Keolis Commuter Services, the MBTA’s commuter rail operating partner, graduated a class of 27 assistant conductors from its Somerville training facility. This is the largest class in the history of the commuter rail and adds to a roster of transportation employees that has steadily grown since Keolis began operations in 2014.
“Our conductors are the face of our service, which is why we provide them with the training and tools necessary to help ensure passenger safety and a reliable service,” said David Scorey, CEO and general manager, Keolis. “Our conductors develop friendships with our regular passengers and help new travelers get to their destinations. We’re glad to have such a large class join our team. This will help improve the passenger experience by providing us with a larger team to service a network that’s added 6 percent more scheduled trains since Keolis operations began in 2014.”
The new assistant conductors began their training in November 2017. The Keolis training program emphasizes customer service and includes classroom instruction, exams, site visits to railroad facilities and time onboard trains. This comprehensive experience contributes to a wide-range of railroad and passenger experience knowledge.
This recent class of assistant conductors adds to a growing Keolis team, which has increased 13 percent since 2014. This increase in employees includes additional conductors, engineers, mechanical staff and several other positions focused on improving the passenger experience and making necessary improvements to the network as part of Keolis’ initiatives to structure the team effectively and efficiently.
