Along with my licence, oranges and shunter, I am incomplete without my radio. How else would I be able to send and receive safety-critical comms? says Freightliner’s Bessie Matthews.
If there were ever a magical way we could see how many times we’ve said certain phrases in our lifetime, I would bet that a shunter’s top three would be ‘keep it coming’, ‘keep it going’ and ‘stop, stop, stop!’ This would likely be followed, in a close fourth place, by ‘the kettle is boiled. Who’s up for a cuppa?’.
As a shunt train driver, I hear these words, and other repeated phrases, every three seconds during moves – moves that can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours to complete.
I’m always alone in the cab, and our working stretch is over a mile long, so how does everyone in the terminal can communicate so efficiently? It’s down to the hand-held radio. It’s the most important, and most used, bit of kit in the whole yard. Train drivers, crane drivers, shunters,
dispatchers, wagon fitters, and those who are controlling the moves from within the office, are all working together by communicating with one.
Not every yard, depot or terminal is like mine. Some may shunt using a series of beeps or tones on their radios. Some may not have radios, relying solely on hand signalling. No matter the way of sharing safety-critical information, all these environments will have a clear understanding before, during and after train movements.
For something seemingly simple, I never thought I’d struggle with talking over the radio during my training, but I did. I felt silly repeating instructions back and using the word ‘over’; and I’d feel guilty each time I found myself asking the shunter to repeat themselves because I’d misunderstood or didn’t quite remember the move.
So many people were listening, and I wanted so badly to get it right. Fortunately, I’m part of a great team which was very patient with the worries and insecurities I had at the start of my career. They helped me each time I missed part of an instruction and ensured we were all happy with whatever task we were about to carry out. Nowadays, using the radio is a second nature for all of us out on a job. But this is where it can be all too easy to fall into complacency, using slang and jargon instead of the preferred terms.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with a bit of chatter over the radio, but only when it’s safe to do so and there are no movements being carried out in the yard. It’s no exaggeration to refer to being accurate, brief, clear and professional as lifesaving; and asking questions or requesting clarification when unsure is vital.
You see, speaking out and repeating back reduces the risk for error; and there’s no better feeling than knowing you’re reducing risk because you’re on the exactly same page as everyone else around you. Along with my licence, oranges and shunter, I am incomplete without my radio.