Ex-controller
Member
It’s very frustrating, as you are sitting there knowing how this lack of forward planning increases the impact of disruption because various drivers don’t have appropriate diversionary routes, or can’t be stepped back or up onto different stock. However, there tends to be minimal interest from outside operational roles and grades to resolve these issues. Do the minimum to cover the basic service tends to be the priority, resilience is an after thought (and that’s generous).And, thank goodness, that the Cambridge stoppers have half an hour turnrounds at both Kings Cross and Cambridge allowing the service a fair chance of holding up in times of grief.
I feel sorry for the people in control in a situation like last night trying to match drivers' route and traction knowledge with the need to restore some semblance of a service.
Two questions about who signs what and where - do Horsham drivers sign into Kings Cross? and if Hitchin drivers don't sign 700s, what do they sign?
The point of building up resilient diagrams and rosters is not about when everything functions well, it’s for the 5-10% of the time where things go wrong. Deciding that things only go wrong 5-10% of the time so it’s not worth the time or money to build in resilience is in effect making a control office work with one hand behind its back. Not to worry though, they can always be blamed for not taking x, y or Z decision after the event. Handy that, because it completely masks the real reason why disruption can’t get contained in the first place.
Control likely have about ten plates to spin at the same time. They can’t always decide not to cancel or alter services because a customer service employee based at one station might not like it. You ultimately can’t see what they see, and until you’re in their position you simply won’t. They’ve far bigger issues to deal with. That’s hardly an ideal scenario, and I get the frustration of someone in your position, but it’s always the same, in every part of the country.I genuinely don't believe the change from Peterborough - King's Cross to Peterborough - Horsham should have made that much difference.
From an insider's POV (by that I mean an employee, rather than a passenger), I think the two factors that lead to all-day disruption are the idiotic decision to section off the depots, restricting the routes and stock the drivers work; and the other problem is Three Bridges Control.
They have zero grasp of the network or the stations, but their biggest issue is they seem to have learnt nothing since they started four years ago. They're arrogant and unhelpful.
The worst thing is, control don't care about passengers. They're an inconvenience. Having worked in customer service for many years, I've never seen such disregard for the people who pay to use the service.
Fix those two problems and I think the Peterborough - Horsham would be much more reliable. It would also be an idea to run a third train per hour, but that's another story.