For many American railroads, the following career progression is typical: assistant conductor (
brakeman),
train conductor, and finally the engineer. For many years, the fireman was next in line to be an engineer, but that classification has been eliminated. In the US, engineers are required to be certified and must then be re-certified every two to three years. The traditional career progression in the United Kingdom (for steam locomotives) was engine cleaner, passed engine cleaner (i.e., the employee has passed the assessment for fireman), fireman, passed fireman (i.e., passed the assessment for driver), and driver. Michael Reynolds, locomotive inspector of the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, proposed a system of locomotive driving certificates to stimulate improvements in service and competence. However, no such system was ever universally adopted by the railways of the UK. In India, a driver starts as a diesel assistant (or electrical assistant for electric locomotives). They then get promoted on a scale: goods, passenger, mail express, and the
Rajdhani,
Shatabdi, and
Duronto express services. The British transport historian
Christian Wolmar wrote in October 2013 that train operators employed by the
Rio Tinto Group to transport iron ore across the Australian
outback were likely to be the highest-paid members of the occupation in the world at that time. == Notable train drivers ==