SASTA - what an absolute shower

[Beach Hut]

Where would [MENTION=38]Beach Hut[/MENTION] sit if NO first class ?

Precisely and to add insult to injury my train was SASTERED this morning and 22 minutes late

 

[Guinness Boy]

Is there any purpose in having a first-class carriage? Aside from milking eye-watering amounts of money from gullible passengers?

I've got to go to Peterborough for work by train next Thursday. I need to get a specific train from both Portslade and Kings Cross to make it on time, which seems like it will be a challenge enough given this thread.

The standard single price (I'm coming back Friday) for my preferred trains was £77. The First Class single price? £55.30.

If we could leave the revolution until a week on Friday I'd be grateful.

 

[The Albion Roar]

According to this, despite admitting they are not able to improve services, it seems like the government is looking to pick a fight with the train drivers next, as if the fiasco is their fault...

http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/...rain-drivers/story-28783309-detail/story.html

A SENIOR official at the Department for Transport says train drivers who resist changes to their working hours can "get the hell out of my industry".

Peter Wilkinson, managing director of passenger services, told a public meeting in Croydon there will be "punch ups" with drivers when the Government changes their working hours to improve rail services.

His comments suggest the Government is prepared for another protracted industrial dispute following Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt's bitter row with junior doctors.

"Over the next three years we're going to be having punch ups and we will see industrial action and I want your support," Mr Wilkinson told residents in Croydon Town Hall last Thursday during a meeting organised by Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell.

Mr Wilkinson said train drivers are paid high salaries of about £60,000 a year or more to work three days a week, with no obligation to work on Sundays. He told the meeting drivers still have the same "fire break" rest stops as they did when trains were run on coal.

"I'm furious about it and it has got to change - we have got to break them," he said. "They have all borrowed money to buy cars and got credit cards.

"They can't afford to spend too long on strike and I will push them into that place. They will have to decide if they want to give a good service or get the hell out of my industry."

Mr Wilkinson said the DfT has a four to five-year plan to improve services by the end of which he hopes Croydon passengers will not need to check timetables, with trains so frequent there will be a "turn up and go" service.

He apologised to residents for the current level of service, and promised more drivers, more commuter trains and more Gatwick Express trains with free wi-fi at a number of stations to be introduced this year.

Alex Foulds, passenger services director at Southern, said 152 new drivers were in training and will start work throughout this year in the biggest recruitment the under-fire rail company has ever undertaken.

Alasdair Coates, Network Rail route managing director for the South East, said some of the providers' best engineers have been posted at key junctions so they are on hand to deal with signalling problems quickly.

Network Rail is also working with the British Transport Police to get officers to incidents as quickly as possible.

But, despite this, Mr Wilkinson said he could not promise services will have improved in 18 months' time.

Mr Wilkinson added he did not think there are any rail companies who would run services better than Southern, which currently holds the franchise but is due to lose its London-only lines.

Thameslink work to rebuild London Bridge has increased delays through Croydon because platform closures mean lines are running at full capacity, making it harder to recover from delays, said Mr Barwell.

Mr Wilkinson told the meeting not even extra cash could speed up the work.

"Even with more money there is a finite limit to human and machine resources," he said. "There is 24/7 work there. I genuinely don't think we could speed that up."

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

According to this, despite admitting they are not able to improve services, it seems like the government is looking to pick a fight with the train drivers next, as if the fiasco is their fault...

http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/...rain-drivers/story-28783309-detail/story.html

A SENIOR official at the Department for Transport says train drivers who resist changes to their working hours can "get the hell out of my industry".

Peter Wilkinson, managing director of passenger services, told a public meeting in Croydon there will be "punch ups" with drivers when the Government changes their working hours to improve rail services.

His comments suggest the Government is prepared for another protracted industrial dispute following Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt's bitter row with junior doctors.

"Over the next three years we're going to be having punch ups and we will see industrial action and I want your support," Mr Wilkinson told residents in Croydon Town Hall last Thursday during a meeting organised by Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell.

Mr Wilkinson said train drivers are paid high salaries of about £60,000 a year or more to work three days a week, with no obligation to work on Sundays. He told the meeting drivers still have the same "fire break" rest stops as they did when trains were run on coal.

"I'm furious about it and it has got to change - we have got to break them," he said. "They have all borrowed money to buy cars and got credit cards.

"They can't afford to spend too long on strike and I will push them into that place. They will have to decide if they want to give a good service or get the hell out of my industry."

Mr Wilkinson said the DfT has a four to five-year plan to improve services by the end of which he hopes Croydon passengers will not need to check timetables, with trains so frequent there will be a "turn up and go" service.

He apologised to residents for the current level of service, and promised more drivers, more commuter trains and more Gatwick Express trains with free wi-fi at a number of stations to be introduced this year.

Alex Foulds, passenger services director at Southern, said 152 new drivers were in training and will start work throughout this year in the biggest recruitment the under-fire rail company has ever undertaken.

Alasdair Coates, Network Rail route managing director for the South East, said some of the providers' best engineers have been posted at key junctions so they are on hand to deal with signalling problems quickly.

Network Rail is also working with the British Transport Police to get officers to incidents as quickly as possible.

But, despite this, Mr Wilkinson said he could not promise services will have improved in 18 months' time.

Mr Wilkinson added he did not think there are any rail companies who would run services better than Southern, which currently holds the franchise but is due to lose its London-only lines.

Thameslink work to rebuild London Bridge has increased delays through Croydon because platform closures mean lines are running at full capacity, making it harder to recover from delays, said Mr Barwell.

Mr Wilkinson told the meeting not even extra cash could speed up the work.

"Even with more money there is a finite limit to human and machine resources," he said. "There is 24/7 work there. I genuinely don't think we could speed that up."

I don't really know a great deal of the ins and outs of train related politics but the gentleman quoted seems to be a bit of a pillock, surely blaming drivers for the vast myriad of issues is like blaming a striker for the defence smashing in a few own goals?

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I don't see that he has blamed drivers for the charade that is Southern, however his attitude appears to be incredibly flaming, and assuming this report to be absolutely word correct, it would indeed appear he is one huge pillock.

 

[The Albion Roar]

I don't see that he has blamed drivers for the charade that is Southern, however his attitude appears to be incredibly flaming, and assuming this report to be absolutely word correct, it would indeed appear he is one huge pillock.

Maybe not 'blaming' as such, but he has a 'four-to-five year plan to improve services'. Included in that is to take on the drivers - lying about their salaries as a starting point - as if they've done something wrong.

This has all the hallmarks of Jeremy Hunt's behaviour with the junior doctors; tell lies, screw them over, and blame them for it.

 

[Ernest]

Interesting times ahead, Southern want to close most booking offices on their network, get rid of Guards from the trains and god knows what else to improve profits. Can see some terrible times in the near future for commuting once the industrial action both official and non official starts

 

[Titanic]

Interesting times ahead, Southern want to close most booking offices on their network, get rid of Guards from the trains and god knows what else to improve profits. Can see some terrible times in the near future for commuting once the industrial action both official and non official starts

No guards - presumably that will help with the 'Southern are sorry to announce that the xx:xx to xxxxxxx is delayed/cancelled, due to waiting for/lack of train crew' ?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

No guards - presumably that will help with the 'Southern are sorry to announce that the xx:xx to xxxxxxx is delayed/cancelled, due to waiting for/lack of train crew' ?

Agree.

I really dont know what purpose the guards serve TBH. Most Thameslink trains dont have one. Glorified revenue inspectors basically.

 

[Weatherman]

Agree.

I really dont know what purpose the guards serve TBH. Most Thameslink trains dont have one. Glorified revenue inspectors basically.

For one, if the driver is injured, they are there to protect a derailed train from being hit by another by laying track circuit clips and dets and organising assistance from rescue services.

 

[The Albion Roar]

For one, if the driver is injured, they are there to protect a derailed train from being hit by another by laying track circuit clips and dets and organising assistance from rescue services.

For another, if a passenger is injured or ill, they can inform the driver.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Interesting times ahead, Southern want to close most booking offices on their network, get rid of Guards from the trains and god knows what else to improve profits. Can see some terrible times in the near future for commuting once the industrial action both official and non official starts

Wasn't the reason Thameslink said they couldn't run 12 car trains is because it's mandatory for them to have guards over 8 cars? So were Thameslink lying about their rolling stock or are safety standards being compromised for profit?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

For one, if the driver is injured, they are there to protect a derailed train from being hit by another by laying track circuit clips and dets and organising assistance from rescue services.

So why do Thameslink not have them?

 

[Buzzer]

Wasn't the reason Thameslink said they couldn't run 12 car trains is because it's mandatory for them to have guards over 8 cars? So were Thameslink lying about their rolling stock or are safety standards being compromised for profit?

The 6.57 from Brighton is a 12-car Thameslink and I've never, ever seen a guard on that train. That's not to say he's not on there but if he is then he's a pretty good hide and seek champion.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Agree.

I really dont know what purpose the guards serve TBH. Most Thameslink trains dont have one. Glorified revenue inspectors basically.

Seems to me there should be two separate job titles. In fact there probably are. The guard looks after the well-being of the passengers, ensures it's ding-ding safe for the driver to pull away from smaller stations (unlike, say, East Croydon, where it needs several blokes with paddleboards and several minutes delay to do the same thing). The revenue 'protectors' check tickets and issue 'penalty fares'. Funnily enough, the guards on the East & West Coast lines will usually quite happily issue you with a ticket if you don't have one (and probably had no intention of buying one) whereas the guys on the mainline will more often than not stick to the book. As with everything with the privatised railways it's a bit of a shambolic mess.

 

[Weatherman]

Wasn't the reason Thameslink said they couldn't run 12 car trains is because it's mandatory for them to have guards over 8 cars? So were Thameslink lying about their rolling stock or are safety standards being compromised for profit?

Only up to 8 car on the old stock. The new stock have cameras so they can work 12 car. Thameslink and Southern were seperate companies and had different agreements, Southern can only run up to 10 car 377 stock DOO and only on the main line.

 

[Weatherman]

Seems to me there should be two separate job titles. In fact there probably are. The guard looks after the well-being of the passengers, ensures it's ding-ding safe for the driver to pull away from smaller stations (unlike, say, East Croydon, where it needs several blokes with paddleboards and several minutes delay to do the same thing). The revenue 'protectors' check tickets and issue 'penalty fares'. Funnily enough, the guards on the East & West Coast lines will usually quite happily issue you with a ticket if you don't have one (and probably had no intention of buying one) whereas the guys on the mainline will more often than not stick to the book. As with everything with the privatised railways it's a bit of a shambolic mess.

Thameslink only haver revenue protection officers who are licensed to issue penalty fares

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Thameslink only haver revenue protection officers who are licensed to issue penalty fares

No guards on Thameslink then? Never knew that. Would explain why Southern want to do away with them to create a level playing field. Doesn't make it right though.

 

[Ernest]

Wasn't the reason Thameslink said they couldn't run 12 car trains is because it's mandatory for them to have guards over 8 cars? So were Thameslink lying about their rolling stock or are safety standards being compromised for profit?

Thames link run 12 cars DOO but no agreement for Southern drivers to do so

 

[Ernest]

Agree.

I really dont know what purpose the guards serve TBH. Most Thameslink trains dont have one. Glorified revenue inspectors basically.

You're on your train home and some dildo pushes the alarm in the bog or has a crafty fag and the alarm goes off, now the driver messages the guard and he goes and sorts it and the train won't even stop. Take away the guard the train now has to stop, the driver has to block the line then go back and investigate.

Now you're sitting on the train or the ones behind caught up FUMING and putting a MASSIVE rant on FB for all your LAPDOGS to read.

Just an example of what a guard does and what you don't see doesn't necessarily mean they aren't doing a lot you don't know about.