Barnaul conductor on workdays, passengers, and pulled emergency brakes

Aleksandra Pogran from Barnaul never could have imagined she would work on the railroad and travel to the sea every week, even though she had never seen it before. Now she is a conductor on the Barnaul–Adler train. The clatter of wheels, changing landscapes, and endless expanses are the everyday reality where most of her life passes.

The conductor told NGS22.RU about the difficulties of the profession, pulled emergency brakes, passengers, and some work tricks (she knows how to cook French-style potatoes in a compartment and how to calm even the most rowdy travelers).

From Manager to Train Conductor

— I had never ridden a train in my life before I got this job, — Aleksandra began her story.

She joined Russian Railways (RZD) at age 26, when the coronavirus pandemic began and some enterprises started closing down, which happened with her previous workplace.

— Then I had to move out of my rented apartment back to my parents« house since the company was closed without severance pay. I started considering different options, and a friend who has been working as a conductor since she was 18 told me about the training and suggested I try it. She didn»t even know that after some time we would periodically ride together. What attracted me then was that, despite the routine, no workday is like the previous one: the same stations, cars, but always new people, atmosphere, — Aleksandra laughs.

As the conductor clarifies, her chaotic schedule doesn«t bother her husband at all; on the contrary, during the trips, the couple manages to miss each other, so there are practically no scandals in the family, but there is always room for romance.

Cooks French-Style Potatoes and Does Beauty Care

For five years now, she has been traveling to Adler and passing by the sea, although she had never been there before. However, going into the water during stops is strictly prohibited by labor protection rules, since the employee is still at the workplace. Moreover, as Aleksandra explains, you can«t go far in that time: after passengers disembark, the conductors» work continues: the car is put in order for the next passengers.

— On my first independent shift at a stop, 40 people got off and all handed in their bedding, and I sit there, tears welling up: I have to sort all this alone. I thought: «Well, how can I cry? I»ll manage everything.« Do or don»t, I sorted it all. The main thing in our work is to allocate time; at first it«s unclear what to grab onto: when to sell ice cream, and when to disembark passengers, but over time it becomes calmer.

Over time, the girl learned to cook various soups in the microwave and even figured out how to make French-style potatoes, so that her diet on trips became a bit more varied than that of travelers. The round trip, by the way, takes 8 days, and the stop in the city is only over 6 hours.

A work shift lasts 12 hours. Besides checking documents, the conductor is responsible for cleanliness in the car, cleaning toilets, washing floors and windows, as well as other routine work like connecting heating and boilers for passenger comfort.

— In free time from work on the train, I manage to read books, put myself in order, do a manicure, — Aleksandra laughs. — Lately I«ve been reading pulp novels, but somehow I even got through Anna Karenina. You always have to find something to occupy yourself, otherwise you can spend all the time playing games on your phone. I carry face masks, peeling, sometimes even a curling iron ends up in my bag — everything for the girls.

«Romance Gradually Becomes Everyday Life»

The work of a conductor often seems romantic to passengers: tea in a faceted glass, changing landscapes, a ringing spoon, but Aleksandra is convinced: where work begins, that very romance that passengers love so much ends.

— I need to control boarding and disembarkation, water refilling, taking out trash, and if something breaks, to climb under the car and look there, and also — chip ice off the brake pads — that«s also the conductor»s work. In four days we travel through more than 80 regions and don«t even have time to understand where we are now. Over time, the road simply stops being something unusual. On my first training trip, for example, I got very motion sick, but then I got used to it and now I sleep quite well, — the conductor laughs.

With all this, each stage of work is strictly regulated, and at any moment, both inspectors monitoring order and, for example, «secret passengers» can appear.

— They check everything: products, so that there is no expired goods, so that no one sells anything «under the counter». This is already criminal liability. We constantly study, take tests, confirm clearances.

By the way, famous people can often be among the passengers. One such was Konstantin Raikin.

— A very polite, calm person, without any star disease. He asked for help making the bed, I remember, we helped. Some psychic traveled with us once, I forgot his name, we got talking, he gave me a talisman so that money would always be in my wallet. Ironically, I lost it, — Sasha recalls.

In work, there are certainly minuses:

— Of course, I don«t like crawling under the car with a crowbar and washing toilets, carrying coal. But I understand: I get paid for this. The salary suits me, there are bonuses, travel allowances. I always try to treat people the way I would want to be treated.

«Handed Over Documents and Fell»

Passengers, Aleksandra admits, come in all varieties — that«s the peculiarity of the job. With particularly rowdy ones, transport security officers help to cope. Some can be calmed down on her own, but in critical situations, it»s still necessary to call the police.

— Predictably unexpected cases happen in autumn and spring, as if people have an exacerbation. Once on the way to Adler, a grandmother boarded the car. Night fell, men come and say: «Do something, grandma is praying there, it»s impossible to sleep.« We go with them, and there throughout the car resounds »Our Father!« I tell her: »What, it«s three in the morning, let»s observe the quiet hours, from 10 p.m. we can«t make noise,» to which she replies: «I woke up, let everyone wake up.» She continues praying, and that«s it. She even threatens to curse everyone. The police came, medics — everyone gathered. The grandmother is completely adequate, not drunk, talks normally, and what to do with her, only God knows. They had a talk, and only then did she quiet down. A conductor must be very patient, of course, — Aleksandra reflects.

Emergency situations often arise due to unjustified haste, so Aleksandra tirelessly repeats that there«s no need to hurry, another train will always come.

— Once a man was entering the car and got his strap caught on something, thereby blocking the entrance for the conductor. She wouldn«t have had time to unhook him and calmly enter, so they had to pull the emergency brake. There were also cases when, a couple of minutes before departure, couples with a stroller, while walking, forgot to board and ended up in another car. But going to their car in such a case was already dangerous and unjustified. Once a woman was running to board, already elderly, about 55–60 years old. It was clear that she was very nervous, afraid of being late. She handed over her documents and fell. She overexerted herself. Therefore I always say: »Another train will come.« You can return the ticket. Yes, you»ll lose time, possibly some money, but it«s incomparable to the risk to life and health. Conductors will always help as much as they can if needed, — she concluded.