OR Marlene Kurk is a student in business administration at the University of Mannheim. But this week, when she has no classes at the university, instead of the auditorium, Marlene Kurk is sitting… in the driver’s seat of a tram in Mannheim. “Driving a tram is completely different from driving a car,” says the 26-year-old student. Thierry Erbert, her trainer, is always by her side correcting her.

So much for Mannheim as well as in Ludwigshafen the transport company rnv selects various students as tram drivers. The same is the case in other areas, such as Dresden and Magdeburg, where student drivers take on part of the workload of permanent staff. And indeed their help is valuable: “There is a shortage of staff, so we are trying to find all kinds of alternative solutions,” says a representative of the Association of German Transport Companies.

The Pro Bahn passenger association welcomes the initiative – but on one condition. “In principle this idea is positive”, points out the president of the association, Detlef Neuss. But “such a measure is safe, only when the training of new drivers is thorough.” In addition, it is necessary to have a framework for students’ rest time between their studies and work.

Two months of theory and practice

In Mannheim the students go through two months of theoretical training and practical training. During this time they familiarize themselves with the wires, learn to read and follow the markings, but also how to brake in the right way. In essence, they follow a regular training as tram drivers. The only difference is that the whole training… is “condensed” in less time. As Erbert explains, “we assume that all students who come to us, precisely because they are students, learn more easily and quickly”.

rnv has been recruiting students as tram drivers for many years, since the 1990s, with the hope that some of them will later come to work for the company. Stefan Grimm, for example, worked as a tram driver in 1994 while studying business administration – and is now the company’s HR director.

Exploring the city by tram

Marlene Kurk is excited about driving – “mainly because it’s something completely out of the ordinary,” she says. With the tram, she also has the opportunity to get to know the city better, since she herself grew up in Lübeck, while what she learns is also useful for her studies.

According to the company, students sign special contracts as student workers and can work up to 20 hours a month during the university semester, up to 39 hours a month during the holidays. They are paid 18.56 euros an hour, and they also have some bonuses – for example when they do an evening shift. Their training is also paid for.

The positive attitude of the union

The permanent staff of the company see positively the employment of students, as stated by a representative of the Verdi union. This way it is also less likely that a furloughed worker will need to return to work due to staff shortages.

According to the Association of German Transport Companies, there are a total of 17,300 tram drivers in Germany. However, the Union does not know how many student drivers there are. rnv, however, employs a total of 1,200 tram drivers and 25 students.

A demanding position

The responsibility that a tram driver has is great. With a maximum speed of up to 80 km/h the train needs at least 90 meters to stop. “I think for something like this you really have to be 100% focused,” says Marlene Kurk.

The student could imagine herself working as a tram driver – possibly alongside an office job. “My brother was a bus driver, so was my grandfather. And now I wanted to try something a little different,” Kurk says. “My family is thrilled.”

Edited by: Giorgos Passas