No Southern Trains Most of Next Week -but will probably still be rubbish on the other days

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Genuinely scared about what this means for me, I'm graduating this year and will be trying to enter the job market, if companies are going to turn me down because I live in Brighton how the hell am I going to support myself?

Wouldn't worry unduly. All this BS will be brought to a head next week shirley? Suspend one of the main arteries into London for an entire working week and heads will start to roll pretty damn quick. With a bit of luck it'll all be over by the end of the month with a major market readjustment into sanity.

 

[In The Rough]

Have all the drivers booked cheap skiing holidays that week?

Don't be so daft. They will all be on the picket line like the Guards/On Board Supervisors were yesterday...... OH.

Well they will be once they have finished hitting the sales. And once they have been to the doctors for examination of repetitive strain injury on their door opening fingers. But yes then they will be on the picket line. Perhaps.

 

[BBassic]

Wouldn't worry unduly. All this BS will be brought to a head next week shirley? Suspend one of the main arteries into London for an entire working week and heads will start to roll pretty damn quick. With a bit of luck it'll all be over by the end of the month with a major market readjustment into sanity.

Possibly the most optimistic post of 2017 so far.

I honestly don't think it'll ever come to an end. Which is possibly the most pessimistic post of 2017 so far.

 

[dazzer6666]

Wouldn't worry unduly. All this BS will be brought to a head next week shirley? Suspend one of the main arteries into London for an entire working week and heads will start to roll pretty quick. with a bit of luck it'll all be over by the end of the month with a market readjustment into sanity.

Nope, too many intransigent people on all sides. Who is going to start them rolling when it's rotten from the top (Government) downwards ? A few moaning passengers won't make any difference (hasn't so far)

 

[Uncle Buck]

Don't be so daft. They will all be on the picket line like the Guards/On Board Supervisors were yesterday...... OH.

Well they will be once they have finished hitting the sales. And once they have been to the doctors for examination of repetitive strain injury on their door opening fingers. But yes then they will be on the picket line. Perhaps.

I thought union membership used to get you discounts with certain companies, maybe TUI is one of them.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Nope, too many intransigent people on all sides. Who is going to start them rolling when it's rotten from the top (Government) downwards ? A few moaning passengers won't make any difference (hasn't so far)

A third of a million people can't service London's commercial needs for one entire working week?

The army will/won't provide replacement bus services for those third of a million people for that week?

Something's going to give next week. And it won't be pretty. But it may well be conclusive. Can't run a supposedly first-world country this way indefinitely. Or indeed for very long.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Until next week ? There won't be ANY next week.......

I've changed my schedule and going to be travelling next week which is fine for a week but there is no end in sight to this mess.

There will be victoria...to/from Gatwick

And Thameslink

Not great I know.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

Army comes in, takes over Government, shoots all striking guards, re-nationalises the rail and appoints Screaming Lord Sutch as PM... yeah ok he's dead.

 

[happypig]

The army will/won't provide replacement bus services for those third of a million people for that week?

The Army has surprisingly few people with a PCV license and not many buses either. So that's that then.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The Army has surprisingly few people with a PCV license and not many buses either. So that's that then.

For sure. Not the best half-bright idea the transport think tank ever had.

 

[BNthree]

Until next week ? There won't be ANY next week.......

I've changed my schedule and going to be travelling next week which is fine for a week but there is no end in sight to this mess.

Ah I must have misheard him. So glad I work locally,.

 

[Stat Brother]

Apropos of nothing, we went to Gun Wharf Quay yesterday.

I drove to Barnham.
Southern to Havant.
SouthWestern from Havant to Pompey Harbour.
SouthWestern back to Havant
First Western Havant to Barnham. (that train was going onto Brighton)


I didn't see a single guard, although they were on each trains tannoy.
Annoyingly we didn't show any tickets and all barriers are open.
The 3 separate services were pretty much identical, begging the rhetorical question:-

Why is Southern so fooked up?

 

[Lower West Stander]

I am vaguely fortunate in that it just about makes sense for me to drive to Petersfield/Haslemere and get an SWT to Waterloo.

Since I started doing this at the beginning of December, these trains have been on time, my ticket has been checked on every journey by a guard and they even have an onboard buffet trolley. The difference in service quality has been remarkable.

Just goes to show what an appalling mess Southern is....

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I am vaguely fortunate in that it just about makes sense for me to drive to Petersfield/Haslemere and get an SWT to Waterloo.

Since I started doing this at the beginning of December, these trains have been on time, my ticket has been checked on every journey by a guard and they even have an onboard buffet trolley. The difference in service quality has been remarkable.

That'll all go to pot next week when every Southern captive within driving distance has the same bright idea and makes a beeline for their nearest SWT station.

 

[beorhthelm]

The Army has surprisingly few people with a PCV license and not many buses either. So that's that then.

4000 trained apparently, and sourcing vehicles is not as much of a problem as drivers. its out there, but it is a real contingency if driver strike for some time and all sides dig their heals in.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

4000 trained apparently, and sourcing vehicles is not as much of a problem as drivers. its out there, but it is a real contingency if driver strike for some time and all sides dig their heals in.

No way should the army even contemplate getting their hands dirty on this one. It's not like the firemen's strike. Nobody's life or property is in danger. Only their livelihood, family life and mental health.

 

[elninobonito]

My company doesn't let me work from home anymore and has been moaning about being late. I have no other choice but to make it to London Bridge and back. Probably wont be putting the little one to bed next week then!

 

[wellquickwoody]

Genuinely scared about what this means for me, I'm graduating this year and will be trying to enter the job market, if companies are going to turn me down because I live in Brighton how the hell am I going to support myself? Im fed up of Southern, RMT and the government, most especially the latter of those three for their complacency. It simply needs to stop.

Either move to where your employment will be, or get a job where you live?

 

[Audax]

4000 trained apparently, and sourcing vehicles is not as much of a problem as drivers. its out there, but it is a real contingency if driver strike for some time and all sides dig their heals in.

Not as simple as "There's 4000 of them, that's enough". A goodly portion of that 4000 will already be assigned to areas that are higher priority than dealing with a train strike. Of those that aren't, for very good safety reasons the amount of time each driver can be on the road is limited. Brighton and Hove Buses employ over 800 drivers to run their routes (and even then admitted they were understaffed middle of last year ... operated by Govia ... sound familiar?).

Any army-run bus replacement service is going to be threadbare at best, which is why I expect it won't actually happen.

 

[el punal]

Not much in the way of recent updates on the Army being dragooned into driving a mega-fleet of commuter replacement buses. Hopefully the Army chiefs told the cabinet exactly where to get off on that bright idea.

So could it be that if Southern and all concerned have no trains available for the next home match the Army will step in with the transport? Sounds great, I've always fancied getting to the Amex in a Challenger tank.