What would it be like to drive a subway train in a big city?

Question

Good points, kind of fun? Bad points, suicide jumpers?

Answer 1

Well.... the hours could be long..... It wouldn't be hard.... But it is like being in a cave..... It could be smelly.... As for suicide jumpers, that is not a problem in the U.S. and Europe, but in Japan it is very common, I would not worry about that. I think it is a job for both genders though because in Paris alot of the drivers are women.

Answer 2

I have asked one here in the LA area. They never said if they loved it or it sucked, but what they did say is that it can play with your nerves. Commuter light rail trains have to cross over more rail crossings than do freight trains, so they need be be vigilant as if they are white knuckle driving. It feels like your about to take out a car trying to push its luck.

Answer 3

it will feel like work

Answer 4

Essington isn't served by a regional rail as SEPTA calls it. The closest one is the airport line or the train that goes to Wilmington, Delaware. Call SEPTA to find out.

Answer 5

It depends which system you choose.  Most subways aren't just a big cave (Although there are exceptions) but there are very interesting things to see in the subway.  Yes it is dark, but your headlights and the underground lights do light up some things.  The two systems I know the most on are New York and Berlin.  They both have plenty to see and are by now means dull.  I am sure there are more systems that are interesting.  Also, most subways are not completely underground.  There are above ground to sections to all but one line in New York, and many lines in Berlin.  In most systems, there is rarely an uneventful run, especially in New York.  Unfortunately, there are suicide jumpers, and they can really hurt a motorman emotionally.  Some have not been able to come back to work.  Fortunately, jumpers are rare in both New York and Berlin.  I recommend reading A day in the life of a subway operator,

http://nycsubway.org/faq/dayinlife.html#...

Answer 6

It would be like railroading in a cave.  Not for me.  

At least above ground, if ya take the ditch, you probably won't hit a wall.

Suicides do and will continue to happen whether above or below.

If working a daylight shift, it is dark at work and dark when you tie up and go home, which means if Darwin was right, in another 50,000 years, rail workers will have phosphorescent patches below their eyes that glow in the dark to enable the hapless rails to see better in the dark, just like denizens of the deep ocean, where there is also no light...

Answer 7

it will feel terable.....i can't help it........