Moody, cranky, unfriendly – some passengers have a one-sided image of railway workers. But there is another way. Six people who put the service on the rails.
Train attendants at work: The employees with direct customer contact are often the “lightning rod” for ferry passengers when things don’t go as planned on the rails.
(Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa)
Those who travel by train can experience a lot – and have to deal with the employees of the railway companies again and again. They form the backbone of the operation, without a train driver, train attendants and ticket vendors, no train would roll, nor without the planners and technicians in the background and the many dispatchers who operate the signals and points from the signal boxes.
The “Allianz Pro Schiene”, an association in which, among other things, companies, environmental associations and trade unions are organized, want with their “Railway workers with a heart” campaign honor those who are there for customers with a lot of commitment and passion. Every year passengers can nominate employees of the railway companies, a jury then selects the winners.
In doing so, the alliance implicitly wants to advertise the many professions in the rail industry. Because there is still a need for skilled workers – and the need will continue to grow in order to be able to achieve the goal of the federal government: It wants to double the number of passengers on the railways by 2030, and the share of rail freight transport will increase from 18 percent to 25 percent. According to a survey by the Federal Railway Authority, the rail sector is currently creating almost 400,000 direct jobs.