Rail switchers, these invisible people are essential for the movement of trains

“The guarantor of the smooth running of trains throughout France”. This is how SNCF describes the job of a switchman. A quiet summary, but very eloquent. Without them, the car will not run. And the switchers understood that well. At the call of SUD-Rail, the second largest union in the business, these main rail traffic agents are preparing to walk out on Friday 23 February and Saturday 24 February to demand additional recruitment © mentions and revaluation of premiums. If the consequences for passengers should be minimal – the management of SNCF Réseau guarantees Figaro That traffic will be traffic “Normal, with some localized disturbances” The movement highlights these shady businesses, which are often unknown to the general public. “When a user boards a train, he doesn’t think about us who are on duty and ensuring his safety, Observes Vincent Pinot, 27 years in the businessWe are invisible, but indispensable”.

Far less well-known than their counterparts in the sky, rail switchers nonetheless have a relatively similar role: that of a guide. They have a mission “needle” Trains, ie thanks for directing them “needle” (also known as “switch” in common parlance), these removable sections of rail that allow a train to change tracks. They are also in charge of different traffic lights.

Attached to railway infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau, they carry out security operations. “By operating signals and switches, you ensure not only train regularity but also the safety of rolling stock, passengers and trackside personnel”Presents the job description. “But behind the common term switchman there are actually other professions hidden: rail switcher, traffic agent, traffic technician and regulator. All work towards the same goal, but with different qualifications, responsibilities and degrees of scale.”Mentions Vincent Pinot, Amiens and Federal Secretary for his part traffic agent in SUD-Rail.

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Work day and night

Far from western folklore and switching posts with mechanical lever arms on railway tracks, the modern switchman no longer gets his hands dirty (except when… ™he has to grease the needle) but works from a switching station from which he operates the needle remotely. . About 9,000 of them are distributed in about 1,400 signal stations, covering the entire French railway network. In the most recent stations, agents only have to type a computer key to activate this or that needle, while the oldest stations still have levers to be mechanically activated. And despite the gradual grouping of small switching stations into large centralized network control centers (CCRs), there is no danger that artificial intelligence will steal the show, assures Vincent Pinot, because if “The pre-recording of journeys today is provided by computers, always requiring a human to deal with the slightest delay, incident or technical problem on the track”.

As traffic never stops – freight trains and roadworks follow daytime passenger trains at night, SNCF Réseau requires switchers on duty constantly to monitor traffic in real time. ©el. This is why switchers are required to work at night, after their working hours of 3×8. “Calculation of Working Hours”, Judge Vincent Pinot. For its part, SNCF is trying to reassure its future recruits: “Working shifts allows you to better manage the rhythm of your life”. without succeeding in persuading the unionist. “Night work kills faster, the body gets tired faster. Over the course of a career, the loss of life expectancy is 5 to 8 years.He paled bitterly.

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“Without us, nothing works”

If the profession of switchman is accessible from graduation, candidates must pass a battery of medical and psychotechnical tests before joining the internal training school at SNCF. “Many fail entrance exams”La Défense traffic officer Vincent L. recalls, “It’s all security above business so the needs are high because the risks are high”. In terms of remuneration, “All inclusive starting salary (especially weekend and night bonus) totals 28,200 euros per year”Advance SNCF Réseau, “And an operational executive earns 56,700 gross per year at the end of his career managing a team of switchers”. Note that from January 2023, the network manager, under pressure from the unions, has put in place a bonus known as a specific circulation compensation of 60 euros per month. The bonus that SUD-Rail wants to increase to 300 euros per month. For his part, Vincent L., with twelve years of experience and working part-time at 80%, declared an income of 24,153 euros for the year 2022.

Due to their roles, signalmen are essential to the movement of trains and therefore have Herculean blocking power. “Without us, nothing works”Vincent L laughs before continuing: “My colleagues in other branches of the SNCF often tell me that if the switchmen went on strike like the others, the demands would be met more quickly”. However, rail switchers don’t really have a striker streak. At least at the national level. Local demands and constraints are relatively common, but disruptions on a French scale are negligible. Blame of business-specific partitioning. “I rarely meet colleagues other than colleagues at my signal station. There is not much mixing like in other railway businesses.”Vincent L. An observation shared by Vincent Pinot “Due to distance from switching stations, it is difficult to meet every railway worker and merge demands”.

That’s why this weekend, disruptions will be differentiated by area. “Depending on the signal stations, the strike rate is 20% to 80%”, says the SUD-Rail spokesperson. A walkout expected by SNCF Réseau which plans to replace strikers with supervisors to at least limit disruptions during the day. Vincent Pinot recognizes, “Tourists should be only slightly affected, but management will never be able to fill vacancies overnight. Therefore the road work will be suspended during this time, as no worker will be able to work without the watchful eye of a switchman to ensure their safety. If they refuse dialogue, the management will thus lose several thousand euros.”He smiled.