[VIC]training new loco drivers

["andrei" <andrei@ausisp.com>]

Interesting article from page 29 of February 2000 edition of Owner/Driver.
I wonder if it's accurate, and why I found this info not in a rail mag, but
truck newspaper.

" Freight Victoria has started training nine new locomotive drivers - a sign
of confidence for the Victorian railway.
  Four of the trainees are from within Freight Victoria's other operations
and five are new to the rail industry.
  Their 18 month training includes a period in classrooms as well as on the
job experience - and after graduating they will be on salaries of more than
$50,000 pa.
  The trainees are all their 20s, while the average age of Freight Victoria
locomotive drivers is 46.
  Freight Victoria, a subsidiary of Railamerica Inc, bought the Victorian
government freight rail system in May 1999 for $163 million, holds a 45 year
lease on 4000 kms of track, owns 107 locomotives and 2600 freight wagons and
employs 660 people. It has turned a lossmaker into a profitable and
expanding transport business."