How long does a train take to traverse a railway crossing?
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There’s perhaps no-one better placed to answer that question than train driver Fiona Dick, who returned to her home town of Cobram to see her family and speak at the Uniting Church on Tuesday, March 4.
After growing up in Cobram and spending her entire life in Victoria, Fiona has spent the last 15 months driving coal trains across Queensland.
But Fiona’s own journey has unfolded with its share of twists and turns.
After 10 years working in retail while studying to be a teacher in Warnambool, Fiona realised she needed a change. A relationship had also ended, and Fiona - who already struggled with debilitating anxiety - found a question mark hanging over her future.
“That pretty much sent me off the deep end,” she said.
Leaving her studies to become a teacher didn’t help her mental state either.
“I didn’t really feel like I was capable of anything,” she said.
But then Fiona found a job advert online for a train driver with Pacific National.
Recognising the chance to embark on a new journey, she didn’t think twice before applying.
And before she knew it, she was on her way to the Sunshine State - with no clear idea of what to make of where life was taking her.
“I don’t know what I expected,” she said.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge. I knew it was going to be different.”
She later discovered that she was one of 3000 applicants for the job. Of that number, 60 made it to an interview. From that group, 30 applicants made it into a position.
One of those was Fiona.
Months later, Fiona is on her way to becoming a fully qualified train driver. Each shift, she drives cargo trains under supervision across the Goonyella Network, a 1021km rail system that connects dozens of mines with ports along the Queensland coast. There are about 275 crossings across the network.
That she would end up driving trains may have come as no surprise to some.
During her time in Victoria, she would commute everywhere she needed to go with public transport.
As such, Fiona was already an expert in the networks of buses, trains and trams.
“I got really good at working out all the different ways to get home,” she said.
“The network, really, if you’re organised, is very useful.”
And while there may not seem much to see on an eight-hour train journey through outback Queensland, Fiona said she never gets bored on the job.
With the company of her instructor and a good paperback, there’s no shortage of entertainment on her longer shifts.
After emerging from the challenges life has thrown her, Fiona is off her medications for anxiety.
She now speaks openly about her mental health journey, hoping that in doing that, others are more comfortable doing so themselves.
“I think I became aware of it through my own experiences - that there are other people who are masking how they feel,” she said.
She said unrealistic expectations of how people should appear are part of the problem.
“You can’t be perfect every day,” she said.
Her advocacy found her behind the lectern at the Cobram Uniting Church, where she opened up about the importance of looking after one’s mental health.
Her speech was warmly received by her listeners, many of whom praised her courage in discussing the subject.
Others had questions, such as, how long does a train take to traverse a railway crossing?
Once upon a time, Fiona may not have had an answer to the question. But now, things have changed.
While she may not have all the answers, she can confidently reveal it takes about ten minutes for a train to traverse a crossing from start to finish.
Over the next few months, Fiona plans to become a fully qualified train driver and move her life into a house she bought in Sarina, just south of Mackay.
Whatever her future holds, Fiona conceded that she had to make her own share of crossings and turns to get where she is.
“Now, I could practically drive trains all over the world,” she said.
“All the choices I’ve made have made me the person I am today.”
Cadet journalist