Job Introduction

Your decisions will make all the difference

Based in one of our North West route’s signalling locations, you’ll make sure trains travel safely and efficiently along your part of the network. Managing the signals on your part of the network, you’re an integral part to passenger and freight journeys, as well as the safety of our maintenance colleagues out on track.

Our signalling community comes from a variety of different backgrounds, and so we’re focused on your transferrable skills and behaviours.  No formal rail experience is required, though any work you’ve done which has required concentration, is safety critical and involves communicating with others would stand you in good stead.

And if you make the grade then you can look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling career with a company that recently joined the top 50 in the Glassdoor's 2021 Best Places to Work.

Main Responsibility

Whilst you’ll be part of a signal box team, you’ll also be comfortable with working on your own for long periods of time and shift work. And when things happen, such as a trespasser on the line, you’ll need to use your training and skills to get our passengers moving safely onwards to their destination. 

Your commitment to self-development and continuous learning is hugely important in this role and we'll provide you with all the training to develop both technical skills and non-technical skills. You will benefit from attending a 10-week residential signaller training course followed by a period of supervised on the job training and the opportunity to practise new skills in a real work environment. 

If you’re joining us from another industry, the structured training will give you the skills and confidence to move into a rewarding career in rail. If you’re joining us from another industry, the structured training will give you the skills and confidence to move into a rewarding career in rail

The Ideal Candidate

You don’t need rail experience, but you do need to show how your transferrable skills meet the following,  

• Communication – A variety of clear communication skills are essential in the signalling role. You will be required to deliver safety critical communications with colleagues and stakeholders to ensure processes and safety standards are adhered to at all times.  
• Ability to learn – Due to its safety critical nature, there is a lot to learn to become a competent signaller.  
• Ability to work alone – Every signaller requires the ability to operate efficiently and make safety critical decisions confidently on an individual basis.  
• Ability to work as part of a team – Despite being able to work confidently alone, it is important you are a team player.  
• Attention to detail – The signaller role requires consistent high levels of attention but varying levels of concentration.  
• Multi-Tasking – You will be expected to deal with phone calls, signal trains, block lines for maintenance work and complete administration tasks.  
• Working Under Pressure – Due to the intense and challenging events that can occur on the railway, it is crucial you are able to remain calm whilst working under pressure.  
• Decision Making - By its nature, the signaller roles requires you to make safety critical decisions throughout the course of your shift. 

In order for your application to proceed to interview stage, you'll need to achieve a passing score on the application screening questions, as well as meeting the minimum pass benchmarks in our psychometric testing

You’ll also need to be within a 60 minute commute of the locations you’re applying to work at and will need access to your own transport to allow for the different shift work. 

This role involves days, nights and weekend working and the job is safety critical. Offers of employment are subject to drug and alcohol testing and passing of the relevant medical assessment and BPSS pre-employment checks.

Package Description

Signalling matters to millions by keeping trains moving and people safe!

If you’ve never considered working in signalling before, you might be wondering what it’s all about. So, here’s a quick introduction to what signalling is and why it matters to millions.

What is signalling?
Signalling is essentially a sophisticated traffic light system for the railway. It gives us a simple way to keep a huge number of trains moving safely across the various routes in our network. 

Without expert signallers, the railway simply couldn’t function, and passengers all over the country would be affected. Our role is to run a safe, reliable and efficient railway, serving customers and communities. We exist to get people and goods where they need to be and to support our country’s economic prosperity. Safety is our number one priority. 

For more information on signalling please look at the web page linked below - 

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/campaigns/signalling-opportunities

Are you looking to join an organisation where you do meaningful work every day?

Our trainee signaller roles are your first step into a rewarding career with Network Rail

We have trainee signaller vacancies in Crewe.

You will join as a permanent employee, as a Grade 2 trainee signaller.  You will not be allocated to a specific signal box until you finish signalling school, at which point you will begin to train at locations local to you where we have vacancies.  When permanent signaller vacancies arise, you will be invited to apply for these to secure a permanent location.

Grade 2 salary: £29,221
Closing date: 30th June 2022

Interviews have been scheduled for 27th July

Due to our fatigue management policy you’ll need to be within a 60-minute commute of the location you're applying to and will need access to your own transport to allow for the different shift work. Please be aware it is our due diligence to check peak travel times and if the time is over 60 minutes, we will contact you about this. 

Note on early closing - Signaller vacancies often receive high numbers of applications and we may close the vacancy early when we have reached a maximum number of applications. Please do submit your application as early as possible.

Click ‘apply for this job’ to apply

About the Company

We’re an organisation where people matter. We matter to millions.

Our role is to run a safe, reliable and efficient railway, serving customers and communities. We exist to get people and goods where they need to be and to support our country’s economic prosperity. Safety is our number one priority. 

We're undertaking an ambitious change. Our vision is Putting Passengers First – becoming a company that is on the side of passengers and freight users; that is easy to engage with and is an efficient and dependable partner; a company people are proud to work for; instinctively recognised as an industry leader. 

Your Signaller recruitment journey

Here’s a short video explaining what to expect and how to prepare for your Signalling recruitment journey 

• Application - completed on our career's portal, you'll need an up to date CV and around 20 minutes in a safe, quiet spot where you’re comfortable typing answers to a number of questions about your interest and understanding of the Signaller role.
• Identification documents - You'll need to provide your identification documents virtually; we will provide more guidance on this and how to prepare closer to the time.
• Online assessments - You'll take part in in two online assessments which will include a psychometric test and a Scenario assessment
• Face to face interview - to explore your skills and experiences in more detail.
• Offer - you'll receive a call from our Careers Team to discuss further details including salary, benefits and your medical assessment. Offers of employment are subject to drug and alcohol testing and passing of the relevant medical assessments.
• Pre-employment Screening - you'll need to provide some documents to prove your identity and right to work in the UK
• Medical assessment – Signalling is a safety critical role, so you’ll take a medical assessment before starting in the position. This will include a hearing and eye sight examination
• Induction - you'll receive more information about your Signaller training.

We’re happy to help you with any queries you may have regarding the recruitment and selection process and to listen to any reasonable adjustments you require to make you feel more comfortable. To contact us please email: support@networkrail.zendesk.com

Everyone matters is our diversity strategy. By 2024 we will be an even more open, diverse and inclusive organisation that is better at reflecting the communities that we serve. By putting our passengers first, our strategy will help us to provide a more accessible and more inclusive experience for you.

Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd