Scotrail RMT strike action and possible temporary service cuts to a third of services

[Deltic1961]

I have raised various complaints with Scotrail and the "customer first" attitude is nowhere to be seen. Still amazed I got a response from a customer service manager that basically told me to pee off and go to the ombudsman.

Station staff equally as unhelpful when trains cancelled etcetera. Couldn't care less.

If Scotrail were a private unsubsidised business they'd have gone bust years ago.

 

[CEN60]

I have just looked at their temporary timetable, I will now sit back an watch the implosion - some of the timetables are outrageous! And they have only published - Mon to Friday (no indication of the weekend yet!)

 

[Bletchleyite]

2tpd for Stranraer, Mallaig, Kyle and Wick

1tpd for the Far North local stations! Why on earth would you not stop both?

This looks like Northern style diagram lopping rather than actually designing a realistic but useful timetable.

Two days ago they posted a Tweet expressing that they can't be bothered* getting buses in...I guess that was directed at this.

* Well, it didn't say that, but it made excuses. I'm sure if they opened their wallet sufficiently they could get at least some buses.

 

[Deltic1961]

Really thankful I have a child who works in hospitality and finishes at 11pm. Mind you the reason he bought a car in the first place is that the last train home was before his finishing time.

Just saw the stair painting at Dyce. Two thirds obviously reflecting the new timetable

 

[Kite159]

Stagecoach & other bus operators will be laughing their way to the bank. Especially with the heavy cutbacks north of Inverness.

 

[Deltic1961]

Stagecoach & other bus operators will be laughing their way to the bank. Especially with the heavy cutbacks north of Inverness.

Well especially as our last Stagecoach home is at 23:35 rather than the train at 20:50.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Sigh, last trains in the Glasgow area to the majority of destinations between 19:30 and 21:00 again. What an absolute joke.

Stagecoach will be getting my custom as the last bus to where I live is 21:15.

The whole thing is a complete joke.

 

[Deltic1961]

Stagecoach will be getting my custom as the last bus to where I live is 21:15.

Your profile picture kinda gives that away .......

 

[HullRailMan]

Here’s one for those that think that nationalisation is a magic solution, or that the SNP are any better at running anything than any other party.

 

[northwichcat]

It's OVERTIME !

How is is anyone else's fault other than the TOC that there isn't enough staff to cover normal working.

Yep. Overtime should be used to cover things like additional services for a big event, higher than usual staff sickness or to cover a temporary delay in getting new recruits to replace staff who have resigned or retired.

 

[dk1]

Yep. Overtime should be used to cover things like additional services for a big event, higher than usual staff sickness or to cover a temporary delay in getting new recruits to replace staff who have resigned or retired.

Traincrew rostering is very complex with lots of agreements to adhere to. It isn’t that simple. There could be 10 drivers spare at a depot on a particular day but none of them can catch the turn open due to anything such as more than the agreed time movement from spare to those spare who can catch the turn not signing some of the route or traction within that job. Overtime whether it being a additional off roster payment or rest day working would now be required & both are voluntary for the driver concerned. There is no other way around it.

 

[Blindtraveler]

"mmm yummy passengers" said the bus

I always thought it would be quick but the speed at which SNP rail have broken Scotland's train service forever and for good has exceeded even my very low expectations. The conspiracy theorist in me says they were planning this all along and this was always the plan and they're just using the unions as a front but ignoring that for just a moment, how can a government with ambitious green targets and an alliance with a green party be actually doing this?


"MasterCard tastes better than that visa I just swallowed a minute before" thought the chip and pin terminal in the used car dealership who suddenly has an empty forecourt

Standby for complete chaos on the roads the like of which we have not seen before up here. Anybody who who still tries to believe that it's worse in England really needs to wake up and smell the coffee, or more likely the diesel

 

[ComUtoR]

Yep. Overtime should be used to cover things like additional services for a big event, higher than usual staff sickness or to cover a temporary delay in getting new recruits to replace staff who have resigned or retired.

Why ? And then what happens if all your staff refuse to work the overtime ? Shouldn't rosters be flexible enough not to provide adequate cover ?

Higher than usual sickness I would accept, as it isn't something you could plan for.

Events, maybe. If your TOC covered Wembley, then I would expect services to already have some kind of coverage for events as I would lean towards the theory that TOCs serve the public and events should be supported by local transport. A single, one off random event. Then yeah why not use overtime (and then charge the event organiser)

New recruits and retirement. Absolutely not. Staff turnover is a basic business need. There should, and most likely will, be a manpower plan in place that deals with staff turnover; whether its natural wastage or otherwise.

 

[Dryce]

Yep. Overtime should be used to cover things like additional services for a big event, higher than usual staff sickness or to cover a temporary delay in getting new recruits to replace staff who have resigned or retired.

The overtime issue has been discussed previously.

To an outsider the industry it seems weird - I've worked with departments who are simply tasked and scheduled to work weekends as part of their hours. Overtime as such is an exception. The railway seems to think different - despite normally working to schedules that are planned in advance - some days are still special.

My guess is that the underlying reality is that if this overtime situation was corrected the unions would be demanding concessions or some sort of additional compensation for the loss of regular overtime. So while the overtime situation exists they might profess it is a problem and they don't really like it - try and remove it and a slightly different truth would probably emerge. Meanwhile the status quo is the simplest solution to not addressing the problem.

 

[Deltic1961]

I have worked in the oil industry for a long time. It's called planning and business resilience. Shutdowns, maintenance, bad weather, covid, helicopter pilot strikes ..... somehow that industry kept oil coming out of the ground as usual and not a third less.

I really can't understand why the railway industry thinks it's something special and can just cut services for the hell of it ... or are they just assuming their losses will indefinitely get covered from the public purse?

 

[ComUtoR]

I really can't understand why the railway industry thinks it's something special and can just cut services for the hell of it?

Because you can't wave a magic wand to get staff to appear. Cutting services isn't really a choice. They have to provide a service to passenger/customer. Part of that is not promising services that don't turn up or get cancelled at the last minute.

 

[Carntyne]

Because you can't wave a magic wand to get staff to appear. Cutting services isn't really a choice. They have to provide a service to passenger/customer. Part of that is not promising services that don't turn up or get cancelled at the last minute.

They've had three years. How could other TOC's get the training done during covid?

 

[Peter0124]

Because you can't wave a magic wand to get staff to appear. Cutting services isn't really a choice. They have to provide a service to passenger/customer. Part of that is not promising services that don't turn up or get cancelled at the last minute.

But why have pretty much all trains after 9pm been cancelled? Surely they could've reduced some during the day to balance out the service. What happens with people who are going to live concerts? This is terrible.

 

[Deltic1961]

Because you can't wave a magic wand to get staff to appear

I'm sure there's a bloody long queue for nearly £50k a year. I'm not too bothered for another job at the moment however that would be quite tempting.

 

[ainsworth74]

I'm sure there's a bloody long queue for nearly £50k a year.

There is. But they have to be trained before they're useful. A back log which has only grown longer at ScotRail over the pandemic due to a lack of training as part of their Covid response. It's been tricky at lots of TOCs but plenty have managed to keep it moving albeit if slowly. It seems like it may well have ground to a halt at Scotrail.

 

[Falcon1200]

Last train from Glasgow Central to Newton/Hamilton is now the 20:48? You have to be joking. This is nearly akin to the lockdown timetable in the evening.

And in the morning too; The first Neilston-Glasgow service will be 0726, as opposed to the current 0627, just as in the dark days of the initial TT for Lockdown #1. And the last train back from Glasgow is 1935 ! Not sure how I'm going to get home from the Yes concert in June......

Why couldn't they at least run an HOURLY service after 8pm?

I agree, far better that than running a half-hourly service which is cut off at the start and end of service,

 

[Scotrail314209]

It has just occurred to me that this timetable is basically the one they put during COVID restrictions. Shameful.

Scotrail don't seem to be responding to the angry replies to their Twitter feed either.

 

[ComUtoR]

They've had three years. How could other TOC's get the training done during covid?

My TOC managed it. Whilst we have a backlog, there isn't an impact to services due to lack of Driver availability. is the turnover at ScotRail so high that within the past few years they have managed to completely decimate the Driver grade that services can't be provided even with reduced timetables in place ?

It's been tricky at lots of TOCs but plenty have managed to keep it moving albeit if slowly.

Very slowly but manageable and still providing a service. My TOC still trained during Covid. It was difficult but everyone pulled together to do the best they could.

 

[Peter0124]

It has just occurred to me that this timetable is basically the one they put during COVID restrictions. Shameful.

Scotrail don't seem to be responding to the angry replies to their Twitter feed either.

The weird thing is there's basically a normal service during the day on the Hamilton Circle line, would you not imagine these will still be affected by shortages? I don't understand the purpose of cancelling the late trains over reducing some of the daytime ones.

 

[ComUtoR]

But why have pretty much all trains after 9pm been cancelled? Surely they could've reduced some during the day to balance out the service. What happens with people who are going to live concerts? This is terrible.

Those are questions that need to be directed at ScotRail. They are ultimately responsible for the service thats provided to passengers. What passenger groups are there for Scotland ?

 

[ainsworth74]

Very slowly but manageable and still providing a service. My TOC still trained during Covid. It was difficult but everyone pulled together to do the best they could.

Northern, at least for Leeds depot, I believe are currently struggling less with enough drivers but enough drivers will decent route cards. I think they bubbled trainees and trainers so they were able to get drivers through on the basic traction and one or two routes but that's it. Now that restrictions have vamoosed they're having to work through that backlog of getting all their shiny new drivers actually fully productive. I imagine other TOCs that have at least managed to keep up training new drivers might be having similar issues.

 

[Scotrail12]

The last Paisley Canal train is 1912. What can you say about that?

Definitely a modern functioning society.

 

[Mag_seven]

Interesting that all this has been announced after the local elections up there.....

 

[ComUtoR]

Northern, at least for Leeds depot, I believe are currently struggling less with enough drivers but enough drivers will decent route cards. I think they bubbled trainees and trainers so they were able to get drivers through on the basic traction and one or two routes but that's it. Now that restrictions have vamoosed they're having to work through that backlog of getting all their shiny new drivers actually fully productive. I imagine other TOCs that have at least managed to keep up training new drivers might be having similar issues.

Yep, gotta work through that horrendous backlog. We bubbled, as well as other options, but I think everyone is missing the point.

Why is the turnover of Drivers and the training of Trainees having such a detrimental impact ? If you cannot train Drivers faster than you are losing them; you have a serious problem. How much of the establishment been lost during Covid ? At my TOC, and my depot. I we've lost 2 Drivers to retirement. None to internal transfers. 1 to long term sickness. 2 have left the business. As we are still only 80% capacity, we still have plenty of spare Drivers sitting around and Rest Day Working is minimal.

I fully accept that we still have a few route learning issues, new traction is only slightly behind but still manageable. A slow push forwards but a plan is in place.

TOCs running tight as a proverbial just isn't good enough and shouldn't be accepted or blamed on the staff.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Interesting that all this has been announced after the local elections up there.....

Indeed!