2023-05-14 18:37:15
The liberalization of passenger transport in high-speed trains has given a boost to the profession of train driver due to the entry of two new operators (Ouigo and Iryo), who have certain difficulties in attracting personnel because Renfe’s conditions are better, as recognized in the sector.
It is a full employment professionwhich absorbs the newly trained immediately for both passenger and freight transport, although the training costs about 20,000 euros. Women are still in short supply, although the numbers have been improving over the years. The Renfe driving group has doubled the female presence in recent years, from 3.3% in 2018 to the current 7.4% and between 10 and 12% enroll in current courses. Renfe’s salary tables for driving staff fluctuate between 20,000 and 50,000 euros per yearbased on seniority and category, to which must be added the variable part, as contained in the company agreement.
Neither Ouigo (subsidiary of the French public SNCF) nor Iryo (subsidiary of the Italian public Trenitalia and with two Spanish partners in the shareholding, Air Nostrum and Globalvía) -Renfe’s two high-speed competitors- have provided the salaries received by the machine operators in these companies.
Renfe has 167 high-speed train drivers out of a total of 5,447 people dedicated to driving passenger and freight traffic throughout the company. Iryo has 104 train drivers for the lines that link Madrid with Barcelona, with the Valencian Community and with Andalusia, a “sufficient” number to attend to the service, as explained to Efe by its director of People and Talent, Lina Vélez. However, she adds that they need to have a job bank to supply those train drivers who apply for Renfe’s Public Job Offer (OPE).
Ouigo has 39 train drivers and intends to incorporate 19 more in the coming months, according to company sources, who also point out that they are enough to cover the services that connect Madrid with Barcelona and the Valencian Community. The link with the southern corridors will not be operational until the second half of 2024 because the circulation systems are being standardized.
Process
The AESF convened on April 5 the tests to obtain the license and diploma for 541 applicants presented by the 11 approved schools, among which Renfe stands out, with 293 candidates, and the 75 of the European Center for Railway Training . In order to participate in these processes, it is necessary to have the Bachelor’s degree or Vocational Training Technician or equivalent and be 20 years old when the course ends.
The journey costs about 20,000 euros and is long: first they must pass some physical and psychological tests and then enroll in one of the centers approved by the State Agency for Railway Safety (AESF). The course is 1,150 hours, of which 650 are theoretical training, after which applicants must take an exam that opens the door to practical training (500 hours). Once the practice is completed, they must pass an exam from the AESF, which grants the license and the qualifying diploma to work throughout the country, Santiago Bullido, head of the Transfesa railway school, one of the approved ones, told Efe. After completing this route, they must opt for the places offered by the operators. In the case of Renfe through the OPE, which at the end of last April launched the access tests to incorporate 450 new train drivers. And there is still one more phase after all the previous process, because they must be trained to know the specifics of the train and the route that they are going to operate before exercising.
This month Renfe has opened the registration for its 17th train driver aspiring course, for which it foresees 294 registrations. In the 16 previous promotions, the public operator has trained more than 3,900 drivers. The new high-speed brands come to the market in search of machinists through job portals and social media advertising, explains from Iryo Lina Vélez. but it is difficult to attract locomotive operators among Renfe staff because their wages and working conditions “are somewhat better,” says the head of the Trenitalia subsidiary company. It is easier, she adds, to capture them among the train drivers who are dedicated to freight traffic, because they have worse hours and greater rotation in their work shifts.
Bullido stands out two predominant profiles of candidates: young railway enthusiasts or more veteran peoplewho come from other sectors (truck drivers, construction, crane drivers, self-employed…) and are looking for safer job options and better prospects for reconciliation with personal life.
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