperth drivers are some of the most highly-trained in the country.
Drivers must successfully complete a 25-week paid training period (including sessions in a custom-built train simulator at Claisebrook), as well as on-the-job training as a trainee railcar driver, to obtain their Certificate IV in Train Driving.
Training includes 11 weeks in the classroom learning all the theory behind driving railcars - including electrical safety, customer service, signalling and communications - before completing at least 14 weeks of on-the-job training in the railcar with a driver trainer.
Applicants come from all walks of life and do not need a background in rail with training provided by the Public Transport Authority.
Applications close at 9am on August 30, for more information visit https://www.pta.wa.gov.au/careers/train-driver-recruitment
The McGowan Government's METRONET is on track, with the recent announcement of the route alignment for the much anticipated Morley-Ellenbrook line.
The Yanchep line extension and Cockburn-Thornlie link are also pressing ahead at full steam, with construction set to start late in 2019