Train Conductor (North America)

Conductors are usually responsible for the following duties:-

• Mechanical inspection of the rolling stock.
• Assisting the Engineer in testing the air brake on the train
• Signalling the Engineer when to start moving or in switching operations, to stop as well.
• Keeping a record or log of the journey.
• Checking the tickets along with Assistant Conductors on passenger trains.
• Attending to the needs of passengers.
• On a freight train, keeping the record of the consignment notes and waybills.
• (Sometimes) assisting with the shunting or switching.

Passenger trains may employ one or more assistant conductors, who assist the Conductor and Engineer in the safe and prompt movement of the train, to share the workload and accept delegated responsibility.

Some subway systems may employ conductors for the sole purpose of making announcements and opening/closing doors, as opposed to a train operator doing the job for safety reasons. The conductor is posistioned usually in the center of the train. The New York City Subway is the largest example of such a system. The Toronto Transit Commission uses conductors as well. On some subway systems, trains no longer have Conductors, and run with the train operator alone, or under One Person Train Operation.

If the run of a train requires more than a single shift, each shift normally has a separate operating crew, with its own conductor, while onboard service crew members aboard passenger trains normally remain on duty for the entire run, including their assigned meal and sleep breaks.

On freight trains, particularly in North America, the conductor historically rode aboard a caboose along with the rear flagman and the rear brakeman. The head brakeman if any were assigned and the fireman has always had their place next to the Engineer in the leading locomotive. The Rear brakemen occupied the caboose and provided air pressure readings on the rear of the train. Also they were able to throw the train in emergency if a problem arose on the rear of the train. Also the defect detectors of that time displayed the defects by a number. The brakemen's job was to report the number after the train passed to the conductor. If a defect was found the head and rear brakemen would begin walking the train from both ends to find and remedy the defect.

With the implimentation of end of train devices (EOTD), in conjuction with a head of train device (HOTD), elimination of the caboose for air readings was made possible. The EOTD continually relays air pressure at the rear of the train to the Engineer. Also, the Engineer can initiate an emergency brake application from the rear of the train using the HOTD as well as from the Engineers' locomotive . The defect detectors have been upgraded to communicate by radio any defects, thereby also eliminating the brakemen. Train crews were once up to six men per train (engineer, head and rear brakemen, rear flagman, conductor, fireman).

The railroad carriers have reduced this to only two. A conductor and engineer. Currently there is a monumental feud that could change the railroad forever. Some carriers want to eliminate the conductor's position since the Engineer by his qualifications, can assume the duties of a Conductor and perform the task of any member of the crew. The UTU realizing that their core membership, Conductors, is threatened with extinction, has asked the Engineers union, the BLE to join them in the struggle to keep the Conductors.

For more information about freight railroad conductors and their jobs, see:

• Burlington Northern Adventures: Railroading in the Days of the Caboose, written by former BN brakeman, conductor and trainmaster William J. Brotherton

Train Conductor (UK and Australasia)

In the UK and Australia/New Zealand, the person with ultimate responsibility for operation of a train is usually described as the Guard. The term 'guard' is derived from the days of stagecoaches. Until the later part of the 20th Century, Guards on passenger trains in these countries did not have routine responsibilities for ticket inspection or sale. Their jobs focused more on safe operation of their trains, timekeeping and handling parcels and other consignments. In recent years, passenger train Guards have been assigned more responsibility for on-train revenue collection and ticket inspection. When the Guard has a significant customer contact role, the position is usually classified as Conductor-Guard or Conductor.

On long-distance expresses, the Conductor's title is sometimes enhanced to Senior Conductor in line with the implied prestige of operating these trains. Several of the more recent private passenger train operators in the UK have further re-classified the Conductor's role to 'Train Manager'.

Conductors in Europe

Switzerland

Tram (Streetcar) Conductor

Modern vehicle design and ticketing arrangements have largely done away with the need for conductors on street railways and Light Rail systems. However in recent years a number of modern tram or Light Rail systems have introduced (or re-introduced) conductors to minimise fare evasion and to provide customer care, supervision and security functions, even in situations where a second crew member is not strictly needed on account of the vehicle design or operation.

Modern mass transit systems which operate with conductors on trams include:-

Bus Conductor

Many of the half cab double deckers were boarded from an open platform at the rear, while other buses were equipped with a forward entrance and staircase and automatic doors operated by the driver. In each case a conductor was needed to collect fares and, especially on the rear-entrance design, supervise passenger loading and loading.

In the late 1950's, new designs of higher-capacity double-decker buses began to be introduced with the engine compartment at the rear of the vehicle and the entrance directly adjacent to the driver. From July 1966, UK transport regulations were changed to allow operation of urban double-deck buses by the driver only, who could now take responsibility for fare collection as well as supervise all passenger loading and unloading.

The new designs of rear-engined buses and so-called 'one person operation' were adopted quickly by some municipal operators, more slowly by others. New half-cab buses continued to be ordered by the more conservative municipal operators through the 1960s, but manufacture of this type of vehicle for the UK market had ceased by about 1970. This was accelerated by a UK Government grant which supported the purchase of 'one person operated' vehicles, but was not available for purchase of traditional half-cab buses.

Through the 1970s the proportion of urban bus routes operated with conductors declined, as older vehicles were steadily replaced with new buses equipped for one-person-operation, and operators grappled with staff shortages, rapidly increasing costs and falling ridership. By the early 1980s bus conductors were largely obsolete in all cities except London and Dublin.

London was a special case, with two-person crews continuing to operate a number of bus routes in central London until late 2005, well beyond their demise in the rest of the country. This reprieve for conductors was due to continued use of the famous Routemaster bus.

The Routemaster had been purpose-built for London conditions and continued to be very well suited to the busiest routes in the most congested parts of central London. This was because of its manoeuverability, fast passenger loading/unloading capability and fare collection by the conductor instead of the driver. The construction of the Routemaster vehicles was of high-quality, the design robust and the mechanical and body parts could be easily re-built and refurbished, which all greatly improved the vehicle's durability. Importantly, the 'traditional red bus' is also a unique tourism icon for London, instantly recognisable around the world.

Although the majority of bus services in the London metropolis (and all routes outside the central area) have been operated by modern driver-only vehicles since the late 1980s, 20 regular routes retained Routemasters and conductors in 2003. Between 2003 and 2005, each of these has been progressively converted to modern vehicles and one-person-operation. The process was largely driven by a political agenda on disability-accessibility, and assisted to some extent by the increase in litigious passengers claiming injuries due to the Routemaster's open rear platform. There were also increasingly frequent robberies and attacks on conductors, who could find themselves working in an isolated and vulnerable environment.

The last 'regular' (as opposed to tourist-oriented) Routemaster-operated service was the 159 from Marble Arch to Streatham. Conductor operation finally ceased on the 159 on 9 December 2005.

See also

• Routemaster
• Save the Routemaster campaign
• An account of the life of a Bus Conductor in the 1970s

Transportation occupations | Rail transport operations

Conducteur | 車掌 | Konduktor | Konduktööri | Konduktör | 車掌