Free Sample
The Complete Guide to Becoming A Subway and Streetcar Operator
The real pay, daily grind, and career path for running the rails — before you spend a dime on training
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: What Does a Subway and Streetcar Operator Actually Do?
Let's start with the most important thing: this job is not driving, at least not the way you think of driving a car. You are not steering. The track determines where you go. Your job is to make the train move when it's supposed to, stop it exactly where it needs to stop, open and close the doors safely, and keep everyone on board alive and comfortable. That sounds simple, but the details are what make this a skilled trade rather than a passenger ride.
On a typical heavy-rail subway system (think New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., or San Francisco), your core responsibility is operating a train that can be anywhere from 300 to 600 feet long and weigh hundreds of tons. You sit in a small cab at the front. In front of you is a control console that, in older systems, consists of a master controller (a handle that you pull back to accelerate and push forward to brake), a brake valve, a set of gauges, and a radio. Newer systems replace some of that with a computer screen and a joystick-like controller, but the fundamentals are identical: you have a way to apply power, a way to apply brakes, and a way to communicate with a central control center.
Your primary job is to operate the doors safely. Every single station stop, you align the train with the platform, look out your side window to make