Do Southern deserve to be stripped of their Franchise?

[bigc]

i love it when the guard has to open the new train doors himself...its quite funny

not so good when you are avoiding him having not bought a ticket

 

[Kryten]

Speaking of Delboy not liking Rail Staff.

I know Delboy lives in the Lancing area, and it's one of the trouble hotspots.

Take last night for instance...

Youths were lobbing stones at trains from the road that runs alongside the track just before Lancing station travelling westbound, and a member of staff got hit by a stone and needed medical assistance. Do us staff really need that kind of shit? I dont think so.

sorry, but i get treated like shit, when i travel early. The station is not open when i leave, the ticket machines aren't on, but when i get to hove or brighton, i ALWAYS get accused of fare dodging. The way they speak to you, and treat you is poor. I've been given 2 or 3 fines, and a number of warnings now.

 

[Strike]

I have had s*it traveling on those trains, I was traveling to Chichester a few months ago and when we stopped at Chichester station, the doors all failed and we waited and waited and then the driver had to let us out through his door, near where he drove the train. Stupid.

I say Nationalise the train services nationwide.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Bring back state-owned trains

My instinct is to support this opinion.

But ...

If the railways hadn't been privatised, we'd still have just one train an hour from Eastbourne and Lewes to London, instead of the twice-hourly service we now enjoy.

And we'd only have two Thameslink trains an hour serving Brighton (not four).

And we'd have lower levels of Coastway services.

And they would be just a once a day direct service from Brighton to Birmingham and Manchester.

Still, the lines would be less congested, and the trains would be more reliable.

And there would be a lot less people using them as well.

 

[Lady Bracknell]

But do you think they should lose their franchise, Virgo's Haircut? Or am I putting you in the same position as a turkey being asked to vote for Christmas? !

 

[Beach Hut]

Bring back state-owned trains

You can shove that you know where.

Rail privatisation has done me and my salary a world of good so I'm all for it.

I do pity those that actually have to pay for travelling though.

 

[Virgo's Haircut]

But do you think they should lose their franchise, Virgo's Haircut? Or am I putting you in the same position as a turkey being asked to vote for Christmas? !

Well...

Rail privatisation has increased rail wages a hell of a lot. But then again staff have lost a lot of the perks that were once available for British Rail emloyees. Such as free travel on all rail services, and not just Southern and Thameslink.

The way I see it at the moment is that Southern are in a no win situation. The 377 Electrostar units, which are a total nightmare for on train staff are a huge let down.

Corners do seem to have been cut when it comes to these trains. No proper first class area. On train computers that run on Windows 95, which cause the PA to conk out, the doors to refuse to open, and sporadic air conditioning (hot, cold, hot, cold etc). There is also no guards van on the trains, which means we HAVE to work it from a carriage of the train, mingling with the punters for 10+ hours on some days. We are not really allowed to go in the rear driving cab of the train unless we feel threatened.

Southern are also big fans of Driver Operated Only (DOO) trains which means there is no need for a guard. But what happens god forbid if the driver passes out whilst in control? Who's going to help him? Who's going to look after the passengers? South West Trains have a guard on every train. Even empty trains to and from the depot.

I do enjoy working on the railway, and I guess at the end of the day, the main thing I want is job security, and I don't feel I have that with Southern in the long term. So maybe if Southern did lose the franchise, it may be a good thing. But then again Connex failed, Southern seem to be failing. Can anyone run a good reliable service?

 

[Virgo's Haircut]

sorry, but i get treated like shit, when i travel early. The station is not open when i leave, the ticket machines aren't on, but when i get to hove or brighton, i ALWAYS get accused of fare dodging. The way they speak to you, and treat you is poor. I've been given 2 or 3 fines, and a number of warnings now.

There is a guard with a ticket machine on EVERY train along the West Coast.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to wander through the carriages to look for him/her to buy a ticket?

At the end of the day it is the PASSENGERS resposibility to buy a ticket or get a permit to travel at the FIRST opportunity.

 

[Beach Hut]

Well...

Rail privatisation has increased rail wages a hell of a lot. But then again staff have lost a lot of the perks that were once available for British Rail emloyees. Such as free travel on all rail services, and not just Southern and Thameslink.

You should have kept all your railway free travel and international (if allowed) if you worked for whatever TOC prior to Rail Privatisation under the Railways Privatisation act of Parliament.

I can understand the non-agreement on free travel to all of the rest of the Railway.

Personally I think Southern Railway are doomed as Go Ahead are do not own enough other TOCs.

 

[Beach Hut]

There is a guard with a ticket machine on EVERY train along the West Coast.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to wander through the carriages to look for him/her to buy a ticket?

At the end of the day it is the PASSENGERS resposibility to buy a ticket or get a permit to travel at the FIRST opportunity.

Absolutely Del Boy - no excuse buy a bloody ticket

 

[GUNTER]

Southern lost their franchise to TVS in 1982. It later became Meridian. Fred Dineage has appeared on all 3 channels.

Southern were famous for producing Runaround and Worzel Gummidge.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Speaking of Delboy not liking Rail Staff.

I know Delboy lives in the Lancing area, and it's one of the trouble hotspots.

Take last night for instance...

Youths were lobbing stones at trains from the road that runs alongside the track just before Lancing station travelling westbound, and a member of staff got hit by a stone and needed medical assistance. Do us staff really need that kind of shit? I dont think so.

Reckon the railway need to take a long hard look at all these shitty little duck-halts all the way along the West coast line. Y'know the Boring, Goring & Little Snoring stops every couple of hundred yards along the way. Seems to be always West sussex. The youth of East Sussex rarely seem to feel the need to chuck stones at the trains or chase each other onto the tracks or take short cuts across the line. Maybe time to close a load of these stations and make the little fuckers take a grockle bus instead. Either that or the train/station operators should hire a load of security guards with baseball bats...

 

[bigc]

that would be a disaster tom

the trains would stop by a demolished station still for 20 years

 

[Strike]

Worthings got too many stations they have got Goring by sea, Durrington on sea, W.Worthing, Worthing, and East Worthing. Funny enough I am going there on Sunday for a youth cabinet meeting, I will tell them to close some stations in Worthing

 

[Kryten]

There is a guard with a ticket machine on EVERY train along the West Coast. - They're not always turned on, or working

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to wander through the carriages to look for him/her to buy a ticket? Not always a guard, or can't find them

At the end of the day it is the PASSENGERS resposibility to buy a ticket or get a permit to travel at the FIRST opportunity.

so what should i do if i can't get a ticket? get off at another station along the way?

 

[fatboy]

sorry, but i get treated like shit, when i travel early. The station is not open when i leave, the ticket machines aren't on, but when i get to hove or brighton, i ALWAYS get accused of fare dodging. The way they speak to you, and treat you is poor. I've been given 2 or 3 fines, and a number of warnings now.

It is illegal to board a train without a valid ticket.


The new trains are shit. They are too heavy for the tracks, and the design of the toilet, meaning they are out of order after two people have had a dump, was not very well thought out.

The only good thing about them is the air conditioning, and that is only goow when it is working - as when it isn't, not being able to open the windows makes it very hot.

And you can get less people on the new trains than on the old slam door ones.

 

[Beach Hut]

The new trains are shit. They are too heavy for the tracks, and the design of the toilet, meaning they are out of order after two people have had a dump, was not very well thought out.

Perhaps you should learn to hold your drink better

 

[fatboy]

Perhaps you should learn to hold your drink better

They piss me off. Sometimes when I wake up late I do not have time to go to the toilet beofre I go to work, and if the toilet is out of order I have an uncomfortable journey.

And people with bicycles on trains piss me off, especially on crowded trains. Why can't they bring back the guards compartment where people can store there bicycles out fo the way of the other passengers?

 

[fatboy]

Independent scientific tests were done on a sample of 100 seat covers from different train carriages. Traces of urine, faeces, sweat, semen, rat hair, rat urine and the fungi flammulina velutipes were found on 60 percent of the seats.

 

[timseagull]

This bunch of clowns are no better or worse then the other bunch of muppets.

However whenever I complain to them they tend to blame other people....like railtrack.

The new trains are lovely. But on the peak west coast services you can cram less people on in less comfort. The whole thing with windows 95 and the doors is a huge embarrasment and I'm sure someones head will role for that mistake.

But if they awarded the franchise to someone else would they do anybetter? As they would ineherit the current rolling stock?