Track Safety

[Wildcookie]

Hi Guys, 

 

I'm thinking of adding a track safety ticket to my collection but not sure the best way to do so. There's two of us who work together but from what I've been reading this morning, you need to be sponsored by a company to complete it; is that right??  

[openspaceman]

8 hours ago, Wildcookie said:

Hi Guys, 

 

I'm thinking of adding a track safety ticket to my collection but not sure the best way to do so. There's two of us who work together but from what I've been reading this morning, you need to be sponsored by a company to complete it; is that right??  

Yes that was the way 5 years ago when I retired. It's a bit like the guilds of old, only firms with the right credentials can work on the railway, for safety reasons ostensibly,  and they then provide clean staff that have been trained to the correct standards to do the work. This enables them to then charge two or three times the rate for the work in a less controlled environment.

[difflock]

55 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

Yes that was the way 5 years ago when I retired. It's a bit like the guilds of old, only firms with the right credentials can work on the railway, for safety reasons ostensibly,  and they then provide clean staff that have been trained to the correct standards to do the work. This enables them to then charge two or three times the rate for the work in a less controlled environment.

Strange that I know a complete alky fray Glasgie, that works on the railways, on maintenance.

He is hopefully limited to being a Buckfast fuelled labourer, but even so.  .  .

 

[openspaceman]

10 minutes ago, difflock said:

Strange that I know a complete alky fray Glasgie, that works on the railways, on maintenance.

He is hopefully limited to being a Buckfast fuelled labourer, but even so.  .  .

 

I used to have a medical every two years because of my age, youngsters had them every three years. I never had problems with the alcohol test by simply abstaining for 24 hours, my biggest problem was holding my bladder full before the sample could be given having travelled for an hour to get to the private medical centre..  Recreational drugs apparently test positive for a longer time after,  not having partaken of any other an a bit of pot and amphetamine when I was under 20 this was not a problem for me. After an incident the whole crew involved would be isolated and tested and I was never on a job where that happened.  We were subjected to random drug and alcohol tests at base but the health and safety man was a heavier drinker than I and he would suggest we left the site for a short while.

[Khriss]

PTS ot BTA? You got yr sentinel? K

[Wildcookie]

8 hours ago, Khriss said:

PTS ot BTA? You got yr sentinel? K

Hi Khriss, 

 

To be honest, I wasn't even aware of them to begin with - a guy I know mentioned about a PTS card so I started looking into it. I'd kinda given up on the idea for now as I'd seen you needed sponsorship to proceed. Would the BTA allow me to work alongside the railway lines do you know? 

[Khriss]

26 minutes ago, Wildcookie said:

Hi Khriss, 

 

To be honest, I wasn't even aware of them to begin with - a guy I know mentioned about a PTS card so I started looking into it. I'd kinda given up on the idea for now as I'd seen you needed sponsorship to proceed. Would the BTA allow me to work alongside the railway lines do you know? 

PTS for Network Rail, BTA for Underground , you do Sentinel first ( simple Q & A plus Drug n Alcohol test ) Some roads run together so you would need both in some places . With Sentinel , a failed drug n alcohol test is life ban , now . Do you know where you would be working ( and who for ) ? K

[Wildcookie]

3 minutes ago, Khriss said:

PTS for Network Rail, BTA for Underground , you do Sentinel first ( simple Q & A plus Drug n Alcohol test ) Some roads run together so you would need both in some places . With Sentinel , a failed drug n alcohol test is life ban , now . Do you know where you would be working ( and who for ) ? K

Ah ok, so it would be PTS I would want. 

 

Basically, I was looking to add it to my tickets/qualifications etc so I can offer services rail-side too. I guess it was naive of me to expect that I could get my PTS and ticket and that would be it...

 

A friend and I are starting out on our own and we're based in West Cumbria. 

[Khriss]

1 minute ago, Wildcookie said:

Ah ok, so it would be PTS I would want. 

 

Basically, I was looking to add it to my tickets/qualifications etc so I can offer services rail-side too. I guess it was naive of me to expect that I could get my PTS and ticket and that would be it...

 

A friend and I are starting out on our own and we're based in West Cumbria. 

I would be wary there, the insurances alone could kill that . K

[Mick Dempsey]

I know of (end of last century mind) of a rail gang that would hand out lines of speed to their ‘staff’ on night work.