V/Line Careers ~ Shunter

Fabio Andrade, Shunter

I joined V/Line as a Conductor in November 2005. It was my first job outside hospitality, an industry I’d been working in while I was at uni studying Mechanical Engineering.

After leaving hospitality, I really missed the contact with people. When I saw the conductor’s job, it wasn’t something I’d thought of. I didn’t know much about V/Line, because I didn’t catch public transport. It sounded like something different; a challenge I’d never thought of. So I did some research, applied for the job and got it. As it turns out, my hospitality background really helped.

The great thing was that I wasn’t expecting a challenge – but I got it. Being a conductor gave me a lot of experience working directly with people and helping them on their journey.

After about 18 months, I was ready to progress. The great thing about V/Line is there’s plenty of room to move and grow. Instead of staying in the one area, I broadened my knowledge and became a shunter. I’ve been shunting since August 2007.

As a Shunter, I make the path for the trains to get in to the station. I marshal the trains, hook on locomotives and detach defective carriages. I’m like a parking attendant without actually driving the vehicle. Instead of parking $25,000 Toyota Camrys, I’m parking $7 million VLocities.

I love shunting because you’re always busy. Your brain is always ticking and you’re always stimulated. Every day is different. Everyone looks forward to the footy season, with all the fans coming from across Victoria.

I’m hoping to move into management at V/Line. The next step in my career would be a Yard Master position then maybe become an Operations Manager. It would also be great to become a driver. My dream was always to be a pilot, so driving is definitely something I’d love to do.

Shunter

Main duties: Safely moving trains between the yards and platforms, connecting and disconnecting carriages.

Minimum qualifications: Year 10 onwards or relevant work experience.

Your skills: Communication, teamwork, organisation, time management and ability to work under pressure.

Job benefits: Fast-paced, work with trains.

V/Line training: Courses to give you the skills to do your job and on-the-job training.

Job locations: Southern Cross Station and Geelong.