"hmmm..., I think they are called "train drivers" or something like that...," I muttered while feeling unintelligent at that moment. That was the scene yesterday in my house when my 9 year old son asked me that exact question and for no particular reason I scratched my head... Truth is they are actually called train drivers but too many formalities and the quest to stand out in that career is made the regulatory bodies throw everyone including me in confusion.
Damn.., I quickly asked Google and found out that the name a train driver is called is really undefined and varies from country to country.
You would think you know until you are faced with the reality of putting speech to certain words that you are too sure you know in your head. According to Google, a train driver has various names and this varies from country to country, for example, in New Zealand, the United States and Canada, train drivers are historically known as "locomotive engineers", or "handelers". In the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia they are known as "train drivers", "engine drivers", "locomotive drivers", or "locomotive operators".
In India it is a very different ball game according to the India Railway and it says, a Person who is initially recruited for driving a train is called “Assistant Loco Pilot”. He/She is trained under a experienced Loco Pilot.
From Assistant Loco Pilot they are promoted to “Loco Pilot Shunter” who drive the trains in Sheds (Speed less than 15 km/hr) Tenure: Max 2 years
From Loco Pilot Shunter they get promoted to Loco Pilots. They fall under 4 categories.
Goods Driver. (Cargo Trains)
Passenger Driver. (Low Speed Trains)
Mail Express Driver. (High Speed Trains)
Rajdhani Driver. (Very High Speed Trains). Pheewww!
No wonder I had no idea what a train driver is called professionally and I woulda swore they are called "train conductors or something like that"... You never know what you will learn so keep your eyes open for class because anyone can come out to teach.
What is a Train Driver called in your country or Locality?