Rail Station Assistant
Rail station assistants work in a rail station are responsible for ensuring that a station is well presented and that the passengers that use it are happy with their visit.They assist with making sure that trains leave on time and also help passengers to move around the station, and if necessary to get on and off the trains. They also respond to passenger enquiries and have to resolve problems if they arise.
Rail station assistants are also responsible for keeping passengers up-to-date with the latest travel information and may make passenger announcements on the station public address system and update computerised message boards too.
In some larger stations, the role may be split so that assistants take responsibility for different parts of the station, with roles including platform assistant, ticket examiner and customer service assistant, a role which would be based in a station information or ticket office.
Rail station assistants can earn from £13500 up to £17000 depending on experience.
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Working environment
Rail station assistants spend most of their time on their feet in a rail station. They may work on platforms, in which case they can be out in the open, and so can be working in bad or very hot weather. The environment can also be noisy; as they may work near to trains, or they may work in the central concourse of a rail station, where there will quite often be a large number of people. They may also be required to do undertake some lifting and carrying.Normally, rail station assistants will work shifts of between 7 and 10 hours, which can include working early mornings, late nights, weekends and bank holidays. The working week is normally around 40 hours.
Rail station assistants wear a uniform so that they can be identified easily by the public.
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Skills and interests
A rail station assistant must have a clear understanding of the importance of good customer service and must also enjoy interacting with other people.Rail station assistants need to have:
- excellent communication skills
- assertiveness for dealing with passengers who may be unhappy or difficult
- a calm approach to work, so that they can work efficiently under pressure
- a good memory for travel information
- flexibility in order to deal with challenges and changing situations; a station can change from being very quiet to very busy in a matter of minutes.Go Back
Entry into the role
Rail station assistants are mostly employed by train operating companies, but also by Network Rail who manage some stations across the UK.Jobs are normally advertised by through rail company websites. They may also be promoted through job centres, specialist recruitment websites and in the local press.
Entry requirements for the position can vary between employers, however most will expect applicants to have a good basic education, and be literate and numerate (with, for example, GCSEs or national equivalents in English and maths).
Employers may also look for applicants with previous experience of working in any customer service environment.
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Opportunities
Rail station assistants can progress into station management, looking after the upkeep of the station or taking responsibility for customer service.There are industry related qualifications that are available to gateline assistants. These include:
- City & Guilds level 2 NVQ in rail transport operations (passenger services).
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Useful links
Go BackCase Studies
RAIL - platform assistant
Platform Assistant Emmanuel Talines speaks about working for Southern Rail
RAIL - station staff
Scotrail member of station staff, Morvan Cameron, speaks about how she got into her job - courtesy of www.icould.com. (click on the image to play)