Premier Statement: Mother and daughter answer call for new QR train drivers

[ozbob]

Premier
The Honourable Anna Bligh
18/12/2007

Mother and daughter answer call for new QR train drivers

Mother-and daughter duo Kylie Stephens and Amy Bland have answered the call for new QR train drivers amid the booming central Queensland resources industry.

Premier Anna Bligh today congratulated QRNational Coal's 50 new trainee drivers, including Ms Stephens and Ms Bland, during a visit to the Gladstone Railway Station.

Ms Bligh said the new recruits would play a major role in ensuring QR had the capacity to meet the future demands of the coal industry.

"In a coup for the traditionally-male dominated rail industry, 17 women are among the 50 new trainees based at Gladstone, Mackay and Bowen, which almost doubles the current number of 20 women train drivers across all of QR," Ms Bligh said.

She said QR was working hard to recruit, retain and progress the number of women across the business, particularly in frontline roles like train crews.

"QR has some brilliant examples of female drivers across the state who have come through the ranks and some are now teaching other drivers," Ms Bligh said.

"I want to thank the latest recruits for taking up a rewarding career option for men and women, including QR's first mother-and-daughter train drivers, Kylie and Amy."

Ms Stephens, 42, and Ms Bland, 20, of Gladstone, said they were surprised and ecstatic to be accepted into the same training program that began on November 19.

"We knew we were applying at the same time and joked about the possibility of both securing the same jobs. It was exciting when we found out it really happened," Ms Stephens said.

"We were both motivated to become coal train drivers by a desire to do something different, away from a desk."

The two women are in a class of 15 trainee drivers about to graduate from the classroom to the cab of a coal train to start on-track training under the supervision of experienced tutors.

"I think I've made a really good career choice that offers a lot of opportunities," Ms Bland said.

QR recently conducted an extensive recruitment campaign for new trainee drivers across its coal, freight and passenger networks. The trainees will complete their classroom-based training early next month and will be fully-fledged train drivers in mid-2008.

QRNational Coal South General Manager Geoff Featherstone said the new recruits were graduating in line with QRNational Coal's above-rail rollingstock acquisition program.

"Already, QR has invested $2.27 billion for the purchase of new locomotives and wagons, doubling capacity over current levels by 2011," Mr Featherstone said.

"We will have an additional 47 train crew by next month and have further training classes booked through to 2009 which will coincide nicely with the ongoing arrival of new locomotives and wagons throughout this time.

"We're also doing everything we can to make QR an employer of choice and showcasing our frontline roles as great career options for both men and women.

"QR's commitment to the Queensland coal industry has never been stronger - we are actively investing in new trains, new tracks and our most valued asset, our people."


December 18, 2007

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[johnnigh]

Interesting...

Has anyone seen a female guard or driver on Brisbane's CityTrains? I might, just, vaguely, remember seeing a female guard, but never driver.

How would anyone like to be the first into an exclusive boys' club?

I would not be surprised if it was a bit daunting to try to break in, even if management was very keen. Putting up with the crap that good ole boys are likely to chuck at an interloper would take a lot of guts.

Good luck and best wishes, sincerely, to anyone giving it a try. It took a while to get a critical mass of women bus drivers at Brisbane Transport. Management will have to be very pro-active to keep their first batch of women CityTrain drivers. No idea what it might take to keep freight drivers...

I look forward to the day when it is just routine to have as many women crew as men. And they'll probably be better drivers, as has been the case with buses and with heavy coal mine vehicles, where women are now very valued as precise and safe drivers.

[ozbob]

Citytrain has had some female guards for a while now, and the first female Citytrain driver has recently qualified.  An all female crewed service ran the other day.