30 women chosen from 28,000 candidates, between 22 and 30 years old, break a glass ceiling in Arabia. As of this March 13, they begin their training to become the first train drivers in the country, a profession that to date only men have done. In fact, until 2018, women could not drive cars and even today the laws require them to have the permission of a man to be able to travel or marry.
Of all the candidates, almost 14,000 applicants passed the first phase, which the Renfe subsidiary in Saudi Arabia (Renfe KSA) carried out ‘online’, and in which the academic record and the level of English were mainly valued, according to what they say in the company. The candidates who passed this first phase faced more tests and a personal interview a few days ago.
After passing the mandatory medical examinations, the 30 selected women will join this Sunday – the first day of the week in Saudi Arabia – at the facilities that the Mecca Medina High Speed Spanish Consortium has in the Line Operations Center (OCC), in Yeda, to receive paid training given by the Spanish operator’s staff.
In the opinion of Roselina Reyes-Ges, train driver for Renfe, the great reception that this call has had “demonstrates the will of many Saudi women to be part of the great economic and social change that is taking place in the country”. And she adds that for them “it is an opportunity with which to be able to collaborate in the household economy, to be able to even achieve economic independence, and broaden their horizons in life”.
Once the theoretical classes are finished, they will begin the practical training of real driving in the high-speed trains that provide commercial service in Saudi Arabia since October 2018. Thus, after 1,200 hours of theory and practice, at the end of this year they will become the first women in the history of the country to develop this profession.
“The Saudi women workers that I have met, both in the railway sector and outside it, show a very responsible woman, very capable, with a great desire to improve and above all, very efficient in their work. They ask questions and show interest in the profession”, Explain Roselina Reyes-Ges.
The Renfe trainer indicates that both to be a high-speed train driver and to be a train driver for any other service, the same conditions are required. In this sense, he highlights that it is necessary to have “a lot of responsibility, a lot of knowledge of the profession and, above all, passion.”
130 local professionals
Between 2013 and 2014, the first train drivers were trained at the Renfe Professional Technical School of Driving and Operations in Madrid. The collaboration was extended with an agreement signed with Saudi Railway Politechnic (SRP) to provide theoretical training at its Qassim facilities. More than 80 local train drivers have been trained by Renfe, and another 50 are in the training period.
Additionally, the Renfe subsidiary in Saudi Arabia has hired and trained more than 400 Saudis for the Commercial (stations and on-board) and Operations departments. At this time, the operating company of Haramain High Speed Railway, in which Adif and Ineco also participate, has more than 1,300 direct workers at its service, the majority of Saudi nationality.
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Some 2,500 women work in the entire Renfe group, accounting for 17% of the workforce. In 2018 this figure was 13.5%.
9% of female drivers in Spain
Close to 9% of the total train drivers in Spain are women. They began to enter the sector in 2016, when regeneration and free access to the profession began. Five years ago they only accounted for 4%. And it is that, previously, the job was accessed through military formations.
Diego Martin, spokesperson for the Union of Train Drivers and Railway Assistants (Semaf), indicates that, at the moment, of the 5,500 train drivers, almost 500 are female drivers. “This work is beginning to be more attractive for them, but there are still barriers to entry that must be improved, such as hygienic conditions or reconciliation with maternity and breastfeeding issues,” she argues.
According Martinthe profession requires the incorporation of some 1,800 new machinists in the coming years.