Major rail timetable shake-up: have you checked your train?

Just finished watching- again – a British Transport Films collection including Points and Aspects and On and Off the Rails. High quality and interesting, overseen by Edgar Anstey.

@gmartin, thanks George. I agree. However, if all the planning involved in reorganising trains through the capital and associated services took no account of the normal availability of drivers then I’d suggest we need a public inquiry. On reflection, no – that would take far too long.

This report from the DT “Southern Railway’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said it had offered employees a “very generous” four-year pay deal worth 23.8%.

It would take a driver’s base salary from £49,001 to £60,683 for the existing 35-hour, four-day week. Most of Southern’s drivers also work a fifth day as overtime, which tops up their pay by 25 per cent, taking the potential total pay to over £75,000.

I wonder why there is a shortage of people wanting this sort of job, unless the TOC’s cannot afford to pay for any more drivers at these high salaries?.

(“Salaries for more experienced pilots can range from £36,000 to £48,000 in a first officer role. The starting salary for a captain with a medium-sized airline may range from £57,000 to £78,000.

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk › Salaries › Coach Driver
16 Jun 2017 – When factoring in bonuses and additional compensation, a Coach Driver at National Express can expect to make an average total pay of £23,436 .“)

Positive experiences – I have made more use of trains since I retired and have had a very positive experience. In another Convo I described how I had taken eight trains one day (5 outward and 3 return) and had no problems. It was a pity that the journey was little more than 50 miles but we can blame that on someone for closing some lines back in the 60s.

I’ve even been allowed to travel without penalty twice in one day when I forgot my Senior Railcard.

@afrench, I appreciate that Monday saw a lot of complaints but I have not seen anything online or on the news since then about disruption.

@gmartin, Hello George – I’m fine thanks (but not a commuter, maybe it would be otherwise 🙁 ). It was said at the outset there would be teething problems. I expect somewhere performance figures will be published to show whether the problems are gradually being ironed out – or not.

I am assuming this problem is because the train operating companies are relying on rest-day working in order to maintain services in accordance with the timetable. If the train crew decide they would rather have a day off than perform their rostered rest-day duty they seem to be free to do so without sanction [nice contract of employment]. This cannot be the right way to run a railway and I would tend to put the responsibility for this problem with the management and not with the staff. Malcolm’s previous comment about the Department of Transport ruling out one bid for the Thameslink etc franchise because it included too many drivers and awarding it instead to Govia shows where ultimate responsibility lies. Meanwhile, the passengers waiting on the platforms are stuffed.

I don’t know about rest day working, just reporting what I heard on the radio. But it seems to me that if drivers who may have agreed to work then choose not to because of football, without regard to the effect on their customers, something is wrong.

However, maybe there is another explanation.

I am not suggesting the drivers’ actions are acceptable but if that is the contract under which they work then it should come as no surprise to the management.

There is, of course, a record of bad labour relations with Govia [I don’t think there is the same problem with GWR] and your item from Private Eye explains how the DfT has used the company to pursue its reduced staffing agenda.