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Scotrail collects 2nd improvement notice

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Mingulay

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My service is much improved over the tail end of last year. I only got one delay repay in January!

Whilst there is still the occassional 170 rather than a HST on the way to work, everyone who wants a seat still gets a seat on the 170.

Good to hear there are some positives. What service do you use?

I assume the flagship Glasgow Edinburgh service must now be showing some meaningful improvement ? If not in journey time but in capacity ?
 
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sannox

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It is. People can remember the days when you could reliably get to Edinburgh in time for work in the morning, and the train only took 2/3rds of the journey time back in the evening.

When you could board a train and be confident of a working power socket to do some work on the way to and from work.

I can well remember the days of National Express running Scotrail. During a 2 year period, even when temperatures dropped as low as -20C in Glasgow, there was just one day when the train made me late for work and not once did I have to find an alternative way home or book a hotel for the night.

*This is important* to rail staff in Scotland too. Many with early starts or late finishes will be making use of staff parking spaces. It means that (If the tax is passed on by employers) those on minimum wage will find the addition of Scottish Parking Tax equal to paying 30% income tax.

To be fair National Express had a far simpler and quieter network to run and much easier to recover delay- the explosion in commuting, increased frequencies and the linking of many services through bottlenecks has changed the position somewhat.

The increase in car commuting is concerning many local authorities keen to make air quality targets. Couple of points have impacted it- cheap finance makes it easy to buy a car and costs of motoring are cheaper in real terms than 20-30 years ago- compared to public transport.

I'm aware of that, however traincrew wouldn't usually be out of position for hours afterwards with a failure in the Edinburgh area. There's supposed to be a TCS based at Edinburgh and an operations depot with PNB facilities. Also being the time of year that it is, there should be less annual leave and therefore would normally have more chance of spare traincrew.

It looks like service was recovered bar cancellations via Shotts due to power issues which also impacted TPE.
 

47271

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My service is much improved over the tail end of last year. I only got one delay repay in January!

Whilst there is still the occassional 170 rather than a HST on the way to work, everyone who wants a seat still gets a seat on the 170.
I thought so too, and said as much upthread, but this is what I'll be dealing with later. Looks like we're off again...
ScotRail HST Introduction - Updates & Discussion
Think their are more worrying things to look at..... Today's hst service to Inverness has been totally wiped out all scheduled hsts are 170s with also the random 158 out again and the 1739 out of Edinburgh already cancelled due to no train crew and just when we thought we had an improvement.......
 

Class385

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Today ScotRail tweeted about a failure in the Haymarket area. Haven't found any specifics as to what line it was on although the disruption seemed to be mainly on the Fife and Borders routes from what I could gather. The failure appeared to be around mid morning when the tweets were sent out, at 16:00 they were tweeting that disruption was ongoing.

6 hours after the initial failure, they still haven't got the service recovered due to traincrew out of position? This was always an issue where there was a serious on the North Clyde routes, but if this sort of disruption is now being seen in the East then there's big problems.

I've heard through the grapevine that the apparent traincrew shortages were worsened by some terrible, awful decision making by senior management - which was then passed onto their control staff to adhere to. Also that a number of drivers are working their notice periods. Furthermore there is no rest day working agreement beyond 31st March for drivers, which if not resolved will mean an even greater shortage of traincrew. Talk of emergency timetables being implemented already.

Abellio are completely out of their depth, but going by how they contributed to the cancellations surrounding the "traincrew shortages" recently I have my doubts they are particularly concerned about that.

A 365 failed around 9am in the Princess Street Gardens area between Haymarket and Waverley, pretty much the worst possible place to fail. Didn't help that it took almost 2 hours to move the unit which resulted in mass cancellations and delays.

Too many tight turnarounds for crew and not enough spare staff mean its like the perfect storm when it goes wrong.
 

Deltic1961

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A couple of years ago when we were getting constant signal faults between Aberdeen and Inverurie (which are still happening BTW) I wrote to my MSP about the time it took to recover services in the event of disruption as it could take over 6 hours to get things back to normal.

I got a BS letter from Alex Hynes about "lessons learned" and how they had an integrated disaster recovery team (or something like that) to co-ordinate getting things back on track after disruption.

2 years on and nothing has changed. Surprisingly. If anything it's worse.
 

68000

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People are angry, even more so now that whilst a terrible rail service is being delivered that is forcing people back into their cars, the Scottish Goverment, is introducing legislation that will mean work parking spaces will potentially be taxed at upwards of £400 per year.

*This is important* to rail staff in Scotland too. Many with early starts or late finishes will be making use of staff parking spaces. It means that (If the tax is passed on by employers) those on minimum wage will find the addition of Scottish Parking Tax equal to paying 30% income tax.

This is quite a stretch of the truth. The Scottish Parliament have introduced enabling legislation that allows councils to on introduce a parking levy. Now the council may decide to introduce this or more likely they may not. If they do, it is very likely to be introduced in areas the council consider to be overcrowded ie city centre locations. Most employers in city centre locations do not offer their staff free parking and it is generally the car allowance senior staff who get it. If people decide to drive to city centre locations they are probably paying for a car park space anyhow and the levy will not affect them. Councils are extremely unlikely to introduce the levy to industrial or business parks although looking at the amount of commuters who park on footpaths in these areas, something may need to be done to protect pedestrians.

On top of that, the employee will only affected if they have an allocated car park space and the employer passes on the levy
 

snookertam

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https://www.scotsman.com/news/trans...n-drivers-to-come-out-of-retirement-1-4874353

ScotRail is so short of train drivers it is trying to persuade retired staff to return to the cab, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

The union Aslef condemned the “ridiculous” situation, which it said reflected operator Abellio’s failure to recruit and retain enough drivers.

Staff are understood to be leaving ScotRail because it has one of the lowest pay rates among train companies in Britain.


This has come at a time when it needs more drivers for two new fleets of trains and extra services, which are due to increase again in May.

Aslef figures show ScotRail, which has 1,350 drivers, pays them £47,180 a year. That puts it in 39th place in a pay table of 45 operators. It compares to £69,207 at top-rated Eurostar and £65,520 at Virgin Trains West Coast. Others paying more than ScotRail include TransPennine Express (£55,000) and ScotRail sister firm Greater Anglia (£50,267). Train driving has proved to be hugely attractive, with ScotRail being swamped with more than 22,000 applications for 100 jobs during a previous recruitment drive in 2015

However, Aslef, the main drivers’ union, said the firm had failed to ensure it had sufficient numbers. Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay said: “The successive failures of Abellio management to recruit and retain drivers has led to the ridiculous situation of Abellio attempting to bring retired drivers back into the railway. “These drivers have worked hard and deserve dignity in retirement without being harassed back into the railway. “We call on the Scottish Government to stop Abellio attempting this poorly thought-out scheme.

“Abellio should concentrate on improving the terms and conditions of existing drivers to encourage them to remain with Abellio. It should be recruiting trainees and help reduce unemployment here in Scotland.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency, which awarded Abellio the ScotRail franchise, said: “It is for individual operators to ensure they have enough staff to deliver their franchise obligations. “Our ongoing investment in rail is bringing more quality jobs and recent successful recruitment drives have increased staffing significantly, with the benefits of this starting to be achieved.” ScotRail confirmed it was approaching retired drivers, but said no one was being “harassed back into the railway”. It declined to say how old such drivers were, how many it had contacted and what response it had received

There is no age limit for drivers, although Aslef said they should retire at the state pension age. The train operator said a recruitment drive launched last summer for frontline staff, including drivers, was continuing and “anyone involved in that process has actively chosen to work with ScotRail”. A spokesperson added: “The investment we are making to recruit frontline staff is helping us significantly in enhancing the day-to-day running of services for our customers. The recruitment process is inclusive and we are considering all available options.”

Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/news/trans...n-drivers-to-come-out-of-retirement-1-4874353

Regarding the stat that ScotRail are 39th out of 45 for drivers' pay, the salary is still very good and for someone entering the grade is not to be sniffed at. Sometimes things like this could be considered as bad luck, but it happens so much with Abellio I don't think that defence will really cut it.
 

Highlandspring

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I’ve heard a rumour that drivers who have recently left ScotRail to go to Virgin, LNER, Transpennine etc.. are getting cold calls out of the blue to let them know that if they find the grass isn’t greener and they ever want to come back then there will be a job waiting for them.
 

scotraildriver

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I’ve heard a rumour that drivers who have recently left ScotRail to go to Virgin, LNER, Transpennine etc.. are getting cold calls out of the blue to let them know that if they find the grass isn’t greener and they ever want to come back then there will be a job waiting for them.

2 guys at my depot who are going to Transpennine had a call asking for their reasons for leaving. They cited the current rosters as their main reason, but given they haven't actually seen a roster for Transpennine there is no guarantee it's any better and were then asked how they knew the grass would be greener. There was no begging them though. Sundays are also inside the working week which means the increase in salary isn't as much as it seems, although more days off.
 

380101

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2 guys at my depot who are going to Transpennine had a call asking for their reasons for leaving. They cited the current rosters as their main reason, but given they haven't actually seen a roster for Transpennine there is no guarantee it's any better and were then asked how they knew the grass would be greener. There was no begging them though. Sundays are also inside the working week which means the increase in salary isn't as much as it seems, although more days off.

I'd say the workload for us ScotRail drivers, especially in the Strathclyde area is a big part of the reason guys/gals are leaving for other TOCs/FOCs. Having seen a Transpennine roster I don't blame the guys wanting to go! 2 all stoppers to Ayr and back and a ScotRail driver has stopped at more stations than a Virgin or TP driver will do in a week! More money for significantly less work is easily the main reason for driver's in ScotRail jumping ship to other companies! The salary increase is significant, even if you take the Sundays inside into consideration - the TP guus will be approx. 12k a year more and VWC guys are on 17k more a year than us! Whilst the money is not everything, it'll play a big part in it even if some of the terms and conditions may be not as good as ScotRail. We're the only TOC with a driver's sliding pay scale if we're removed from driving due to safety incidents or medical reasons and that one condition is worth thousands and hopefully we'll never sell it!
 

Mingulay

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I'd say the workload for us ScotRail drivers, especially in the Strathclyde area is a big part of the reason guys/gals are leaving for other TOCs/FOCs. Having seen a Transpennine roster I don't blame the guys wanting to go! 2 all stoppers to Ayr and back and a ScotRail driver has stopped at more stations than a Virgin or TP driver will do in a week! More money for significantly less work is easily the main reason for driver's in ScotRail jumping ship to other companies! The salary increase is significant, even if you take the Sundays inside into consideration - the TP guus will be approx. 12k a year more and VWC guys are on 17k more a year than us! Whilst the money is not everything, it'll play a big part in it even if some of the terms and conditions may be not as good as ScotRail. We're the only TOC with a driver's sliding pay scale if we're removed from driving due to safety incidents or medical reasons and that one condition is worth thousands and hopefully we'll never sell it!

Fair play to you. You have a profession and if the market rate for that skill is higher elsewhere then it’s healthy there is a movement in employment opportunities. If Abellio have a pay structure or conditions that don’t make them attractive they have to adjust that to have sufficient staff to run the network with spare driver and guard capacity in reserve. Cancelling trains due to lack of staff is a management failing.
 

Deltic1961

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Still chronic short forming, overcrowding, crew shortages and broken down trains every single day. Seems stop skipping is back as well.

Never mind, they're "working flat out" so it'll all be ok .... soon .......
 

380101

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Still chronic short forming, overcrowding, crew shortages and broken down trains every single day. Seems stop skipping is back as well.

Never mind, they're "working flat out" so it'll all be ok .... soon .......

Stop skipping was never as big an issue as was made out by the opposition parties and the press. The big effect of the "ban" on stop skipping was a massive increase in delayed trains, and surprise, surprise the opposition and press moaned about that too!

Stop skipping is an industry wide option to recover services in the quickest way possible - a small inconvenience for a few passengers that limits the disruption on the network.

But, I also understand the frustration of the passengers over the last 4 years, and trust me, frontline staff are just as frustrated! Despite what many passengers, and many of the members on this forum think, we do actually put maximum effort into attempting to deliver a good service for passengers. We don't like being late or getting cancelled anymore than the passengers do.
 

cb a1

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Still chronic short forming, overcrowding, crew shortages and broken down trains every single day. Seems stop skipping is back as well.

Never mind, they're "working flat out" so it'll all be ok .... soon .......
The part of the network I travel on (GLQ <-> ABD) has improved considerably since the tail end of last year. Which areas are still getting it bad?
 

Highland37

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The part of the network I travel on (GLQ <-> ABD) has improved considerably since the tail end of last year. Which areas are still getting it bad?

Glasgow to Inverness is very poor right now. 158s sometimes. trains often late including the one I picked my partner and daughter off last night which has been much more common in recent times (basically since the HSTs started to make and appearance but on this occasion, it was a 170).
 

Deltic1961

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Today the 05:54 Inverness to Aberdeen commuter train was cancelled due to a fault (surprise surprise) and the next train only has two carriages. Who the hell is planning this?
 

scosutsut

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North Berwicks are still struggling for capacity too. To the point now that it's unusual for peak runs not to be short-formed to their pre-timetable change capacity, which wasn't enough! Assume 385 availability is the main blocker as we don't regularly see 380s anymore.
 

Mingulay

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North Berwicks are still struggling for capacity too. To the point now that it's unusual for peak runs not to be short-formed to their pre-timetable change capacity, which wasn't enough! Assume 385 availability is the main blocker as we don't regularly see 380s anymore.

Assuming you are a regular commuter on North Berwick. Have or are you aware of ever being asked to complete or participate in a Customer Satisfaction survey of late or ever? Given Scotrail still claim customer satisfaction in the high 80s % It seems to me that the surveys avoid routes which are routinely overcrowded and cancelled ?
 

route101

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Glasgow to Inverness is very poor right now. 158s sometimes. trains often late including the one I picked my partner and daughter off last night which has been much more common in recent times (basically since the HSTs started to make and appearance but on this occasion, it was a 170).

How many HSTS have operated Glasgow to Inverness , cant be many ?
 

scosutsut

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Assuming you are a regular commuter on North Berwick. Have or are you aware of ever being asked to complete or participate in a Customer Satisfaction survey of late or ever? Given Scotrail still claim customer satisfaction in the high 80s % It seems to me that the surveys avoid routes which are routinely overcrowded and cancelled ?

Never asked, otherwise I would pan them!
 

DuncanS

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Stop skipping was never as big an issue as was made out by the opposition parties and the press.

Falkirk High, officially the 5th most skipped station in Scotland during 2018 with 119 skips.

Thats a big issue for the major stop between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
 

mde

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Falkirk High, officially the 5th most skipped station in Scotland during 2018 with 119 skips.

Thats a big issue for the major stop between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
It sounds significant; but, consider the number of services booked to stop and it might not be…
 

tableseat

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full list of 'skip stop' for Scotrail stations, (Aberdeen omitted for some obscure reason & theres new stations called Dunrod Loop & Forres Loop & Welshs Bridge), during the whole of 2018 was in response to the Scottish Green list MSP John Finnies' written question & published on their website earlier today.
 

Highlandspring

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I would be willing to bet a year’s salary that the total number of fail-to-calls (‘skip stop’ to the public) for Aberdeen in 2018 was zero.
 

GusB

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full list of 'skip stop' for Scotrail stations, (Aberdeen omitted for some obscure reason & theres new stations called Dunrod Loop & Forres Loop & Welshs Bridge), during the whole of 2018 was in response to the Scottish Green list MSP John Finnies' written question & published on their website earlier today.
Any chance of a link to this website, and perhaps a quote?

I'm quite puzzled as to why Aberdeen wouldn't feature on the list of stations skipped, and I'm sure that there a few shack-scratchers who haven't managed to get Forres Loop and Welsh's Bridge yet... ;)
 

GusB

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https://greens.scot/news/greens-reveal-scotland-s-ten-most-skipped-stations

Scottish Greens Transport spokesperson John Finnie MSP has today (22 Feb) revealed Scotland’s most skipped rail stations.

Figures obtained from the Scottish Government by Mr Finnie show that in 2018, 2,131 incidences of stop skipping were recorded on ScotRail services, with ten stations being skipped on more than 100 occasions.

The ten most skipped stations in 2018 were:
1. Drumry - 166
2. Anniesland - 158
3. Westerton - 142
4. Coatbridge Sunnyside - 122
5. Falkirk High - 119
6. Edinburgh Park - 107
7. Singer - 107
8. Dalreoch - 104
9. Cambuslang -102
10. Dumbarton East - 101

John Finnie MSP said:
“These figures reveal the huge scale of disruption encountered by commuters on a daily basis. Stop-skipping is hugely inconvenient to rail passengers often leaving them stranded miles away from their intended destination, which can have serious consequences for people continually delayed on route to work, study or to medical appointments. It can also be extremely distressing for young passengers and disabled people who are often abandoned in locations without adequate facilities to meet their needs.This is yet another example of the poor management of our railways, Ministers must act urgently and remove the franchise from the abysmal Abellio at the earliest opportunity.”

theres new stations called Dunrod Loop & Forres Loop & Welshs Bridge
I've no idea where Dunrod Loop is, but Forres Loop isn't actually a station - I'm not sure if it's still officially a thing, but it previously referred to the Forres passing loop which was to the east of Forres station before it was relocated. Welsh's Bridge isn't a station either, but I'll let those with greater knowledge fill you in on the precise details.
 
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