Northern have issued a "DO NOT TRAVEL" warning between Oxenholme and Windermere

[Dr Hoo]

PIDD has been around for years and is thus nothing new under RDG or the current incarnation of Northern. I think that the first passenger and station license modifications covering PIDD were made by the ORR in 2012.

These followed work by the then manifestation of Transport Focus that went back even earlier.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Had a quick look at the rosters, First driver and guard come from Blackpool N and work 0642, 0756 0852, 1008 between them, 1057 is run by Barrow as 1147. Any one of four people being unavailable you have lost the entire morning or part of it

...which is demonstrated very starkly by the service resuming with the 13.58 from Windermere ( going by RTT ).

 

[TUC]

Yet again, Northern doing anything to avoid responsibility for having to work hard at providing a decent service. Why is it that, over multiple changes of owner, the underlying operation continues to be so third rate?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yet again, Northern doing anything to avoid responsibility for having to work hard at providing a decent service. Why is it that, over multiple changes of owner, the underlying operation continues to be so third rate?

Because TUPE means you don't change the managers?

 

[Whistler40145]

Not the most ideal of situations

 

[Geeves]

Yet again, Northern doing anything to avoid responsibility for having to work hard at providing a decent service. Why is it that, over multiple changes of owner, the underlying operation continues to be so third rate?

I work with the folks getting all the trains covered but you cannot cover a train with fresh air, if their is sickness or someone doesn't want to work over time then what?

Unfortunately it comes down to what is more important in the grand scheme of things, no trains to Barrow, Morecambe, Blackpool N, Liverpool or Windermere? Not everyone at Blackpool depot or Barrow even signs Windermere, so that is an issue already built into the actual links of the depot due to multiple operators over the years. You need someone to come in and redo all the contracts now to get the trains running properly on days like this and that's in the 'too hard pile' At Northern they must have 10 different drivers contracts alone.

 

[muz379]

Why did the Northern Rail outfit not get a Driver Manager and/ or Guards manager to cover the traincrew turn/s as done so often and well by other TOCs during recent disruptions to services ??

Drivers managers are not permitted to drive trains to cover shortages .

And tbh with it being a saturday I think you would struggle to find any willing volunteers anyway , someone thats already done their 35 manager hours that week is just as entitled to not want to work anymore hours covering a job that is not their substantive post than Drivers or Guards are entitled to not want to work over their contract .

 

[Bletchleyite]

I bet with some effort they could have got a small fleet of taxis if nothing else. Since COVID there has been an utter lack of imagination - just order buses and if there aren't any then tough.

Windermere doesn't have many taxis, but if they sent a manager to the rank outside Preston station and offered what their normal daily takings would be to pop up to Windermere and do shuttles then I'm sure they'd have got enough easily.

 

[TUC]

I work with the folks getting all the trains covered but you cannot cover a train with fresh air, if their is sickness or someone doesn't want to work over time then what?

Unfortunately it comes down to what is more important in the grand scheme of things, no trains to Barrow, Morecambe, Blackpool N, Liverpool or Windermere? Not everyone at Blackpool depot or Barrow even signs Windermere, so that is an issue already built into the actual links of the depot due to multiple operators over the years. You need someone to come in and redo all the contracts now to get the trains running properly on days like this and that's in the 'too hard pile' At Northern they must have 10 different drivers contracts alone.

But it's precisely that kind of issue that the public understandably put in the 'not good enough' box.

Because TUPE means you don't change the managers?

Yes, but other businesses, even when saddled with TUPE, often find ways of moving on ineffective staff.

 

[kieron]

Because TUPE means you don't change the managers?

Changing the owner usually changes some of the managers, but it doesn't change any of the government. If the Northern franchise is just seen as a pile of costs to be cut, spending to protect its benefits will always be hard to justify.

 

[Ianigsy]

I bet with some effort they could have got a small fleet of taxis if nothing else. Since COVID there has been an utter lack of imagination - just order buses and if there aren't any then tough.

Windermere doesn't have many taxis, but if they sent a manager to the rank outside Preston station and offered what their normal daily takings would be to pop up to Windermere and do shuttles then I'm sure they'd have got enough easily.

In reality I suspect that word gets around between cab firms and drivers, and intending passengers will probably end up sharing taxis from Oxenholme to Kendal and Windermere.