A girl conductor anonymously spoke about life on flights, sex on trains and her work
September 27, 2016. Marina (name changed at the girl’s request) has been working as a guide for several years; the work, according to her, is difficult and thankless, but everything has its advantages. The editors of the Internet portal “City of Kirov.RU” tried to find out the romance and underbelly of the world of a long-distance train conductor.
Marina, please tell us how you came to this profession. What are the pros and cons of being a conductor?
I have been working on a long-distance train for almost five years, now I am 29. I have liked trains since childhood, so I decided to connect my life with this work. Of course, at first glance, this profession is shrouded in some kind of romance, but, in fact, what have I not seen during this time. Of course, your personal life suffers, you are constantly going somewhere and it is difficult to build a serious relationship. At first I had nervous breakdowns, and I wanted to give up everything, but then I got involved, especially since work is tight now, but the pay is good here. At first it was very difficult, you need to make contact with people who do not understand and shout at you, who prove that they are “right”. There were accidents and crime.
This job has completely changed me, I have become very calm about everything, I know how to get out of quarrels and smooth out conflicts. I like to watch people: some are polite and well-mannered, others are rude. There are also those who don’t like everything right away: the carriage, the seat, the conductor is not the right one, and the toilet is not organic. Passengers are very different - some are drunk, some are demanding, some are capricious, but an approach must be found to everyone. Since it’s a long-distance train, you spend several days on the road; there have been situations where the passenger’s feet, excuse me, stink. I had to quietly approach them and politely and politely ask them to wash them in the toilet and change their socks. It’s interesting that many people react calmly and with understanding.
The work is hard, you are a cleaner, a salesperson, a psychologist, a nanny, and a loader. The work is dirty, to be honest, and you clean the toilets yourself, if it’s a long-distance train, you don’t wash for several days, but you get used to everything. Sometimes it’s very difficult mentally, my grandfather died in the first year of work in the carriage, my heart stopped at night. I wake him up, he will stop soon, but he doesn’t wake up. I then cried all night.
A huge plus in this job, which outweighs all the minuses, is that you travel, visit different cities, I really like it, I live for it.
Please tell us about the most unusual incidents that happened along the way?
I had a very funny incident, of course, at first it didn’t seem funny to me. The passenger and passenger were running and taking turns complaining about each other, and they were sitting at different ends of the car. I couldn’t understand what was happening, a woman came up to me and said that one of the passengers was drunk and inadequate - pointing to the man. I took a closer look at him, he seems to be behaving normally, then he comes and complains to me about the passenger, saying that he saw her stealing from another passenger. And this went on all day, by the evening it turned out that these were ex-spouses who had met by chance in my carriage. For the sake of everyone’s peace, I moved the woman to the next carriage, otherwise they would have fought again.
Just recently there was another married couple, by the way, they landed in Kirov, we were going to Anapa. Well, first of all, they sat down already drunk, but I closed my eyes to this, they behaved quite calmly. But their party continued in the carriage, they did not react to my verbal comments, this continued until the night, and they boarded during the day. When the alcohol they had taken ran out, the wife went to look for it from the conductors and passengers, had an argument with someone, even got into a fight with one girl, and a decision was made to remove her from the train. They called the police and warned them to meet the “client.” I go up to the man and say that we are taking your wife off the train, and he replies, do what you want with her, I’ll go to sleep. In the morning, when he sobered up, he grabbed his head, got off at the next station, and said he would go pick up his wife.
But there are also good cases, not everything is so bad. For example, a conductor friend of mine met her husband on the train. By the way, male conductors have fleeting affairs with female passengers; girls are more modest in this regard, or something. But love also happens. The following story happened: a young man sat down with one of the conductors in the carriage and began to look in on her: now for tea, now for cookies, now for something else. At a long stop, he ran and bought her a bouquet of flowers, they started talking, he asked her for her phone number, but never called back. Well, then the whole team was upset, the guy was so sincere, his eyes were burning, there was no doubt that he would call. And about six months later, when she was already working on another train, the same guy got into the next carriage. When he saw her, he rushed to her and told her that he had lost his phone number and only knew her name. Since then, I traveled on trains and looked for my lost love, asked all the conductors about her and found her. Married for three years now.
Have there been any sexual adventurers on your flights?
Of course, sexual adventure seekers meet periodically. Sometimes couples simply buy a compartment and, in principle, do not particularly disturb anyone, if only with sounds. I had a couple who locked themselves in the toilet for about 30 minutes, other passengers began knocking on their door, and they came out embarrassed with red cheeks. There were also cases when young people tried to indulge in carnal pleasures right in the reserved seat, for example, on the second shelf or behind a sheet. As a rule, their actions begin to be condemned by the surrounding passengers, and everything immediately stops.
What kind of salary do conductors get? Is it enough to live on?
The salary is not bad, I get about 30-35 thousand, despite the fact that when I work, I hardly spend any money. I also like the schedule, for example, if there are 8 days on the road, then they give 8 days off. In addition, we have a plan for the sale of tea, cookies and souvenirs, which we are obliged to fulfill; we are awarded bonuses, and if the plan is fulfilled by the entire team, then an additional bonus is given. Well, of course, there are benefits.
Do you have a good team?
We meet at a staff meeting, we already know someone, we’re even friends with someone, it depends on your luck. There are different conductors and train captains. But most often we are one team, we help each other, I always help, if the guide has a shortage, and I have something extra, I share. When I started working, my set of underwear and cup holder were taken away on my first flight; my colleagues helped me. So I always try to help.
Marina (name changed at the girl’s request) has been working as a guide for several years; the work, according to her, is difficult and thankless, but everything has its advantages. The editors of the Internet portal “City of Kirov.RU” tried to find out the romance and underbelly of the world of a long-distance train conductor.
Marina, please tell us how you came to this profession. What are the pros and cons of being a conductor?
I have been working on a long-distance train for almost five years, now I am 29. I have liked trains since childhood, so I decided to connect my life with this work. Of course, at first glance, this profession is shrouded in some kind of romance, but, in fact, what have I not seen during this time. Of course, your personal life suffers, you are constantly going somewhere and it is difficult to build a serious relationship. At first I had nervous breakdowns, and I wanted to give up everything, but then I got involved, especially since work is tight now, but the pay is good here. At first it was very difficult, you need to make contact with people who do not understand and shout at you, who prove that they are “right”. There were accidents and crime.
This job has completely changed me, I have become very calm about everything, I know how to get out of quarrels and smooth out conflicts. I like to watch people: some are polite and well-mannered, others are rude. There are also those who don’t like everything right away: the carriage, the seat, the conductor is not the right one, and the toilet is not organic. Passengers are very different - some are drunk, some are demanding, some are capricious, but an approach must be found to everyone. Since it’s a long-distance train, you spend several days on the road; there have been situations where the passenger’s feet, excuse me, stink. I had to quietly approach them and politely and politely ask them to wash them in the toilet and change their socks. It’s interesting that many people react calmly and with understanding.
The work is hard, you are a cleaner, a salesperson, a psychologist, a nanny, and a loader. The work is dirty, to be honest, and you clean the toilets yourself, if it’s a long-distance train, you don’t wash for several days, but you get used to everything. Sometimes it’s very difficult mentally, my grandfather died in the first year of work in the carriage, my heart stopped at night. I wake him up, he will stop soon, but he doesn’t wake up. I then cried all night.
A huge plus in this job, which outweighs all the minuses, is that you travel, visit different cities, I really like it, I live for it.
Please tell us about the most unusual incidents that happened along the way?
I had a very funny incident, of course, at first it didn’t seem funny to me. The passenger and passenger were running and taking turns complaining about each other, and they were sitting at different ends of the car. I couldn’t understand what was happening, a woman came up to me and said that one of the passengers was drunk and inadequate - pointing to the man. I took a closer look at him, he seems to be behaving normally, then he comes and complains to me about the passenger, saying that he saw her stealing from another passenger. And this went on all day, by the evening it turned out that these were ex-spouses who had met by chance in my carriage. For the sake of everyone’s peace, I moved the woman to the next carriage, otherwise they would have fought again.
Just recently there was another married couple, by the way, they landed in Kirov, we were going to Anapa. Well, first of all, they sat down already drunk, but I closed my eyes to this, they behaved quite calmly. But their party continued in the carriage, they did not react to my verbal comments, this continued until the night, and they boarded during the day. When the alcohol they had taken ran out, the wife went to look for it from the conductors and passengers, had an argument with someone, even got into a fight with one girl, and a decision was made to remove her from the train. They called the police and warned them to meet the “client.” I go up to the man and say that we are taking your wife off the train, and he replies, do what you want with her, I’ll go to sleep. In the morning, when he sobered up, he grabbed his head, got off at the next station, and said he would go pick up his wife.
But there are also good cases, not everything is so bad. For example, a conductor friend of mine met her husband on the train. By the way, male conductors have fleeting affairs with female passengers; girls are more modest in this regard, or something. But love also happens. The following story happened: a young man sat down with one of the conductors in the carriage and began to look in on her: now for tea, now for cookies, now for something else. At a long stop, he ran and bought her a bouquet of flowers, they started talking, he asked her for her phone number, but never called back. Well, then the whole team was upset, the guy was so sincere, his eyes were burning, there was no doubt that he would call. And about six months later, when she was already working on another train, the same guy got into the next carriage. When he saw her, he rushed to her and told her that he had lost his phone number and only knew her name. Since then, I traveled on trains and looked for my lost love, asked all the conductors about her and found her. Married for three years now.
Have there been any sexual adventurers on your flights?
Of course, sexual adventure seekers meet periodically. Sometimes couples simply buy a compartment and, in principle, do not particularly disturb anyone, if only with sounds. I had a couple who locked themselves in the toilet for about 30 minutes, other passengers began knocking on their door, and they came out embarrassed with red cheeks. There were also cases when young people tried to indulge in carnal pleasures right in the reserved seat, for example, on the second shelf or behind a sheet. As a rule, their actions begin to be condemned by the surrounding passengers, and everything immediately stops.
What kind of salary do conductors get? Is it enough to live on?
The salary is not bad, I get about 30-35 thousand, despite the fact that when I work, I hardly spend any money. I also like the schedule, for example, if there are 8 days on the road, then they give 8 days off. In addition, we have a plan for the sale of tea, cookies and souvenirs, which we are obliged to fulfill; we are awarded bonuses, and if the plan is fulfilled by the entire team, then an additional bonus is given. Well, of course, there are benefits.
Do you have a good team?
We meet at a staff meeting, we already know someone, we’re even friends with someone, it depends on your luck. There are different conductors and train captains. But most often we are one team, we help each other, I always help, if the guide has a shortage, and I have something extra, I share. When I started working, my set of underwear and cup holder were taken away on my first flight; my colleagues helped me. So I always try to help.
This job has completely changed me, I have become very calm about everything, I know how to get out of quarrels and smooth out conflicts. I like to watch people: some are polite and well-mannered, others are rude. There are also those who don’t like everything at once: the carriage, the seat, the conductor is not the right one, and the toilet is not organic... Passengers are very different - some are drunk, some are demanding, some are capricious, but you need to find an approach to everyone. Since it’s a long-distance train, you spend several days on the road: there have been situations where the passenger’s feet, excuse me, stink. I had to quietly approach them and politely and politely ask them to wash them in the toilet and change their socks. It’s interesting that many people react calmly and with understanding.
The work is hard: you are a cleaner, a salesperson, a psychologist, a nanny, and a loader... The work is dirty, what can I hide, and you clean the toilets yourself, if it’s a long-distance train, you don’t wash for several days, but you get used to everything. Sometimes it is very difficult mentally. During my first year of work, my grandfather died in the carriage; his heart stopped at night. I wake him up, he’ll stop soon, but he doesn’t wake up. I then cried all night.
A huge plus in this job, which outweighs all the minuses, is that you travel, visit different cities, I really like it, I live for it.
Please tell us about the most unusual incidents that happened along the way!
I had a very funny incident, of course, at first it didn’t seem funny to me. The passenger and passenger were running and taking turns complaining about each other, and they were sitting at different ends of the car. I couldn’t understand what was happening: a woman came up to me and said that one of the passengers was drunk and inadequate - pointing to the man. I took a closer look at him, he seems to be behaving normally... Then he comes and complains to me about the passenger, saying that he saw her stealing from another passenger. And this went on all day! By evening it turned out that these were ex-spouses who had met by chance in my carriage. For the sake of everyone’s peace, I moved the woman to the next carriage, otherwise they would have fought again.
Just recently there was another married couple: they landed in Kirov, we were going to Anapa. Well, first of all, they sat down already drunk, but I closed my eyes to this, they behaved quite calmly. But their party continued in the carriage, they did not react to my verbal comments, this continued until the night, and they boarded during the day. When they ran out of alcohol, the wife went to look for it from the conductors and passengers, had an argument with someone, even got into a fight with one girl, and a decision was made to remove her from the train. They called the police and warned them to meet the “client.” I go up to the man and say: we are taking your wife off the train! And he answers: do what you want with her, I’m going to sleep. The next morning, when he sobered up, he grabbed his head... He got off at the next station and said he would go pick up his wife.
But there are also good cases, not everything is so bad. For example, a conductor friend of mine met her future husband on the train. By the way, male conductors have fleeting affairs with female passengers, while girls are more modest in this regard. But love also happens. There was such a story, a young man sat down with one of the conductors in the carriage and began to look in on her: now for tea, now for cookies, now for something else. At a long stop, he ran and bought her a bouquet of flowers, they started talking, he asked her for her phone number, but never called back. Well, then the whole team was upset, the guy was so sincere, his eyes were burning, there was no doubt that he would call. And about six months later, when she was already working on another train, the same guy got into the next carriage. When he saw her, he rushed to her and told her that he had lost his phone number and only knew her name. Since then, I traveled on trains and looked for my lost love, asked all the conductors about her and found her. Married for three years now.
Have there been any sexual adventurers on your flights?
Of course, these happen periodically. Sometimes couples simply buy a compartment and, in principle, do not particularly disturb anyone, if only with sounds. I had a couple who locked themselves in the toilet for about 30 minutes, other passengers began knocking on their door, and they came out embarrassed with red cheeks. There were also cases when young people tried to indulge in carnal pleasures right in the reserved seat, for example, on the second shelf or behind a sheet. As a rule, their actions begin to be condemned by the surrounding passengers, and everything immediately stops.
What kind of salary do conductors get? Is it enough to live on?
The salary is not bad, I get about 30-35 thousand, despite the fact that when I work, I hardly spend any money. I also like the schedule, for example, if there are 8 days on the road, then they give 8 days off. In addition, we have a plan for the sale of tea, cookies and souvenirs, which we are obliged to fulfill; we are awarded bonuses, and if the plan is fulfilled by the entire team, then an additional bonus is given. Well, of course, there are benefits.
Do you have a good team?
We meet at a staff meeting, we already know someone, we’re even friends with someone, it depends on your luck. There are different conductors and train captains. But most often we are one team, we help each other. I always help, if the guide has a shortage, and I have something extra, I share. When I started working, my set of underwear and cup holder were taken away on my first flight; my colleagues helped me. So I always try to help.
