Work for the railway

The Northgate Rail Network is hiring signal operators. No experience is required. If you can read a timetable, stay calm under pressure, and own up when you make a mistake, we will train you. Everyone starts as an inductee on a quiet branch line.

Read the dispatcher manual

The roster

You move up the roster by clearing every board at your current grade. Once you do, the next set of boards opens up. There is one further grade beyond Chief Operator, but you will not find it listed here. You earn your way to it.

The operating roster, from junior to senior
Rank	Grade	What the shift is like
Inductee	Induction	A guided first shift. We walk you through the panel one step at a time.
Trainee Operator	Very Easy	A relaxed training board with a steady, manageable flow of traffic.
Junior Operator	Easy	A city branch line, with the occasional conflict to keep you sharp.
Operator	Medium	A working terminal. Platforms overlap and the main line stays busy.
Senior Operator	Hard	A busy interchange with many platforms and a lot to coordinate.
Chief Operator	Difficult	The main interchange, with six platforms of conflicting traffic.

Staff benefits

Staff travel pass. Free travel across the network, plus one named dependant.
Uniform allowance. One jacket and a tie clip shaped like a signal.
The green mug. Issued when you finish induction. Non-transferable.
Pension scheme. A notional one, on a railway that is also notional.
Canteen access. The tea is free. The biscuits are rationed.
Your choice of terminal colour. Emerald, amber, or lapis. This one you actually get.

These benefits are in keeping with the period and, being fictional, cannot be redeemed.

Is the work for you?

You will take to the boards if you can:

stay level-headed when a queue builds up;
hold one train while you judge another;
err on the side of being early rather than sorry;
admit an error and file the report cleanly.

You will find it harder if you tend to panic or guess, or if you like to blame the weather. The weather is on the board too, and it does not file its own reports.

Commendations

Good work and long service are noted on your record. The commendations below are awarded as you go, from your first correctly filed report onward. A few more exist that we do not print here, since they belong to grades you have not reached yet.

Staff commendations, awarded as you serve
Commendation	Awarded for
Induction	Complete your first guided shift.
First Incident	File your first incident report correctly.
By the Book	Clear a full shift with every report filed to the right cause.
Clean Sheet	Finish a shift without a single lockout.
Right on Advertised	Work a shift with 100 percent on-time performance.
No Hands on the Bell	Clear a board without using a grace hold.
Full Board	Clear every service on a shift with no misses.
Straight A	Earn an A grade on any railyard.
Trainee	Clear every board on the training grade.
Junior Operator	Clear every board on the Easy grade.
Operator	Clear every board on the Medium grade.
Senior Operator	Clear every board on the Hard grade.
Chief Operator	Clear every board on the Difficult grade.

Plainly: the roster is the game's difficulty grades, and commendations are its Steam achievements. The only benefit you can really claim is choosing your terminal colour. To apply, you get the game.