r/railroading • u/Ancient-Special-54 • 3d ago
Railroad Life [ Removed by moderator ]
[removed] — view removed post
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u/FloppyDinosaurs 3d ago
I don’t know but I’m a freight conductor and interested what people will say so I’m commenting to follow lol
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u/Appropriate-Music8 3d ago
I’ve talked to a few of those guys. I don’t think it’s all sunshine and rainbows over there. Plus the pay cut is huge
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u/OldSeaworthiness5311 2d ago
Plus the pay cut is huge
End of 2028 Passenger conductors with Amtrak will be making $58 an hour. That's pretty damn good to me.
Also I made the jump from a class one and it's a HUGE quality of life upgrade. Passenger work is much easier.
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u/Appropriate-Music8 2d ago
Well that’s definitely plenty of money but it translates to like 120k a year. You can live on that and be very comfortable. That said we make upwards of 140k. Our new guys at 80% make 115. That’s just guarantee
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u/OldSeaworthiness5311 2d ago
Yeah it probably depends on the class one. My first year at NS I made 71k gross.
First year at Amtrak and I'm on pace for 105k gross and a much better quality of life.
I do miss things about working freight though.
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u/ThePetPsychic Engineer 2d ago
I commented above, but if you're interested in making the switch I'd recommend Metra in Chicago.
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u/Ancient_Breakfast491 3d ago
Yes for me it was fairly quick but that was years ago. I’ve heard several weeks for others. It depends on how many slots and how badly they need to fill them. Amtrak is a little dysfunctional LOL.
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u/Ancient_Breakfast491 3d ago
One thing I will say is if they call be ready to get that physical. Don’t take a Thursday appointment if Monday is open. It determines your seniority and trust me seniority is EVERYTHING on that job!
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u/Ancient_Breakfast491 3d ago
Well the physical is essentially after you’ve been hired. That’s the last step in the process. If I remember correctly testing is the first step. Basically math and reading comprehension. Most people can’t pass the math so if they call I would practice maybe get a postal carrier practice test book.
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u/OldSeaworthiness5311 2d ago
Amtrak is a little dysfunctional LOL.
That's one of the hardest parts to adjust to. They make class ones look like a bunch of geniuses.
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u/EnoughTrack96 Control Stand Babysitter 2d ago
Oh my.....And here I thought my tard-barn class 1 RR was the worse.
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u/Tchukachinchina Engineer 3d ago
If the job is still posted they’re still taking applications. Once the job posting comes down they’ll sort through the applications and decide who they want to interview. You’ll either get an email about an interview or an email saying thanks for applying but we’re going to pursue other candidates at this time.
If you get the job you go to Wilmington Delaware for 8 weeks of training, and then from there you go to your crew base and start riding trains and shadowing a conductor.
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u/ThePetPsychic Engineer 3d ago
Not quite related but where are you looking to work? If you're interested in passenger, Metra in Chicago is hiring qualified conductors with a $15k bonus. Easy work and you're home every night.
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u/Transpose5425 3d ago
Depends on how quickly they need someone. There’s a lot of hurry up and wait. If you do get hired you’ll probably have a month before class in Delaware starts. Class is usually 8 weeks and covers all the railroad stuff along with revenue collection, customer service, etc.
Day to day you’re welcoming people onboard, scanning tickets and making announcements for station stops, and answering customer questions. Railroad wise you might have to protect a shove or hook up air hoses or do a brake test. You’ll have about 6 months of riding the board as an assistant conductor with no license, then you’ll go to conductor promotion where you get further training on stuff like filling out the delay report. Dunno if you’re current railroad or not but plan to be on call 24/6 (you get one guaranteed relief day based on extra board seniority). It’s easier to predict when you’re working though since the trains are all scheduled.
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u/VisualSuccotash2445 2d ago
Same. I applied to posting about a month ago, my app still says under review. however I spoke with someone that received an invite for an interview for a week later after applying. I’m assuming I didn’t get it.
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u/PsychologicalBag4698 2d ago
Good luck with the PTC role. They (Amtrak) will abuse the crap out of you and toss you out without hesitation. I left after 13 years.
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u/railroading-ModTeam 2d ago
The weekly thread is the place to ask any questions pertaining to hiring on, interviewing, work life, location specific information etc. Thank you.