No worries about staff shortages at Arriva: Matias (7) and Martijn (11) would like to become drivers

Martijn (11) would like a job as a machinist and his brother Matias (7) is also very interested. Both boys took their mother to the Hoofdstation, where Arriva is holding an open day. There is a brand new hybrid train on platform 5a, which runs partly on electricity and partly on diesel.

Digital clock

Operator Bram (21) likes to explain things in the driver’s cabin, and Matias in particular fires him one question after another. Is this train now as long as the old model? Can he go 200 kilometers per hour, as the clock shows? And why does the digital clock show 220 kilometers per hour? Can Bram also ride this train to Weener in Germany? Will Bram be fired if he ignores a red signal? Do you always wave to your colleague when you encounter another train? Yes? Pleasant.

Bram has just finished his training and knows how to answer almost all questions. Unfortunately, there are strict rules about how fast you can drive and that is not very fast on the northern network, a maximum of 140 on certain parts. “Before you know it, you won’t see a red signal like that anymore.”

If brother Martijn wants to become a driver later, he can contact Arriva directly for training, or go to a ROC, says Bram. But even in the latter case, he will largely do his training with a carrier: daily practice simply cannot be simulated in a school building. “There you only get theory and the rules,” says Bram.

Tough sound

Bram himself likes a diesel train. “That cool sound when you drive away…” Thanks to hybrid technology, an electric motor helps you drive away, which reduces diesel smoke emissions and therefore affects the environment less. If you also want to be able to drive in Germany, you will need some extra training, because different safety measures apply there.

Of course, riding an ICE train, which can travel at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour, would be the end. “But then you still have to learn something,” says Bram.