The Traffic Department is required to supply essential
services and duties, staffed primarily by voluntary personnel,
whenever the railway is operating. Such services and duties are
as follows:
Station Staff
Each station, Swanage, Corfe Castle and Norden Park & Ride
has a volunteer Station Master. They are responsible to the
Traffic Manager for the overall efficiency and management of
their respective stations and their platform staff. An important
and indeed essential requirement of station personnel is the
portering staff.
On completion of the platform duty training program, which
covers platform duties, platform and passenger safety given by
experienced and qualified tutors, you then qualify as a trained
platform porter.
Platform (Portering Staff) duties include:
- The cleanliess of the station platform (sweeping of) -
passenger waiting room platform litter bins. Platform to be
litter free at all times.
- Platform notice/information boards to be brought up to
date as required.
- Ensure when trains are due to arrive or before departure
from the station, you implement the strict rules as regards
passenger safety. In your portering training you will be
made fully acquainted with these requirements.
- Become fully acquainted with all our railway services
and timetables, thus be able to answer most enquiries from
passengers. Your PR work is very important. Being fully
qualified after due experience and satisfactory service you
will be eligible to apply to be considered to undertake the
training course to become a railway guard.
Booking Clerks
Each of the three stations has a booking office that has to
be open for the sales of tickets, to provide passengers and
enquiries with information of all railway services both
immediate and future, at all times when the trains are
operating. Booking Office staff must work fully to ensure an
efficient, happy station.
Travelling Ticket Inspectors (TTIs)
The travelling ticket inspector is very often the first
person our passengers have contact with so it is imperative
therefore that travelling ticket inspectors are always smart,
polite and knowledgeable about the railway and services offered.
The TTI has the important duty of, in addition to the duty of
ticket inspection, the collection of rail fares from those
without tickets (e.g., due to insufficient time to obtain
tickets at the booking office before train departure. Ticket
Inspector training will be given by an experienced Ticket
Inspector voluntary member of this department.
Guards
The guard is fully responsible for the safe and efficient
operation of the train at all times. A guard is required to
undertake a complete training program before becoming a fully
qualified trained guard (having first completed the course,
assessment and experience as a porter). The guard, before the
commencement of his/her duty is responsible for ensuring all
passenger carriages are up to the highest standard of cleanness
and safety before receiving passengers.
Although normally we have a rostered duty ticket inspector on
the train, occasionally due to non-availability the on train
guard will be asked to fulfil the TTI role (usually this only
occurs on our evening service trains not during daytime
services).
Signalmen
No railway service anywhere can operate without a signalman
on duty. You may be interested or desire to join a signalling
course. Special signalling schools are arranged to provide
instruction on the rules and regulations to enable the all
important safe operation of all train services. Following the
completion of the signals course a stringent assessment and
examination will of course be necessary to qualify as a
signalman. Refresher courses and retesting are required
periodically.
Reservations Office (Swanage Station)
The railway reservations office team is an important and
essential department in which to serve. You will be required and
able to answer enquiries on all our services, take booking
reservations on our dining train services, our popular driving
experience trains and special service trains such as Santa
Specials indeed the perfect place to give your services to our
railway if you enjoy being in contact with our enquiring public
but are not of a practical mind for climbing around on trains.
What ever time you are able to give in this department will be
appreciated.
What do we ask of you?
- Be a happy, friendly, helpful conscientious person
- Put our passengers first
- Be part of a team in what ever department you are
interested in or become part of
- We are mainly voluntary staff, we all enjoy what ever
our role for Swanage Railway may be - we are all friends in
the same enjoyment and comradeship in the voluntary service
of the railway.
- We ask you to be able to give a minimum of just 15
duties per year to suit your convenience (more if you can do
so).
We operate on a monthly rota system.
Interested?
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP
WE NEED YOU YOU WILL BE WARMLY WELCOME
COME AND JOIN US
What ever time you can offer, whatever role you seek you will
be welcome. We cannot offer you a uniform but our dress code is,
Gentlemen
- Black Shoes (preferably toe tectors)
- Black Trousers
- White Shirt
- Railway Tie (green)
- Black Waistcoat
- Black Blazer
Ladies
- Black Shoes (covered toes)
- Black Skirt/Trousers
- White Blouse
- Black Waistcoat
- Black Blazer
To find out more please contact us using any of the methods
listed in the panel on the right. |