ChristopherJ
Member
Witnessed the most bizarre incident at Farringdon yesterday evening, which involved GTR platform staff arguing with a driver.
At approximately 17:00, a Down Thameslink train formed of a 12-car Class 700 arrived, being a narrow platform and peak hour it was obviously very busy but nothing unusual for that time of day.
The driver refused to move the train on the grounds that too many people are over the yellow line and it's unsafe to self dispatch, he wouldn't depart until after all passengers have moved back.
Around 10 minutes (yes - 10 minutes!) of sitting idle in the platform, the station staff approached the cab and knocked on the door and began arguing with the driver.
The conversation went along these lines:
"What do you expect us to do? There's two of us and 24 sets of doors - we can't be everywhere at once!"
"The longer you stay here and refuse to move, the more overcrowded it gets. You're just delaying the service."
"Have you seen the Underground platforms? They're worse than us - yet they're self dispatching every minute of the day!"
Despite all these valid points by the platform staff, the driver still refused to move the train, causing an eventual 15 minute delay and backlog in the Thameslink core.
I was so impressed by the logic and rationale of the platform staff, I tapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him on using his common sense, unlike the driver.
Three Bridges ROC and GTR Control must have had a field day with that driver for shutting down the Thameslink Core for quarter of an hour in peak hour. I'd love to read his 'Please Explain' letter...
I'd just like to take a second opportunity to say Well Done to Farringdon platform staff.
At approximately 17:00, a Down Thameslink train formed of a 12-car Class 700 arrived, being a narrow platform and peak hour it was obviously very busy but nothing unusual for that time of day.
The driver refused to move the train on the grounds that too many people are over the yellow line and it's unsafe to self dispatch, he wouldn't depart until after all passengers have moved back.
Around 10 minutes (yes - 10 minutes!) of sitting idle in the platform, the station staff approached the cab and knocked on the door and began arguing with the driver.
The conversation went along these lines:
"What do you expect us to do? There's two of us and 24 sets of doors - we can't be everywhere at once!"
"The longer you stay here and refuse to move, the more overcrowded it gets. You're just delaying the service."
"Have you seen the Underground platforms? They're worse than us - yet they're self dispatching every minute of the day!"
Despite all these valid points by the platform staff, the driver still refused to move the train, causing an eventual 15 minute delay and backlog in the Thameslink core.
I was so impressed by the logic and rationale of the platform staff, I tapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him on using his common sense, unlike the driver.
Three Bridges ROC and GTR Control must have had a field day with that driver for shutting down the Thameslink Core for quarter of an hour in peak hour. I'd love to read his 'Please Explain' letter...
I'd just like to take a second opportunity to say Well Done to Farringdon platform staff.
Last edited by a moderator:
