Who is a passenger carriage conductor? The work of a train conductor: pros and cons

The Village continues to find out how the personal budget of representatives of different professions works. In the new issue - the conductor of a passenger carriage. The work of a conductor seems romantic to many - trains long distance, different cities and random interlocutors. It’s not difficult to get a job here: Russian Railways accepts everyone with a secondary education, you just need to take preparatory courses. But the work is quite hard, and the salary is low. We asked a young man who dreamed of becoming a conductor and now works on a train, how he feels about his work, how much he earns and what he spends his money on.

Profession

Conductor

average salary

22,000 rubles

Spending last month

7,000 rubles

renting half an apartment in Novosibirsk

2,000 rubles

temporary registration

500 rubles

phone payment

6,000 rubles

products

2,000 rubles

souvenirs

2,000 rubles

500 rubles

transport

2,000 rubles

savings

How to become a guide

I was born in Biysk, Altai Territory, later my family moved to Moscow, where they lived for only a year and a half, but I really fell in love with this city. Then I had to travel a lot public transport, and I really wanted to become a driver. Then we returned to the Altai Territory again. After the ninth grade, with a burning desire to become a driver, I entered the specialty “rolling stock mechanic, conductor” passenger cars, wagon inspector-repairer, operator” to the Novosibirsk technical school (since the family budget would not have been able to afford education in Moscow). I studied for four years, and in the summer of my second year I had the opportunity to try myself as a guide and earn extra money. After that, I lost all desire: there was a terrible team, it was unclear how the money was paid - in two months it came out to 47 thousand rubles. After studying, I was assigned to Russian Railways. Thanks to my good grades, I had a choice, and I chose the job of a passenger carriage conductor. In the future I want to move to Moscow.

In general, this is a job for people 35–45 years old who have extensive experience in another field. There are even special three-month courses for such people. To start working, a conductor needs to pass a medical examination, register with the human resources department, and pass occupational health and safety exams. You also need to pass a test with more than 250 questions. There you need to quickly and correctly calculate, remember numbers, solve a puzzle, and so on. It happens that some people do not pass it.

Features of work

The conductor must be able and know everything: seat the passenger, give him a set of linen, write him down on a strict reporting form, warn him 40 minutes before his departure, drop him off. Monitor the cleanliness of the cabin: clean the carriage at least twice per trip, and the toilet at least four times. It's like the Sims game where the characters have an indicator: if it's green, then everyone is happy. So are the passengers: I almost didn’t follow, and immediately became dissatisfied.

The conductor has many professions - for example, a loader, a waiter, a psychologist. Large thick bags of dirty laundry need to be carried into your compartment. You need to walk around with a tray and tell passengers that tea products and souvenirs are on sale. You also need to be a bit of an encyclopedia - at each station passengers ask: “What area are we in?” or “What river flows here?”, “What is the population of this city?” and so on. Sometimes you resolve a quarrel between passengers or they themselves come to talk, because several days on the train are hard for them. Many passengers come up to me and ask about my work - whether I like it or not. In general, we can’t criticize our work, but I answer as it is, that I don’t get paid much and that you wouldn’t wish working as a guide to your enemy.

It's cold outside now, and the first thing passengers ask about is air conditioning. I had a case when in Rostov-on-Don passengers did not have time to board at the station, and only their 14-year-old son remained in the carriage. He didn't know the phone numbers. The head of the train contacted the station, the parents eventually went to catch up with the train by taxi, and paid 5 thousand rubles. And on our last trip, our locomotive caught fire between stations, the driver made an emergency brake, and all my dishes fell and broke. The passengers jumped up and began to panic. After 40 minutes we set off, although it seemed that the locomotive had not yet been extinguished: if there had been more downtime, the entire crew would have lost their bonus.

This is how I prepare for the trip: a day before departure, I go to the store to do some shopping. It comes out to about 3 thousand rubles, and so on twice a month. The next day at the appointed time (eight hours before the train departs) I arrive at the park for a planning meeting. I have a suitcase, a bag and a large bag of food with me. The planning meeting is attended by the head of the train, the instructor and the conductors with whom I will go on the flight. The head of the train scatters us among the carriages, usually in a boy-girl pair. I have been working recently, and all my partners are new to me. They also say what class we will travel in - reserved seat, compartment or SV. I loved the reserved seat, because all the passengers are visible, I know who and where, and it’s easier to get out. Then we go to the carriages; I am happy when I see that the carriage is new. We receive the carriage - we count the inventory, we receive cleaning products, garbage bags, soap, paper and goods that will be sold. But a team doesn’t happen every once in a while; sometimes people have more swear words than ordinary ones.

Then the head of the trip walks around the train and checks that everything is in order. We arrive at the station in an hour, and boarding begins 30 minutes later. I must be dressed strictly in uniform and be the face of the company. Now it gets dark early, and you still need to turn on the lights in time and switch from evening to night, adjusting to local time. The big minus is that on the road I eat very little, a lot of unhealthy food, and I lose weight (but for women it’s the opposite).

The one-way trip takes four days. The climate, time zone and passengers are changing. IN last 24 hours The guides make a report and clean up the path. Upon arrival, we go to the shower, to the store for groceries, sometimes souvenirs, and on the same day we leave back with new passengers. But they shouldn't see our fatigue. Upon arrival, we also don’t sleep for a day: after all the passengers have disembarked, we begin to count the inventory again; in case of a shortage, a certain amount can be deducted from the salary. If the train arrives at 09:45, then I get home at 15:45, if I'm lucky. All this time is not paid, only the travel time is paid.

Passengers' linen must also be returned; any shortage will also be deducted from the salary. Then we go to the standardization officers, they schedule the next flight, name the date and direction. In a special regime (in the summer, when trains run every day), rest takes 30–50% of the time (for example, after an eight-day trip, three to four days of rest); in normal times, after an eight-day trip, seven to nine days of rest.

Salary and expenses

There was no way to relax in the summer: you sleep for two days, go to the store the next day, and then go on a trip. Now I have more rest, but there are fewer hours, so, accordingly, the salary is lower. Salary depends on the time spent on the road. In a good month I receive 34 thousand rubles, in a bad month - 14–17 thousand rubles. On average it comes out to 22 thousand rubles. In August I drove 222 hours - that’s 16,198 rubles plus a 20% coefficient and an advance for the previous month - 7,700 rubles. This amount does not suit me. I want to move to Moscow and become a metro driver.

My mother and I rent an apartment, and I pay half - 7 thousand rubles. I spend 6 thousand rubles on groceries for a trip. I also eat fast food, and when we come to a city, I buy souvenirs there. There is no opportunity to go to classes or the gym, and you can forget about healthy eating. Other expenses include transportation (500 rubles) and telephone payments. After this there is almost no money left. Last month I paid a lot of money for temporary registration. And I save the rest for something good; I have to pay at least 5 thousand rubles for the same clothes.

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When you travel on a train, it seems that working as a conductor is not so difficult: you collected tickets, gave you tea, kept order - and that’s it.

Elena Ivanova

passenger train conductor

In fact, not all of them. The conductors are responsible for the serviceability of the equipment and the comfort of passengers. If something goes wrong on a trip, they ask us. At the same time, we don’t get that much - up to 40 thousand in the best case, and on average 25 thousand rubles.

I'll tell you what it's like to work as a passenger train conductor.

What is the work

A passenger train conductor is a waiter, a cleaner, a stoker, an electrician, a psychologist, a salesman and many others rolled into one. He checks the identity of passengers, seats them in the right seats in the carriage, gives them linen, feeds them, enters information about passengers into a strict reporting form and drops them off at the right station. The conductor is responsible for the life and health of passengers, so he must know how to behave in an emergency.

We also resolve conflicts and keep the carriage clean. Every trip we need to sell goods, and in winter we need to clear the snow under the cars and remove the ice.

All about work and earnings

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On almost every trip some problems arise: the passengers do not have necessary documents and they cannot be put on the carriage, then someone will not make it to the train. Sometimes someone drinks too much. And of course, some of the passengers will definitely smoke in the vestibule or between the cars, and this is prohibited. All these problems are solved by us, the conductors, and the head of the train.

Every time we are obliged to be extremely polite and attentive, even if the passenger is rude and behaves inappropriately. On one of the trips, a passenger demanded that the temperature in the carriage be +21 °C. He came to the conductors' compartment and made a fuss. Each time I had to calmly explain that the temperature is set by the climate control system and there is nothing I can do about it.

Categories of railway professions

All positions are divided into categories. The higher the rank, the more responsibility and higher the salary. For example, the first category is for car cleaners, and the heads of the railway service are the 15-17th category. Conductors are workers of the 2-5th category:

the second category - for conductors of some commuter trains;
third category - for conductors of long-distance trains;
the fourth - for conductors of branded trains and international trains;
the fifth - with conductors who know a foreign language on international trains.

The train manager has grades from 8 to 11, the logic of the grades is the same. The train manager is responsible for the safety of passengers, supervises conductors and technical staff, and resolves conflict situations and complaints. He is also responsible for ensuring that the train leaves and arrives on time.

Railway companies, salary and schedule

There are several railway companies in Russia: Russian Railways, Grand Express, TransclassService, etc. Russian Railways owns other companies, for example the Federal Passenger Company. They all regularly hire guides.

Salaries in railway companies vary. TKS pays more. One of the reasons is that the conductors there travel on different, longer schedules. At FPC they offer a salary from 25,000 to 30,000 R per month, and at TKS - 39,000 R.

The conductors work in shifts. The schedule is 8/8, 14/14, 16/16. Sometimes they can be sent on several flights in a row, for example in the summer or if there are not enough conductors. Such shifts are paid at an increased rate, as is work on holidays.

FPC offers a salary of 25 thousand rubles per month and presents a long list of responsibilities and requirements for the candidate

How to become a guide

Courses. Becoming a conductor in Russian Railways is not difficult. It is enough to have a secondary education and take courses - they are held from September to December. The courses teach how to resolve conflicts, provide knowledge on safety precautions, labor protection, design and operation of equipment in passenger cars. Courses from FPK and Grand Express are free.

To become a train manager, you cannot do without a higher education. The specialty does not have to be railway, although it is easier.

After the courses, future guides undergo instructions, testing and internship.

At the briefing introduce them to the place of work, labor regulations, and basic issues of labor protection. Another briefing is carried out directly at the workplace - they tell you where to cross the tracks, how to behave in a particular carriage, etc. Once every three months there are repeated briefings.

At the testing stage you need to complete tests of logic, knowledge of disciplines and pass a psychological test.

During the internship beginners go on a trial flight with an experienced guide. They can be taken on any flight, there are no restrictions on range. It happens that you have to do an internship on the Moscow - Vladivostok flight. During the internship, newcomers fill out diaries. They write there what they did and when: they checked tickets, cleaned up, sold goods, etc. An experienced conductor evaluates a newcomer at the end of the voyage. We usually give good marks because newcomers always try to show their best side.

Every few years, conductors undergo additional training and pass exams in all railway disciplines. Before the 2018 FIFA World Cup, conductors on trains carrying foreign fans received an additional course in basic English.

How does work work while traveling?

Before boarding passengers at the final station, I clean the carriage: I wash the floors and all surfaces, I clean the toilets. I work on a company train, so I have to make the beds on the top bunks. A few minutes before boarding, we receive a list of passengers in our carriage via special devices.

Landing. At the initial station, boarding occurs half an hour before the train departs. I check the passenger's information on the identity document and on the ticket. Problems often arise with documents: it happens, for example, that passengers buy a discount ticket without having such a right. In this case, I call the train manager, and we deal with each problem individually.

Passengers often make mistakes in the data - this happens at least once during the trip. According to internal regulations, a passenger can make one mistake in their last name or document number. You can enter the carriage even if the ticket indicates the wrong gender.

If there are more errors, you need to have time to correct the data before departure. We inform the train manager about the errors, he checks with the operator whether the ticket is valid, after which the operator changes the data. It is better, of course, to arrive at the station in advance, so that in such a situation you can do everything before the train departs. The service costs 200 RUR.

Children under five years of age also travel on trains for free in the same berth with an accompanying person. In this case, the child needs to register free ticket at the register. Parents often forget about this. Then the child is issued a ticket on the train, but they also charge 200 RUR for this.

We check passenger data using a control device electronic tickets. There is a list of those who bought tickets. If a passenger returns a ticket, this is immediately displayed. This is how we identify rabbits who buy tickets on the Internet, print them out, and then return them and try to get into the carriage using the printout. Photo: Russian Railways

After the train departs I ask you again to show your passport. Many passengers don’t like this, because their tickets have already been checked upon boarding. But we do this not out of whim, but in order to identify free riders who entered the carriage under the guise of seeing them off and stayed.

After checking the tickets I'm going to sell goods. On unbranded trains, conductors hand out linen, and open toilets after the sanitary zone. We also offer to buy additional food, tea, slippers, hygiene items, and souvenirs.

After the goods are sold, I enter information about passengers into strict reporting forms. You cannot make mistakes on the forms. If I find an inaccuracy, only the train manager can correct it. If the train crosses the border of a country, the conductor must enter the data of passengers traveling abroad into the migration cards.

Conductor's compartment

The conductors usually have two compartments: the first, where we sleep, the second, where we work and monitor the sensors. While one conductor is working, the other is resting in the sleeping compartment.

Sensors in the working compartment show what the temperature is in the carriage, whether everything is fine with electrical appliances, and whether there is hot water in the boiler. This compartment also has a sink, sometimes a microwave and a coffee machine. Dishes, goods, first aid kit and equipment are also stored there.

Periodically you need to clean the carriage: wash floors and toilets, remove garbage. During long stops in winter, it is sometimes necessary to clear snow and ice from undercar equipment: wheels, levers, steps. Even before the trip, you need to throw mattresses on the upper shelves, and after each landing, carry heavy bags of laundry. Because of this, my back often hurts.

In addition, I must perform the following duties:

Make the bed for sick people, people with disabilities or young children.
Make sure that the toilets have all the necessary hygiene supplies. If they are not available, passengers can ask the conductor to bring them.
Give notice of stops at least 30 minutes in advance.
Ensure that the equipment in the carriage is in good working order.
Provide cutlery and glasses.
If necessary, provide first aid. One day a passenger had an epileptic seizure. With the help of other passengers, I held him until the doctors arrived and stuck a spoon between his teeth to prevent him from biting his tongue.
Do not allow passengers into the carriage with prohibited, dirty or smelly items, for example, a weapon without permission to carry and a cover, or a can of gasoline.

I don’t search anyone, but if I notice people with prohibited items, I am obliged to call the train manager and the transport security service. If these items are found on a passenger, he may be dropped off. Once I had to force passengers to leave a can of gasoline on the platform: it stank throughout the entire carriage.

Before the final station, I pick up the laundry and take the passenger registration forms and tickets to the headquarters car, where the head of the train is traveling. If passengers have not returned their laundry, we collect it ourselves. When passengers get off, I check to see if anyone has left their belongings in the carriage. If I find something, we draw up a report and hand over the things to the station duty officer.

Difficulties

You have to communicate a lot with passengers. This communication is not always pleasant, but in any case you have to smile. For example, conductors should not allow drunks into the carriage. Moreover, if a passenger drinks on a trip or is rowdy, according to the rules he must be dropped off at the nearest station. At such moments, I have to be both adamant and polite, and this is not so easy when a passenger begins to be rude or unruly.

Passengers sometimes come with very strange questions. On branded trains, both toilets are located at the far end of the car. People often don’t believe that near the conductors’ compartment there is not a toilet, but a storage room, and they think that there is another toilet there, and the conductors, such scoundrels, hide it.

One day, around five in the morning, I jumped up from the roar and heard a cry: “Does the train chief know what you’ve done here?!” I run out, and there is a man standing near the open storage room, with bulging eyes looking at the shelves with equipment and yelling: “Where did you put the toilet? Why did you put shelves here?” I had to explain to him that on branded trains both toilets are located at the far end of the car, and the shelves were installed not by me, but by those who designed and built the car. The man didn’t believe it at first, but eventually calmed down. They did not call the train manager.

Sometimes passengers surprise you. On one trip, a man asked if the train was passing by Dzerzhinsk. I replied that it was passing by, but not stopping there. The passenger was not at a loss and asked if it was possible to “quietly” get off the train while it was moving, saying that no one would know. I had to disappoint him.

Many people think that guides travel a lot and can explore the city in between. In fact, we are allowed into the city only with the permission of the train director and only to the pharmacy, grocery store or canteen. If I go out into the city, I don’t even try to go somewhere else: such a violation can result in a fine.

Bonuses for working as a conductor

Working as a guide is hard work, but there are benefits.

Stability. On the railway, the salary is white, bonuses are awarded for loyalty to the company. The bonus is paid every five years in the amount of several salaries. They also pay extra for working on holidays, and they always pay for sick leave. Everything is according to the Labor Code.

Full social package. Conductors are provided with voluntary medical insurance - VHI, which includes dental services. They also give you the opportunity to receive free treatment in sanatoriums and visit the swimming pool. Upon application, railway companies make additional contributions to the pension fund towards a funded pension, and fully pay for railway travel from home to place of work, if the distance is not more than 150 km. Children of conductors travel to summer camps with a big discount.

Once a year, conductors and their children can travel anywhere in Russia by train there and back for free - minus personal income tax. This means that 13% of the ticket price will be deducted from your salary. The rest of the time, everything is as usual, no benefits.

Such social guarantees are indicated in the working conditions in the vacancy from the FPC

Briefly about conductors

Working as a conductor is hard.
People go to the railroad for a stable income and a social package.
Usually it is not difficult to become a guide - a three-month course is enough. If you want to grow to be the head of the train, higher education Necessarily.
Most passengers are well-mannered and adequate people, but there will always be those with whom it is more difficult to find a common language. If the conflict cannot be resolved, the train manager will always come to the rescue.

Many people do not quite correctly imagine the profession of a passenger carriage conductor. The employee's job responsibilities are not limited to checking tickets, distributing bed linen, or serving tea. A specialist must have a number of skills to provide passengers with a comfortable trip, comply with all safety rules, and reduce the risk of emergency situations. To work on railway transport it is necessary to obtain specialized education.

Few people know that representatives of the profession have a number of attractive benefits, earn good money, and have chances for career growth.

A modern passenger carriage conductor must perform a variety of activities in the workplace. His working day begins long before the train departs. The specialist must attend planning meetings and briefings, check the situation in the car or train entrusted to him, check the availability of consumables, and update supplies on time. Sometimes an employee needs to inspect the car for any problems and call a team to fix them.

A sample job description for Russian Railways conductors while the train is moving looks like this:

checking tickets, placing passengers in accordance with their seats;
providing people with bed linen, water, tea, and other things they need;
organizing the disembarkation and pick-up of clients at intermediate stations, conveying information to passengers about the approach to the desired station and the parking time;
ensuring uninterrupted operation of electricity, toilets, heating, communication with the driver or the police;
providing first aid if necessary;
ensuring the cleanliness of the carriage, wet or dry cleaning;
organization of training for interns, advanced training for inexperienced employees;
The conductor of an international train has additional responsibilities - providing passengers with customs declarations or road statements, and providing assistance in filling them out.

Through the caretakers of the carriages, communication is carried out between passengers and the police or the driver. A railway employee must keep order in his carriage,, if necessary, resolve incidents or conflicts, and explain to customers the reasons for the train’s deviation from the schedule time.

Requirements for knowledge and personal qualities

Specialists warn that it is not enough to learn to be a conductor; you also need to understand the specifics of the work and be aware of the level of responsibility. To start a career, you need to obtain a specialized education and undergo an internship under the supervision of an experienced employee. After this, the young specialist is allowed to work independently.

A conductor of passenger cars must have the following qualities:

punctuality, organization, accuracy;
the ability to communicate correctly with people, quickly find a common language with them;
skills of working in a team and independently performing assigned tasks without anyone’s supervision;
physical endurance, absence of health problems;
the ability to quickly respond to changing conditions, make adequate decisions, and process new information;
resistance to stress – during travel you have to work with different people and solve unexpected problems.

A certified car conductor who meets these requirements can count on a good position in Russian Railways, commercial or government agencies, and the metro. If he has ambitions, he is able to quickly achieve a promotion, take a responsible position, or go to work in a prestigious company or ministry.

Pros and cons of the direction

In Russia, the railway network is well developed, which is the key to the demand for conductors. A graduate of an educational institution can easily find a job in his specialty. If there is a desire, a young or experienced employee is able to move up the career ladder, and the employee’s salary largely depends on himself.

Here are a few more reasons to become a conductor:

there are no special requirements for the employee’s age if he is in good health;
the profession of a guide is taught in secondary specialized educational institutions, courses, and specialized schools - this significantly reduces the time required for professional training;
if you have experience, you have the opportunity to start operating international flights - this is a completely different level of pay, foreign trips, career prospects;
a train conductor with impressive work experience can count on various benefits, bonuses, and an increase in pension;
You have the opportunity to create your own work schedule.

The main disadvantage of this direction is its negative impact on human health. When traveling you have to communicate with a lot of people, which is fraught with infectious diseases and stress. Being in a constantly vibrating composition also does not have the most favorable effect on the body. Not all people like the salary system for conductors. The level of income depends on the number of flights, so you have to travel a lot.

How to become a guide

Obtaining a basic education in the direction of “passenger train conductor” is only the first step towards mastering the profession. This is followed by an internship under the supervision of experienced staff. When an employee begins to work independently, he initially ends up servicing local flights. As you gain experience or improve your qualifications, the conductor can count on a place on long-distance trains, branded or international trains. People with higher education in management are eventually able to apply for the positions of train manager, shift supervisor, and station director.

Where and how much to study

You can start acquiring a profession after the 9th or 11th grade. In the first case, this will take no more than 4 years, in the second – less than 3 years. For these purposes, you should enroll in specialized technical schools, colleges, and schools. Russian railways offer courses in this area and seminars for advanced training. If a person has a higher education, it is enough to undergo special professional retraining.

Employee salary and prospects

Several factors influence how much conductors and conductors receive: length of service, level of education, number of flights completed, place of service, and specific working conditions. Employers can offer additional incentives to help their employees earn more. Special conditions provide different options for indexing salary or pension.

Specifics of payroll

When calculating a conductor's salary, the number of hours worked is taken into account. There is a performance limit below which you cannot fall. There is also an upper limit, exceeding which is undesirable, as this may lead to insufficient time for the employee to rest. Some people give up their profession when they find out how much a novice specialist earns - up to 25 thousand rubles. It is important to understand that in just 1-2 years these numbers can double due to experience, qualifications, and a change of job.

Conductors of branded trains and those who serve international flights receive the most. Employers put forward additional requirements for the latter, but their earnings level can range from 80 thousand rubles. Much depends on the company's strategy. For example, Russian Railways provides for regular payment of bonuses based on the results of the year, five-year period, and so on.

Bonuses and benefits

Job seekers should take into account the fullness and features of the social package. It provides for free medical care under expanded programs, an increase in pensions for long service, and options for free train travel throughout the country. For employees of Russian Railways, the metro and other large companies, vouchers to sanatoriums, camps for children, and educational programs are provided.

A passenger carriage conductor is an interesting, promising, and in-demand profession. It can be the key to financial stability or the start of career growth. You just need to correctly understand the specifics of the direction and adequately assess your own capabilities.

Oh, road romance! The wheels tap peacefully, attractive landscapes flash outside the window, cities, and maybe even countries, change... You ride around the world or country, and they even pay money for it. Which travel lover has not found the job of a train conductor attractive? How is it really? What is the conductor's salary? How to become one? What are the responsibilities? If all this interests you, welcome to the article.

Average salary of a conductor

Let's immediately take the bull by the horns and deal with the most pressing issue. It is possible that after this section, most readers will not even want to delve further into the topic. So why languish?

The conductor's salary is hourly. According to Russian Railways rules, there is a limit on the number of shifts per month - 15, while the standard hours are 176.

The amount of payment depends on the category of the train (they pay more for work on international flights), season, travel distance, flight complexity, number of night trips, region and much more. There may be additional payments for length of service, direction, for fulfilling a sales plan, bonuses, and in some regions a regional coefficient is charged.

For 2017, the minimum payment is about 11,500 rubles, and the maximum that you can realistically count on is 33,000 rubles. If we talk about the average salary of a long-distance train conductor, it is just over 22 thousand rubles per month. Such data are provided for Russia.

If these numbers don't scare you, let's study the topic in more detail.

Benefits for Russian Railways employees

But the Russian Railways conductor does not live on his salary alone. Working in this structure is largely motivated by benefits. They are provided not only to conductors, but to all workers. There are several groups of benefits:

social;
labor;
on wages;
on labor protection;
social guarantees.

As you can see, there are a lot of them. We will not list everything; the full list can be found in specialized materials or directly when applying for a job; we will name only the most “delicious”.

Education (higher or retraining) is paid by correspondence. Twice a year guaranteed free pass to the place of study and back.

Those in need of housing are allocated housing from the Russian Railways fund. There are assistance programs for young employees.

It is indexed annually (even twice in 2017), holidays are paid at an increased rate, and annual paid leave is provided (28 days).

Workers are paid for special clothing, medical examinations and medical examinations, travel and accommodation.

Young mothers are paid an additional benefit in addition to that provided by the Social Insurance Fund. They pay it up to 3 years.

The company partially compensates for the costs of:

treatment in sanatoriums;
teaching children;
sports activities for employees and their children.

Loans and subsidies with preferential terms are provided to those purchasing housing.

After retirement, employees remain entitled to a number of bonuses (subject to the required length of service). These include discounted travel, treatment, trips to a sanatorium and much more.

Agree that all this gives an increase to the conductor’s salary.

How to get a job as a guide

This is not difficult to do. The applicant must have at least a secondary education. Special training is also required, which can be obtained at a school, college or technical school in the direction of “Passenger Car Conductor”. There is an opportunity to take preparatory courses. A medical examination, passing exams on safety precautions and labor protection are also required; you also need to successfully pass testing and pass a competition.

For those who want to try themselves in this profession and find out how much conductors actually earn, there is the opportunity to become a temporary employee. Such recruitments are carried out every year during the peak period in the summer months, when additional trains are formed.

As you can see, there are enough requirements, despite the fact that the conductor’s salary, even with a heavy workload, is low. But nevertheless, only candidates who meet all the requirements and really want to work on the railway are accepted for this position.

Experienced people say that the profession of a Russian Railways conductor combines several things: you need to be a waiter, a loader, a cleaner, and a psychologist at the same time.

Requirements for a candidate

Work experience is desirable, but without experience it is quite possible to get a job as a second guide. A health certificate is also required.

To work on international flights, knowledge of a foreign language is required.

What are the responsibilities

Responsible for servicing passengers along the route: boarding and disembarking, checking tickets, issuing bed linen, selling tea, coffee, confectionery and souvenirs, etc.

It is also necessary to maintain train documentation, maintain the condition of the carriage in accordance with sanitary and hygienic requirements (cleanliness, heat and light, water, operation of all necessary equipment), ensure the safety of passengers along the way, including providing first aid, keep records of inventory valuables and inventory, as well as compiling reports for the train manager and much more. In addition, you still need to prepare the carriage for the road, and after the end of the trip, put it in order and hand it over.

For an uninitiated person, this profession looks simple and even primitive, but in fact it requires a huge amount of a wide variety of skills, because all sorts of situations happen on the road.

Disadvantages of the profession

The work of a guide is considered quite difficult both physically and emotionally. There are different people, conflict situations often arise, and the daily routine is irregular. In addition, there is a prolonged absence from home.

Advantages of the profession

The positive aspects include the fact that this is a job in a state-owned company, which in itself for many people is synonymous with stability and confidence in the future.

Career growth is possible, for example, up to, but in this case a higher education is required, as well as experience working in different sections of the railway.

The workers themselves cite the opportunity to see cities, meet a large number of of people. The guides' shifts usually last 15 days, then the same amount of time is given to rest.

In a word, if you are attracted by the romance of the road, you are ready to withstand a wide variety of people in huge numbers, you want to work in a large stable company and you are not afraid of how much conductors receive for their hard work, maybe this profession is for you?

Conductor work many people find it romantic - long-distance trains, different cities and random interlocutors. It’s not difficult to get a job here: Russian Railways accepts everyone with a secondary education, you just need to take preparatory courses. But the work is quite hard, and the salary is low. We asked a young man who dreamed of becoming a conductor and now works on a train, how he feels about his work, how much he earns and what he spends his money on.

How to become a guide
I was born in Biysk, Altai Territory, later my family moved to Moscow, where they lived for only a year and a half, but I really fell in love with this city. Then I had to travel a lot by public transport, and I really wanted to become a driver. Then we returned to the Altai Territory again. After the ninth grade, with a burning desire to become a driver, I entered the specialty “rolling stock mechanic, passenger carriage conductor, carriage inspector-repairman, operator” at the Novosibirsk technical school (since the family budget would not have been able to afford training in Moscow). I studied for four years, and in the summer of my second year I had the opportunity to try myself as a guide and earn extra money. After that, I lost all desire: there was a terrible team, it was unclear how the money was paid - in two months it came out to 47 thousand rubles. After studying, I was assigned to Russian Railways. Thanks to my good grades, I had a choice, and I chose the job of a passenger carriage conductor. In the future I want to move to Moscow.

Features of work
The conductor must be able and know everything: seat the passenger, give him a set of linen, write him down on a strict reporting form, warn him 40 minutes before his departure, drop him off. Monitor the cleanliness of the cabin: clean the carriage at least twice per trip, and the toilet at least four times. It's like the Sims game where the characters have an indicator: if it's green, then everyone is happy. So are the passengers: I almost didn’t follow, and immediately became dissatisfied.

The conductor has many professions - for example, a loader, a waiter, a psychologist. Large thick bags of dirty laundry need to be carried into your compartment. You need to walk around with a tray and tell passengers that tea products and souvenirs are on sale. You also need to be a bit of an encyclopedia - at each station passengers ask: “What area are we in?” or “What river flows here?”, “What is the population of this city?” and so on. Sometimes you resolve a quarrel between passengers or they themselves come to talk, because several days on the train are hard for them. Many passengers come up to me and ask about my work - whether I like it or not. In general, we can’t criticize our work, but I answer as it is, that I don’t get paid much and that you wouldn’t wish working as a guide to your enemy.

The one-way trip takes four days. The climate, time zone and passengers are changing. On the last day of the journey, the guides do a report and clean up. Upon arrival, we go to the shower, to the store for groceries, sometimes souvenirs, and on the same day we leave back with new passengers. But they shouldn't see our fatigue. Upon arrival, we also don’t sleep for a day: after all the passengers have disembarked, we begin to count the inventory again; in case of a shortage, a certain amount can be deducted from the salary. If the train arrives at 09:45, then I get home at 15:45, if I'm lucky. All this time is not paid, only the travel time is paid.

Salary and expenses
There was no way to relax in the summer: you sleep for two days, go to the store the next day, and then go on a trip. Now I have more rest, but there are fewer hours, so, accordingly, the salary is lower. Salary depends on the time spent on the road. In a good month I receive 34 thousand rubles, in a bad month - 14–17 thousand rubles. On average it comes out to 22 thousand rubles. In August I drove 222 hours - that’s 16,198 rubles plus a 20% coefficient and an advance for the previous month - 7,700 rubles. This amount does not suit me. I want to move to Moscow and become a metro driver.