How locksmiths and athletes are retrained as subway drivers. The most difficult thing in the work of an electric train driver is weather conditions. How much does a train driver earn in Belarus

Not far off is the Day of the Railwayman, which is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday of August. the day before professional holiday the locomotive driver, who has over 30 years of experience behind him, told the Belnovosti correspondent about his work.

Train driver is one of the most difficult professions. It requires not only physical strength, absolute health, but also stress resistance. In addition to constant exams, night flights, medical commissions, drivers often become eyewitnesses of death on the tracks.

The work of a machinist has always been valued and well paid, says Vladimir Ivanov* from Gomel. In the 90s, his family did not even notice the difficulties that many faced. The man is now retired. On his last payslip, which he received five years ago, the salary was about 12 million non-denominated rubles - not bad money, considering the average income level of Belarusians.

Now my colleagues, experienced machinists, receive about 2 thousand,- says Vladimir Pavlovich.

Of course, the salary of machinists depends on many factors: length of service, qualifications, bonuses, the number of trips made, etc. As our interlocutor noted, no one complained about earnings.

Each driver, even during training, is prepared for something that is not so easy to put up with. Accidents on the railway, unfortunately, are not uncommon. Vladimir Pavlovich did not say whether he often had to see with his own eyes how a heavy train was moving over a still living person.

Many ... One person is already a lot ... My heart ached for everyone. You can't get used to this. People die on the roads, mainly because of their carelessness.

People ignore warning signs, safety rules, which causes a tragedy. That is why it is so important to stay away from the tracks, because this is not a place for walking, says Vladimir.

Drunk people got under the train. For example, a man was walking, sat on the rails and fell asleep. Neither signals nor emergency braking helped to save him - he was cut in half. Also, in headphones, young people do not hear the sounds of an approaching train. It's not a car. It is almost impossible to stop in time.

Vladimir noted that the stopping distance of a train depends on many factors: speed, weather conditions, distance to an obstacle, etc.

I remember the case when two women died due to their indiscretion. I'm rushing on high speed, and at the turn I see two friends standing on the tracks, chatting. When they heard the signal, it was already too late... When I got out of the cab, I saw a terrible picture...

The driver must provide first aid to the victim. If necessary, load a person onto a train, take him to the nearest station, where an ambulance will be waiting for him.

Also, the incident must be reported to the dispatcher. The police will investigate what happened. Investigators will inspect the train, the scene.

It's really true men's work. I have always been proud that we have such a responsibility. When I was young, I was surprised that I was doing what I love, and I also get money for it.

Hooliganism also happens on the railroad. Schoolchildren can play pranks in such a way that the locomotive driver will have more work to do. For example, they will put a bunch of stones on the rails.

Becoming a machinist is not easy. Vladimir, like all newcomers, worked for 7 years as an assistant before he was entrusted with managing the squad. To get promoted, it is important to get the appropriate education, skills, and do your job well. Only after that will the question of how soon the assistant will be transferred to the machinists be decided.

To increase the level of wages, you can increase the class of the driver. Initially, everyone gets the fourth (conditionally), then they pass exams for the third and higher. First-class machinists are considered true professionals, because they passed all the tests.

According to Vladimir, the training does not end there. They are constantly tested to confirm their qualifications.

We always prepared carefully, taught theory from books, remembered what we knew in practice. Now it's all handed over on computers, and at one time we pulled tickets, like at school, - says Vladimir Pavlovich.

The duties of the driver include not only driving the train, but also a number of other, no less significant tasks. For example, the reception and maintenance of the train, checking for faults. The employee must not only be able to operate the locomotive, but also carry out minor engineering work, carry out maintenance of the train. If he loses sight of at least some trifle, then this can turn into a big problem.

If the driver overlooked somewhere, then they can be punished for this: deprive the bonus, or they can even be transferred to assistants. It all depends on the situation and the marriage that the employee allowed. Everything is carefully monitored by instructors, - the interlocutor explains.

In addition to a thorough knowledge of the rules of traffic on the railway, the ability to be patient in the most stressful situations, each driver and assistant must be absolutely healthy. Those who have vision problems, cardiovascular diseases, diseases nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, simply cannot be allowed to work.

Constantly passed a strict medical commission. If the worker had any sores, then he was transferred to easier work, in accordance with the diagnosis. There were those who were sent to the locksmith- recalls the driver.

To always be in shape, Vladimir led completely healthy lifestyle life. Smoking and alcohol were out of the question.

It even encouraged me to keep my form. This I now understand. When there is no motivation, then you don’t really want to go in for sports. I trained at the stadium, tempered and ate right. When he retired, he relaxed a little.

Vladimir Ivanov does not regret that he went through a thorny path to his childhood dream - to become a train driver. Despite the difficulties, the railway guaranteed a high income, a long vacation, as well as various supports: vouchers to a sanatorium, tickets for entertainment events, bonuses and other payments.

I didn't see any downsides. Every profession has them. I just took it for granted, that's all. To those who are going to become a machinist, I can wish good luck. The main thing is to take into account the features, whether they are suitable for a particular person or not.

*hero name changed for ethical reasons

Some, imagining themselves as a railway worker, do not fully know what really surrounds the everyday life of such a specialist. But if the desire to master one of the railway professions does not fade away, then the Minsk State Vocational College of Railway Transport named after E.P. Yushkevich is the only educational institution in Minsk that trains future railway specialists.
The director of the college will tell you in detail about the features of professions, aspects of training and the necessary professional qualities Rusak Vladimir Nikolaevich.

– Vladimir Nikolaevich, what professions can be mastered at the College of Railway Transport?

- Having joined us, the guys master the following professions.

Level of vocational education (on the basis of 9 classes)

• , qualification “assistant locomotive driver; electric locomotive driver assistant; rolling stock repairman";
• "Operation and repair of traction rolling stock of railway transport", qualification “Flaw Detector Cart Operator; track fitter";

Level of vocational education (based on 11 classes)

• "Operation and repair of traction rolling stock of railway transport", qualification "electrician for maintenance and repair of alarm, centralization, blocking devices";
• "Operation and repair of rolling stock of railway transport", qualification “train electrician; mechanic for the repair of rolling stock (repair of wagons)”;
• "Service of transportation on railway transport", qualification “conductor of a passenger car; ticket clerk.

Level of secondary specialized education (based on vocational education)

• (specialization "Technical operation and repair of wagons and refrigerated rolling stock"), qualification "electromechanical technician" (full-time (on a budgetary basis) and part-time (on a paid basis) forms of education);
• "Technical operation and repair of rolling stock of railway transport"(specialization "Technical operation and repair of traction rolling stock"), qualification "electromechanical technician" (correspondence (on a paid basis) form of education);
• "Railway and track facilities"(specialization "Railway and track facilities", qualification "technician" (correspondence (on a paid basis) form of education).

Enrollment of applicants for college education is carried out on the basis of the marks indicated in the document on education. Other nuances of admission (availability of the necessary medical certificates and other documents, conditions for obtaining vocational education, etc.) should be found out in advance at the college admissions office.

- Explain the characteristics of the work of representatives of each of the listed professions.

– Driver assistant- this is the second person in the train cabin after the driver himself. Alone, he is physically unable to perform all the duties of managing the train, so the assistant driver helps him to monitor the correct operation of the locomotive, the readings of traffic lights, signals, signal signs and indicators. The assistant driver must thoroughly know the rules of technical operation of railways, instructions for signaling, train traffic and shunting work on railways, and much more.

Rolling stock repairmen- These are workers who repair locomotives and railway cars. They determine the quality of parts, eliminate assembly defects. During repairs, locksmith work is performed, defective parts are changed, assembled and repaired units are adjusted and tested.

Flaw detector trolley operators, track fitters(travelers) are employees who ensure the safety of transportation. They are engaged in the construction of new railways, as well as the repair and maintenance of existing railways. Their main task is a safe movement, which in the event of a malfunction must be restored as quickly as possible. In their work, the railway workers use a whole range of equipment: from a sledgehammer and scrap to an autonomous power plant and a flaw detector.

Passenger car attendants monitor the safety and ensure the correct operation of the internal and external equipment of the passenger train. They board and disembark passengers, serve them along the train route. The conductors also keep the train documentation. They need to be able to act correctly in emergency situations.

Ticket cashiers work at the ticket office railway stations. It is they who issue and sell travel tickets and documents. In addition to professional knowledge, cashiers need to know the psychology and ethics of business relations.

Electricians for the maintenance and repair of signaling, centralization, blocking devices ensure trouble-free operation and safe operation of the listed devices on railways, as well as carry out their maintenance and repair. Also, their duties include the implementation of maintenance, repair, installation and adjustment of traffic lights, route and light indicators of turnout electric drives and control locks, turnouts, cable networks of electrical centralization of automatic blocking devices, automatic train signaling.

Train electrician is the first and indispensable assistant to the head of the train and conductors of passenger cars. He, together with the members of the train crew, exercises technical supervision over the proper maintenance of the cars, the normal operation of the equipment. When equipment malfunctions are detected, the electrician is obliged to identify the cause and take measures to eliminate it.

Electromechanical technicians work in railway locomotive depots, stock bases and locomotive outfitting points, track distances, power supply, recovery trains, as well as other transport and industrial enterprises.

Techniques carry out economic activities for the maintenance and repair of the railway track and other devices and structures of the railway transport track facilities.

Industrial training lesson (assistant driver)

How is college education organized?

– At the College of Railway Transport, a block of theoretical classes alternates with practical training, which is conducted by masters of industrial training. In the first year, the guys study theory for four days, and one day is allotted for industrial training, which is organized in the equipped workshops of the college. In the second half of the year, the number of "theoretical" days is reduced to three, and the days of industrial training are increased to two.

Students in a chemistry lesson

In the second year, alternation is organized monthly. After the second year, according to the qualifications, students undergo work practice at the enterprises of the Minsk branch of the Belarusian railway, where they consolidate their skills.

Industrial training lesson (conductors)

– Do students have the opportunity to listen to practical experts working on the railway during theoretical classes?

– Of course, such training is permanent. To keep our finger on the pulse, we constantly cooperate and communicate with railway employees. From time to time, representatives of the railway are invited to our college and talk about the innovations that are being introduced into the work process.

– How is the college of railway transport being improved?

– We are successfully developing intellectually. For college students, our teachers independently create textbooks, study guides and their electronic versions, training simulators different kind. By the way, some of them participate in republican competitions and, as a rule, win prizes among other teaching aids.

We also create educational films that are used in the learning process.

- In which educational institutions can graduates of the College of Railway Transport continue their studies?

– Qualified specialists for the Belarusian railway are trained by the educational institution “Belarusian State University transport". Many of our graduates continue their studies there and successfully move up the career ladder.

Now we have concluded a cooperation agreement with the Minsk State Higher Radio Engineering College, which allows our students who are mastering technical professions to study in absentia in a number of specialties of the radio engineering college for a shortened period of study.

- What awaits the guys who want to enter the college of railway transport?

- Our applicants are waiting for a lot of pluses. Firstly, they are waiting for such an interesting and fascinating element as the railway. Secondly, each graduate is guaranteed a first job. Thirdly, as far as we know, railway workers receive decent wages.

– Vladimir Nikolayevich, what qualities will help an applicant to realize himself in the railway profession?

- The most important thing is organization and discipline, because any profession on the railway is connected with ensuring safety. It is on these qualities that the success of the professional activity of the future specialist depends.

Vera ZHIDOLOVICH

Railroad college students are sometimes confused with airmen. Why is it so and how is the training of future assistant drivers, learned the correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti".

Aleksey Butrimovich, a sophomore of the Minsk State Vocational College of Railway Transport named after E. P. Yushkevich, is currently undergoing an internship. While as a rolling stock repairman. In the future, there is a prospect of becoming an assistant driver of an electric or diesel locomotive. True, in Europe, the driver no longer has an assistant. Including in the neighboring country Lithuania. Last year, at a meeting of the college administration with the leadership of the Belarusian Railways, this issue was discussed. Changes are likely to take place. The college is ready to produce machinists as well - there is modern equipment and the necessary simulators. All students can now learn how to drive a train either as part of a curriculum or in an association of interest.

Alexey, for example, has learned. But in practice, I have not yet applied my knowledge, and to stay right hand he will be a machinist in his third year.

The educational institution does not experience a shortage of applicants. The most popular specialties among the children are the driver's assistant and the wagon conductor. It is clear that the prospect of traveling around the country and beyond excites young blood. It is noticed that romantic natures go to college. But at the same time, they carry documents on education with a high average score to the selection committee. So, last year, among the future assistants to the driver, the passing score (training based on 9 classes. - Note. ed.) was 7.59! A solid indicator for conductors is 7.

But the work is not easy. Imagination draws a picture: you meet passengers in a beautiful uniform, you go on a long journey with them. But in reality it is necessary to remove the carriage, and drag the mattresses, and mutual language with a variety of people to find ...

- Passenger trains Minsk wagon section - the best in the CIS, Alex is sure.

Of course, it may seem that an enthusiastic student gives an exaggerated assessment of the work of our railway workers. However, the director of the college Vladimir Rusak, a person who not only knows the Belarusian railway from and to, but also often travels by trains of neighboring countries, confirms this assessment:

- How are the Muscovites? The wagons are cleaned by a special outfit team at the beginning and end of the train movement. And our conductors monitor the cleanliness of the cars along the entire route.

- And how can an assistant become a driver?

- You need to work as an assistant for at least a year and a half, then take courses at the Belarusian Railways training center, pass the exam.

- Are there health restrictions?

- And very serious! Almost like astronauts. IN last years there has been a disappointing trend: at the stage of the admission campaign, we weed out 4-5 for health reasons study groups- almost half of the set. To enter the assistant driver, you need to pass an ECG, ultrasound of the heart, abdominal cavity and other medical studies. Vision is only one for both eyes...

The main character of our story, Aleksey Butrimovich, came to the meeting in a beautiful blue uniform. She says she business card college. Institutional requirements for appearance Uniform, in the form go to work and teachers. On the tunic - gilded buttons, shoulder straps. According to the latter, one can determine the "rank" of the student: there is a badge - it means the headman or his assistant. Another distinctive sign is the BZD patch. It depicts a pair of wheels with wings. The winged symbol often misleads the ignorant - the guys are confused with pilots.

- Wings for me are flight. I answer everyone jokingly: our locomotives do not drive, but fly, Alexey laughs.

He takes us on a tour of the classroom. Leads to the simulator - an analogue of the driver's console.

- Coming here, I understood that this work would require a lot of responsibility,- says the guy, sitting down in the driver's chair. - You ride at the beginning of the train, and hundreds of people follow you ...

The simulator not only teaches how to drive an electric locomotive, but also helps to work out various difficult situations: driving at night, in rain, snow or fog. Alexei and I are going on a virtual journey through the Minsk-Baranovichi section. In front of us is a large screen that displays real landscapes outside the cabin window.

- Acceleration is not a problem. The most difficult thing is to stop the train in time, because its braking distance is on average one kilometer, Alexei clarifies.

We are "driving" at a speed of 35 km/h. The permissible speed is displayed on the monitor - 65 km / h.

- If you exceed, the brakes automatically work. The train will be completely stopped. The same will happen if the driver does not confirm his vigilance,- says the young man.

The red triangle on the control panel during the movement lights up from time to time, and a sharp signal sounds in the cab. After that, within 7 seconds, the driver must react - press the vigilance button. So the system checks if he fell asleep. The triangle lights up more often when the train approaches the station or approaches a red traffic light. At such crucial moments, the assistant driver does not even sit down.

What do the guys experience when they first enter the driver's cab, and not into the car as a passenger?

Deputy director for industrial training of the college Dmitry Sturlis:

- I remember how it was for me. Came to practice - got on a diesel locomotive. It's scary, because before I saw the car only in a stationary state. And then the driver starts the engine, and the ground seems to be slipping away from under his feet. It seemed that they flew as if on wings, and did not go along the rails. And whatever the driver said, he did instantly.

In April, guys from the college Evgeny Gritsuk and Ruslan Telenkov went to Vilnius for international competition professional skills of students in the competence "Locomotive driver". The tasks were not easy, especially the practical part - driving a locomotive on a simulator, but the guys did it and won 1st place!

“I remember three pilots came to us. One worked for a couple of months - spat. He said: “Flying is easier than driving your trains,” and returned to the airfield.” The Minsk metro regularly conducts courses on the profession of "electric train driver". The specialty is highly paid, and therefore there is no end to those who wish. We learned how future drivers are selected and trained.

Competition for courses is fierce. Of the hundred applicants, only 30 are selected. Some are eliminated at the interview, the second - at the medical board.

The driver must have the same health as an astronaut. Vision "one", pressure 120/80, pulse not higher than 86 beats per minute. Age - up to 40 years - lists the criteria Evgeny Talaka, head of the Mogilevskaya electric depot on which training is based.

Preference is given to candidates with a technical background. Those wishing to manage the composition will also have a computer test - for logic, attentiveness, perseverance.

There are currently 17 people in the group: all guys. Three have already been expelled - for academic failure.

You are tough.

How else? You want to drive safely.

The courses last eight and a half months, four and a half months - theory (part of the classes are held at the Minsk State Vocational College of Railway Transport named after Yushkevich), a week and a half - locksmith practice and then train practice. Students work out their control skills on a simulator that completely repeats the original train cabin.

Want to try?

I sit in the driver's seat. On the computer screen - a tunnel of the second metro line, on the panel - a lot of switches: to open doors, inform passengers. “The next metro station is Traktorny Zavod,” announces a familiar voice. I start moving. The maximum permitted train speed is 80 kilometers per hour. They say that real drivers only look at the road, because their hands already remember which switches are which. But I do not take my eyes off the panel, and only at the prompt of the instructor do I have time to orient myself. Or rather, I don’t have time - I pass the station and stop the virtual train further than necessary.

Gross mistake. This is disrespect for passengers, - Evgeny Toloka notes.

In the event of an emergency, the driver is given a maximum of five minutes to set the train in motion. This is in theory, in reality it will be a minute or two. On the simulator, they work out what to do if there was a malfunction in the equipment or a passenger threw himself under the wheels. Engineers who are already working regularly train (the so-called emergency games) what to do in case of a malfunction on the rolling stock. Those who did not cope, after 10 days waiting for a retake. Again showed a bad result - goodbye.

A little about working conditions. The driver's salary is above the national average. The shift lasts no more than seven hours. One and a half to two hours you drive, half an hour you rest. To do this, the subway has separate rooms - with TV and billiards. And after a working day, the drivers themselves wash their train.

To spend the night between shifts, employees stay in service apartments. They are located near the metro stations Kamennaya Gorka, Mogilevskaya, Frunzenskaya, Tractor Plant, Pushkinskaya.

The apartments have attendants. There is already a bed, the pillow is fluffed up, just no soup, - the head of the depot jokes. - In the morning, employees are woken up, tea is brewed for them.

Representatives go to retrain as drivers different professions. Policemen, border guards, security guards, electricians... Subway workers also often want to retrain. For example, Pavel Korchagin still worked as a mechanic at the Mogilevskaya depot. But being a machinist, he says, is a childhood dream.

I'm interested in trains. I used to watch how they drive, now I will drive. The work, of course, is responsible, but also prestigious. The driver has a decent salary, - the guy argues.

By education, Pavel is an engineer of radio electronics, he graduated from BSUIR. He notices that if there is experience in the subway, then it is a little easier to learn, but the courses are difficult. "A lot of information. You need to know the composition well - mechanical, electrical equipment, management. Lots of rules and instructions that we have to learn by heart.”

The guy says that they are waiting for five exams, then two months of running-in and a control exam for obtaining rights. Those eight months that the courses last, the metro keeps Pavel his average salary.

28-year-old Nikolay Kolenik has nothing to do with technology. He played football professionally and played for different clubs.

Why did you leave the sport? Age, permanent injury. I reconsidered my perspectives and decided to find something permanent for myself. Football career undulating, but I wanted stability.

I heard the players make good money.

Not in Belarus, - Nikolay smiles.

He looked through the vacancies, but nothing caught on. I tried to become a travel agent - I realized that it was not him. He paid attention to the profession of a machinist for a long time and, after consulting with his wife, decided that it was necessary to act. It was not easy for the graduate of BSUPC and the coach in his specialty at the courses.

Electricity, mechanics, pneumatics - all items are heavy. If you miss something, you won't get the job done.

While the guy is studying, the employment service pays him a scholarship.

Difficult year. We fight, - Nikolai smiles. - We save, we had to give up a lot. A big burden on the shoulders of a wife who works. Plus, you have to spend what you put aside in the piggy bank.

Sales manager Denis Kozhernovich learned about the courses through an announcement in the subway. He admits to being interested. good earnings. And the profession is worthy and interesting. And since the guy no longer wanted to be a manager (“great competition, it’s difficult to sell something”), he decided to master a new specialty. Denis studied as a mechanic in college, worked for a while at a tire shop - his technical knowledge just came in handy. Health is also in order: he used to do kickboxing.

Yevgeny Toloka encourages the cadets: the majority will ride on new generation trains. In the meantime, study until November: the requirements for machinists, who transport thousands of passengers per day and, one might say, are responsible for the image of the capital, are high.

Natalia LUBNEVSKY

Photo by Sergey Nikonovich

If we add up all the kilometers that the driver of the 2nd class Igor Khmelinko dashed off on the train, it will probably turn out more than one turn around the globe. For more than 30 years, he has been carrying passengers around the country: wherever there are rails, sleepers and a contact network. On the jacket is the sign "Honorary Railway Worker" - highest award in the profession. Igor Khmelinko was delegated for the first time to the 5th gathering of machinists, which opened today in Mogilev and brought together representatives of 17 locomotive depots.

In the village of Mrai, Borisovsky district, where Igor Gennadievich comes from, there was only a bus service, so I didn’t dream of working on the railway from childhood, I wanted to be a crane operator. The fate of the boy was decided by his uncle, who often visited from Minsk, where he worked as an electric train driver. I studied for six months at the courses of assistant machinists at the Gomel dortekhshkole. Served in the army. Well, after that, from January 1988 to this day, in the motor-car depot Minsk. And he does not represent himself in another profession.

Do you remember your first trip?

- Certainly. Assistant driver. Back then I had only theory and six understudy trips. I also remember my first driver - Praise Vladimir Moiseevich. Watched his work, adopted the experience.



It would seem that difficult? You move the controller up (it's like a gearbox in a car) - the train picks up speed, down - it slows down. And yet, Igor Gennadievich does not hide: his shirt was all wet with excitement:

- Stopping in time is more difficult than accelerating. For example, if you slow down earlier, the last cars may remain behind the platform. And how do people get out? Yes, and between stations you need to be very careful. Especially if there are transfers. The hour is not even, which Schumacher decides to slip in front of the train. Or a person will run across in an unspecified place,- for a moment my interlocutor falls silent. In his practice, there were cases that are hard to remember.

To earn the epaulettes of a 2nd class driver, he repeatedly underwent advanced training. He graduated from the Moscow College of Railway Transport, studied at special courses at the Baranovichi Training Center. In total, out of 31 years of work experience, 24 worked on Riga electric trains, and the last 7 - on the new series of EPs from the Stadler company. Was it easy to go from the usual 120 km per hour to 140 and even 160?

- When the Swiss electric trains were running in, and accelerated to 178. Instead of people, sandbags were loaded into the wagons. They checked the driving performance of new electric trains in order to certify them. At first, there were few who wanted to transfer to them. I hesitated too. A bunch of electronics, touch screens ... And we are people of the 80s. But nothing, mastered. And now our Stadlers are the kings of the track!

Igor Gennadievich gladly invites you to his workplace - at the right wing of the EPR: convenient, comfortable, with air conditioning and an air cushion seat. There are 4 monitors in front of your eyes, where all the information about the trip is displayed. Says he sometimes feels like a pilot spaceship. And when asked what is the most difficult thing in the work, he answers right off the bat: weather conditions. Especially autumn fogs. When you fly a Stadler and you don't see what's ahead: a man, an elk or a tractor at a crossing... For example, a few years ago there was an incident in the direction of Brest. I rode a 5-car EPR in one person, that is, without an assistant (by the way, only 9 out of 400 colleagues in the depot have such a permit). Fanipol has a curved section of the road. A woman is sitting on the rail. The signal is low, then high volume. Emergency braking. She gets up and leaves. The driver continues on his way ... And already behind Stolbtsy, before moving, he notices a truck. He argues: a trucker is a disciplined driver. And he keeps moving...

- It was very scary here: both for the passengers (this electric train always went loaded to the eyeballs), and for myself. Again emergency braking ... At a speed of 140, the Stadler has a braking distance of 700 meters. So I stopped literally 100 meters from the crossing, when the truck just had time to slip through it. It happens, and you travel for a year, you will never use an emergency, but here twice in one flight. So our instructor then advised me, upon arrival at the final, in Brest, to go to church, light a candle.



If the driver works in one person, says Igor Gennadievich, the working time is no more than 8 hours (not counting the time between flights during break trips), with an assistant - no more than 10. Then at least 16 hours to rest at home. This means that the chart is always floating. Can step in for a shift at any time of the day ... But there are pluses. You can retire 5 years earlier than usual (with a continuous service of at least 12.5 years). Vacation - 41 days. There is a surcharge for harmful conditions. After all, they work under voltage: 25-27 thousand volts overhead.

And the shift begins with a mandatory medical examination and check technical condition trains - brakes, wheels, the entire running gear. If a question arises, there is a group rapid response- highly qualified specialists who come and fix all the problems.

- What if it gets bad on the road?

- I have a special bracelet on my arm, if it loses connection with the security system, a red light comes on ... If I don’t press a certain button in time, the brakes will automatically work and the train will stop.



Son Yuri followed in the footsteps of his father. For a year now, he has been working as an assistant driver in the same depot. The father is strict. When they were put together for the first time on a trip, he was dissatisfied with the work of the youngest. A serious conversation took place at home. And on the next joint flight to Gomel, the partner pleased. Now Khmelinko is sure that he will not be ashamed of his work in front of other machinists. He also told his wife Raisa about this, with whom, by the way, the railway also connected. We met at a disco in a railway hostel, where the future engineer lived then. It turned out that her father was a wagon inspector, and both sisters had husbands who worked on the railroad ... Fate!

What problems will Igor Gennadievich talk about at the rally?

- If there were problems, we would not fly 140 - 160 km per hour, - he replies with pride. - My favorite direction is Brest. On the one hand, there are fewer curved sections of the path where there is a speed limit. On the other hand, it gets warmer earlier in the spring, you go, and here the gardens are already blooming. But now I often go to Gomel - after this section was fully electrified, the travel time is the same 3 hours. And the contact network is good, and the railway track. I will pay attention to improving the technical condition of the rolling stock, as well as increasing the prestige of the work of drivers working in one person, the possibility of increasing continuous working hours - this will help optimize our work schedule for the schedule of electric trains.



Igor Gennadyevich lists the main qualities for a person of his profession: punctuality, poise, composure, attentiveness, quick reaction, a sense of responsibility ... Interestingly, is there a high turnover of personnel among electric train drivers?

- No. For most, this is a lifelong profession.