Wanted: Pacesetters and team players like Thomas

"Even as a child, I wanted to be an excavator driver," says Thomas. What remains a childhood dream for many boys has become a reality for him – now at a "next level". His path began with training as a road builder and led him to inner-city track construction, where he worked as a foreman. This is where he learned how to drive an excavator.

Thomas Vogt has been working for Implenia in track-based engineering and foundation engineering since the fall of 2025. The decisive step came when his operations manager approached him directly about training as a road-rail excavator driver – partly because qualified specialists in this field are rare. He was immediately interested in the idea: He had observed the impressive machines in action before and thought that he would like to do it himself one day.

He seized the opportunity and completed his training as a train driver, which Implenia financed. For him, this meant Three months of intensive learning, exams, simulator training – including railroad rules, signals and safety regulations. "It's quite complex. You have to learn and understand a lot," he says. "But it's worth it. The job as a road-rail excavator operator at Implenia is exciting, you have a lot of responsibility and you're well paid."

His team mainly builds noise barriers and pile-driving pipe foundations along Deutsche Bahn railroad lines. They usually work when others are asleep: at night. A "normal" shift lasts from 9 p.m. in the evening until 5 a.m. in the morning. A section of track is closed to train traffic during these closing times so that the teams can work safely. The time slots are tight, and the processes have to work.

Also because the job entails a lot of responsibility. There is limited space to navigate on the closed track. "If I'm not careful, I can cause a lot of damage – there are overhead lines above us that I have to keep an eye on, and cables, lines and equipment below us," he says. "But above all, I'm responsible for my people. My supervisor and my colleagues work around my huge excavator. I take good care of them. They are like my sheep that I have to look after during the shifts."

Working at night and the high level of concentration bring the team close together. "We're like a family," says the 33-year-old. Everyone lends a hand, no one is too willing to take on tasks that simply have to be done – even picking up a broom to sweep a site is a matter of course for everyone. Despite clear roles on paper, one thing counts above all on the construction site: working together. "We can only get the job done together."

Thomas felt he was in good hands at Implenia right from the start. He was particularly impressed by the way he was welcomed by branch manager Peter Bürkle. "He's like a dad to us all. We have his cell phone number and can call him in the middle of the night if it's important." This commitment to work and to each other is a part of the work culture at all levels.

And what is the biggest challenge for him in his job? "The fact that you can never predict what's going to happen – no two days are the same. You often don't know in advance what to expect in the ground or on the construction site," he describes. His recipe: accepting these situations – trusting that they will be mastered and solved together. Thomas relaxes best from his work with his family and his hobby, which also has to do with horsepower: He works on his Audi A6.

His first night shift after completing his training remains a special experience for Thomas: Over the course of 12 nights, he and his team completed 300 meters of cable duct as a newly qualified two-way excavator driver. "That was amazing – driving to the single track section, rerailing and getting started," he says. "It was a dream come true. It was just a really good feeling." And that feeling has remained. "Every time I'm allowed onto the track with the rail-road excavator, I think to myself: this is just fantastic."

Thomas has a simple piece of advice for anyone who wants to become a road-rail excavator operator: "Always ask questions. Whether during training or on the construction site: If you don't ask, you won't learn anything, and if you don't say what you need, you won't get any support." Even now, he still seeks advice when new things come his way, such as the work he is currently doing with a 7-metre auger. "We are three two-way excavator operators and can support each other with tips and experience and learn from each other."