Yari de Gaaf as sen. Rolling Stock Planner (& Train driver) @NS

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR CURRENT JOB?

I wrote my bachelor thesis while doing an internship at NS. I planned to continue my study career directly by doing a master study in Railway Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. However, I was unable to go there immediately after finishing my bachelor studies. That is why NS offered me a contract for a year to work as a rolling stock planner, after which I moved to Stockholm in summer 2019 to finally start the master’s programme.

Because of COVID-19, my situation changed. I had to come back from Sweden earlier than I originally planned, but fortunately this created the possibility to be working for NS again. For over a year I combined my job as rolling stock planner with being a student again: a tough combination, but I’m still thankful for the opportunity I got at that time. After finishing the master’s programme in 2021, I applied for the job as senior rolling stock planner and that is what I am still doing nowadays.

Although I am still enjoying my position as a senior rolling stock planner, I felt that I missed the interaction in the operation. That’s why I started the training for becoming the train driver as well, so that I can share my experiences from the operations side at the head office and vice versa. Hopefully I will finish this training during spring 2023, after which I will be combining both functions (one day per week as a train driver, four days per week as a senior planner).

WHAT ARE YOUR DAILY OPERATIONS?

I work for the department that is responsible for the changes in the “normal timetable and rolling stock planning”, for instance due to track works, events (Formula 1 at Zandvoort, concerts, Kings Day, etc.) or weather disruptions (heavy snowfall, etc.). The special timetable that was operated during the first months of the pandemic was created within our team as well.

It is my job to manage the team of rolling stock planners, who make sure that every train is operated with sufficient capacity (seats) for all the expected passengers, taking into account constraints such as number of train crews, shunting possibilities, platform lengths, etc. Basically, I am puzzling all day to make sure that the plan fulfils all the requirements for all stakeholders involved.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST AT YOUR JOB?

The puzzle that I have to solve is different every day. This makes it a nice challenge to come up solutions again and again. Nevertheless, a solution may be good for the rolling stock plan, but may not fit within the timetable or the crew schedule. Luckily, I am one of the few planners that are specialized in planning both the timetable as well as rolling stock. This is what I like the most: using both specializations to come up with the most creative solutions.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS?

My current position as a senior planner gave me the possibility to develop my management and leadership skills. In the future, I would like to obtain a function in which I can both use these skills, as well as my experiences from being a train driver. I think this will probably be in a function in which you are responsible for coordinating the planning process on a higher level, where you have lots of interaction with different stakeholders throughout the company.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE THE MOST FROM YOUR EDUCATION THAT HELPS YOU OUT NOWADAYS IN YOUR WORK?

I learned a lot during the Honours Programme in Aviation Management. The organization of the Aviation Management Conference and my role as host of the day made me realize that I do not have any problems to participate in discussions and that I can take the lead if necessary. I still use this experience in my role as a senior when I have to give presentations or speak for groups of people.

ARE YOU STILL CONNECTED WITH THE AVIATION ACADEMY?

Two years ago I provided a guest lecture on how timetables and rolling stock planning are made at NS: I would like to that once more in the future! Besides, I still follow the Aviation Academy on LinkedIn and Instagram, so that are the ways to stay updated about what is happening at the AUAS.