Is that the 18.05 Edinburgh to Dunblane? If so it's not a lie, but due to a signalling issue at Larbert your driver isn't back in Edinburgh from his previous run. So yes, no driver caused by a signalling issue
The scheduled driver hadn't arrived back at Waverley having been delayed at Larbert. You cant keep an unlimited number of spare drivers hanging around doing nothing "just in case." Anyway was just trying to explain a reason but your clearly not interested and think its just a big cover up so I won't bother again.
No. I appreciate your giving a full response. But the impression to the passenger is that a signal problem is precluding the trains passage is out with scotrail control. Whereas no driver looks less forgiveable. If the driver was not available because he got caught up in heavy traffic in Leith walk it amounts to the same. There was no driver. Just say so.
No big cover up just poor communication and mixed messages to passengers
But then peope want to know WHY there is no driver. Because of signalling problems. Round and round in circles. Things happen to drivers. It's unfortunate but it happens. Take last Sunday as an example - trans Pennine and Virgin services in utter chaos because the M8 was shut by a suicidal person, and drivers couldn't get to work or to and from Polmadie depot. But the public will never accept that as a reason so we just have to do our best and deal with the flak. "Driver couldn't be bothered turning up" "what does the M8 have to do with driving a train" bla bla bla. Anyway just pointing out there is always a reason for a driver being unavailable. We don't do it deliberately and often trains will NOT be cancelled due to drivers goodwill (ie working on after a shift, taking a shorter break,working a day off). We do our best.
Yes exactly. More drivers are needed. But, as a business, how many staff can you afford to have hanging around getting paid to do nothing when the vast majority of times that's exactly what happens? Ideally there would be lots of spare crew but how many businesses can do that?
The problem is that for every cancellation due to a crew or unit out of place there are 10 occasions when resources (including spare traincrew) have been stepped up or otherwise manipulated to cover a shortage or during disruption and the public never ever get to know about it. The TSDMs in ScotRail Control and the TCSs in the stations do an excellent job often under very trying circumstances. But forget that, the driver apparently “can’t be bothered showing up”.
Fair point. But only you guys can say what is reasonably needed to avoid what happened tonight
But if the alliance takes the position that the passenger is front and centre as we are being told ,then networkrail pay for the extra staff that are required to be held on reserve standby due to their ,signalling failures. It’s one industry as far as passengers are concerned and signalling failures seem very common.
I would like to see the next phase of electrification being the wiring up of certain parts of the anatomy of the head of network rail, Scotrail, Grayling and whichever Scottish minister turn it is to be transport minister , and union bosses . When things go awry. The passengers get to throw the switch and they all get the message together. In a painful but highly amusing way . It may not sort the problems right away but it makes the passengers feel a lot less grumpy and in the long term they may all work better together
Do you think that’s a runner?
Ha, maybe funny but as staff we get equally frustrated by baffling decisions made by government. The 385/156 seats, splitting the sleeper franchise, the dreadful smartcard system etc etc. We all agree that less political involvment would be a great thing. Signalling failures are not common, but everyone knows about them in this age of Twitter etc. I, personally , haven't had a train cancelled in as long as I can remember. And I'm driving them 10 hours a day. Also signalling failure covers such a wide range of issues. Whilst equipment failure happens often it's outside factors causing the issues. Scottish Power failures are common, animals/birds/trees interfering with overhead lines, vandalism(shopping trolleys and the like) ,tresspass etc will often result in being reported as signal failure as it has affected the signalling system. But at the end of the day all these issues cause a "fail safe" scenario where trains stop keeping you safe. Whilst highly frustrating for passengers it also results in us having the one of the safest railways in the world.