Train attendant from Barnaul shares tales of famous passengers and pulled emergency brakes

Alexandra Pogran from Barnaul could not have imagined that she would end up working on the railway and traveling to the sea every week, having never seen it before. Now she is an attendant on the Barnaul–Adler train route. The rhythmic clatter of wheels, changing landscapes, and endless expanses have become the ordinary backdrop for most of her life.

The attendant told NGS22.RU about the difficulties of the profession, pulled emergency brakes, passengers, and some tricks of the trade (she knows how to cook potatoes au gratin in a train compartment and can calm down even the rowdiest travelers).

From Manager to Train Attendant

«I had never once traveled by train before I got this job,» began Alexandra.

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

«I had to move out of my rental apartment and back into my parents» house because the company closed without severance pay. I started looking at different options, and a friend of mine, who had been an attendant since she was 18, told me about the training and suggested I give it a try. She had no idea that soon we would occasionally be working trips together. What appealed to me then was that, despite the routine, no two workdays are alike: the same stations, the same cars, but always new people and a new atmosphere,« Alexandra laughs.

The attendant notes that her hectic schedule doesn«t bother her husband at all; on the contrary, they miss each other during the trips, so there are almost no arguments in the family, but there is always room for romance.

Cooks Potatoes Au Gratin and Does Beauty Treatments

For five years now she has been traveling to Adler and passing by the sea, even though she had never been there before. However, going into the water during stops is strictly prohibited by safety regulations, as the employee is still on duty. Furthermore, as Alexandra explains, you can«t go far during that time anyway: after passengers disembark, the attendants» work continues as they prepare the car for the next passengers.

«On my first independent shift at a stop, 40 people got off and all of them handed in their bed linens, and I just sat there with tears welling up: I had to sort it all out by myself. I thought, »Why am I crying? I«ll manage.» Do or don«t, I sorted it all out. The main thing in our job is time management. At first, you don»t know what to tackle first: when to sell ice cream and when to disembark passengers, but over time it gets easier.«

Over time, the young woman learned to cook various soups in the microwave and even figured out how to make potatoes au gratin to make her diet during trips a bit more varied than that of the passengers. The round trip, by the way, takes 8 days, and the stop in the city is only a little over 6 hours.

A work shift lasts 12 hours. In addition to checking documents, the attendant is responsible for cleanliness in the car, cleaning toilets, washing floors and windows, and other routine tasks like connecting the heating and boilers for passenger comfort.

«In my free time on the train, I manage to read books, tidy myself up, do my nails,» Alexandra laughs. «Lately I»ve been reading cheap romance novels, but I once even managed to get through Anna Karenina. You always have to find something to occupy yourself with, otherwise you can spend all your time playing games on your phone. I bring face masks, peeling, sometimes even a curling iron ends up in my bag – everything for us girls.«

«Romance Gradually Becomes Routine»

The work of an attendant often seems romantic to passengers: tea in a faceted glass, changing landscapes, the clinking of a spoon. However, Alexandra is convinced: where work begins, that very romance that passengers love so much ends.

«I need to control boarding and disembarking, refilling water, taking out the trash, and if something breaks, I have to crawl under the car and check there, and also – chisel ice off the brake pads – that»s also the attendant«s job. In four days we pass through more than 80 regions and don»t even have time to understand where we are. Over time, the journey simply stops being something unusual. On my first training trip, for example, I got terribly motion sick, but then I got used to it and now I sleep quite well,« the attendant laughs.

At the same time, every stage of the work is strictly regulated, and at any moment inspectors monitoring order can appear, as well as, for example, «secret passengers.»

«They check everything: the products, so there»s nothing expired, so no one sells anything «under the counter.» That«s already a criminal offense. We constantly study, take tests, and confirm our certifications.»

Incidentally, famous people can often be among the passengers. One such person was Konstantin Raykin.

«A very polite, calm person, without any star attitude. He asked for help making the bed, I remember, we helped him. A psychic traveled with us once too, I forgot his name, we got talking, he gave me a talisman so I»d always have money in my wallet. Ironic as it is, I lost it,« Sasha recalls.

There are, of course, downsides to the job:

«Of course, I don»t like crawling under the car with a crowbar and washing toilets, hauling 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.«

«She Handed Over Her Documents and Fell»

Passengers, Alexandra admits, come in all sorts – that«s the nature of the job. With particularly rowdy ones, transport security staff help out. Some can be calmed down on your own, but in critical situations you still have to call the police.

«Predictably unexpected incidents happen in autumn and spring, as if people have an exacerbation. Once, on the way to Adler, an elderly woman boarded the car. Night fell, some men came and said: »Do something, there«s a grandma praying, it»s impossible to sleep.« We go with them, and the whole car can hear »Our Father!« I say to her: »What are you doing, it«s three in the morning, let»s observe quiet hours, from 10 p.m. we can«t make noise,» to which she replies: «I woke up, so let everyone else wake up.» She continues praying, and that«s that. She even threatened to curse everyone. The police came, medics – they gathered everyone. The woman was completely coherent, not drunk, speaking normally, and what to do with her, only God knows. They had a talk with her, and only then did she quiet down. An attendant has to be very patient, of course,» Alexandra reflects.

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

«Once a man was boarding the car and his bag strap got caught on something, blocking the entrance for the attendant. She wouldn»t have had time to unhook it and enter calmly, so they had to pull the emergency brake. There have also been cases when, minutes before departure, couples with a stroller, out for a walk, would forget to board and end up in a different car. But going to their own car in such a situation was already dangerous and unwarranted. Once a woman was running to board, already elderly, about 55–60. You could see she was very nervous, afraid of being late. She handed over her documents and fell. She was too worked up. That«s why I always say: »Another train will come.« You can return the ticket. Yes, you»ll lose time, maybe some money, but it«s nothing compared to the risk to life and health. Attendants will always help however they can, if needed,» she concluded.