Hello everyone, I applied for the conductor trainee position about a week and a half ago and received an email today for an interview next week. I've been searching online but haven't been able to find answers to a few questions: It looks like there were 200ish people furloughed in Galesburg a year and a half ago. Is that still the case? My concern is leaving a 42k a year job to go somewhere else and not be able to work. If someone is furloughed right after training do they still receive some pay? Does 24/7 on call really mean I can be called in 365 days straight? Are there predictable days off? I'm sure I'll have more questions.. Thanks!
You are not on call 365 days a year, you do get days off. But when you are low man on the seniority pole, 24/7 is 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They could call you at 2am on Sunday, noon on Friday, or 7pm on Tuesday. You may only work 1 day a week. You could work day after day. Forget having a normal social life, the railroad will kill that. No pay if you are furloughed. If you get the opportunity, good luck, enjoy, and sleep when you can.
Don't know BNSF results - When I was still working with CSX when I retired in 2016 - they were getting about 20% of those that they furloughed to return to service when they placed the recall notices. They had to do new hires to make up the numbers that they needed. Traffic levels dictate employment levels in Train and Engine service.
Basically you'll be under federal regulations as to how much you work. After working 6 days, you'll get 48 hours off. If you go more than 24 hours without working, your 6 days restart. You also can't work more than 12 hours each time you go to work. You might be sitting on a train after 12 hours, but you can't do any work or move the train. After working, you get 10 hours off before they can even call you to go back to work. If you are at work more than 12 hours, you get extra rest time. You also can't work more than 263 hours a month. (I might be off a few hours on that one, I've never even been close to it.) I work less than most of my friends, but make more than they do. Give it a shot, and don't let them scare you away. It's not as bad as they tell you.
