From toilet breaks to secret codes a London Underground driver has revealed what her job is really like.
The woman filmed a “pretty standard day” working on the tube. As she began her shift she told viewers: “See if you can guess what I’m talking about.”
She said: “Today I started at 6.06am and I had to bring one out the yard, then I went up the cross to Barnet and then down to Battersea where I had about six minutes to take a quick PNR and change ends.
“I checked the DMI and I had about two minutes until my train was due out.”
PNR means physical needs relief, while DMI means Dot Matrix Indicator, the display showing the times of the next trains.
She said the job was perfect for those who like working alone adding she “only spoke to two people” in her whole shift.
The tube worker added: “My next trip was up to Mill Hill East, I only had four minutes for another PNR, I headed down to East Finchley where I had to ride the cushions up to Barnet for grub.
“So another driver was picking up this train at Finchley to stable it in the yard. I got off my train on the south and rode the cushions up on the north.
“I only had two trains in total today. But the number of trains and where you go on the line literally varies every day.”
To “ride the cushions” means sitting in the non-driving passenger seat in the train’s cockpit.
She continued: “After grub it was raining – these trains are literally the same age as me and can’t keep rain out. I had one more rounder until home time.
“I left Battersea for Barnet around 12pm – on that last trip I’m just counting down the minutes until I can go home. I was on the cross all day today, except on the way back down south where I went through the city.
“I finished work at 2.05pm and I have a snip turn to look forward to on Friday.”
Tube drivers call the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line the “cross” while a “snip turn” is a short shift.
She told viewers of the video that she was not allowed to listen to music in headphones while driving the train and explained she usually used the toilet every time she reached the end of the line.
