Train preparation training

As a train preparer you prepare trains for departure — you couple carriages together check brakes and verify the train is safe before it reports ready to depart. You work at railway stations and marshalling yards with both passenger and freight trains. When you are fully trained you are the professional responsible for safety just before the train rolls out onto the track.

§What do you do in everyday life?

A typical day takes place on the tracks where you move, split and assemble trains, couple wagons and brake hoses together and review the train before it is approved for departure. If you work with freight trains you also learn to load and unload cars with among other things telescopic loaders. You work outdoors in teams and with great focus on safety.

• 01You learn to couple cars, brake hoses, and train sets together.
• 02You learn to check brakes and the train's condition.
• 03You learn to arrange and prepare trains for departure.
• 04You learn the rules and safety around working on tracks
• 05You learn to load and unload freight cars with machines.
• 06You learn to work safely in an area with moving trains.

§How do you get started?

You start with a basic course and then find an apprenticeship with, for example, DSB, a private railway, or another company in the transport sector, where you get paid during training. The education alternates between school periods and practice, and you can specialize in either passenger train or freight train preparation.

§The way forward

As fully trained you can work for DSB private rail companies and other companies in the transport sector. With experience you can get more responsibility in operations specialise further or build further with education in transport and logistics.

“Before a train rolls out, it's your hands and your check that make it safe.”