East Croydon

I've always been very impressed by the way the train dispatch operation is run at East Croydon with staff suitably attired and well trained. I think they'd look even smarter with a Southern uniform cap rather than the odd tea cosy though.

But 2 questions arise:
1. Why are there at least 3 dispatch staff per platform when other stations have none ?
2. Why is one member of staff noting things down on a clip board ? Surely if it is arrival and departure times these are nowadays available automatically through electronic means ? Is the data which is recorded on the clip board then re-entered into a system later. Seems a bit archaic.

To answer point 1, I assume it is to do with platform curvature. East Croydon is very busy and has curved platforms, so 3 people are required to see the full length of the train and make sure everyone's safe.

Platform staff are sometimes in the best position to note the exact reason for an increased dwell time leading to late departure. For example, reporting that a passenger held back a particular closing door might save someone searching for a non existent fault...

A lot of the trains at East Croydon are also 12 coaches long, so one or two despatchers are not going to be able to see the full length of the train.
Also, the electronic means of recording train movements are not that accurate - a train will not be detected as moving until it enters the next track circuit. A train entering a terminal station might not actually come to a stand until about 3 minutes after entering the track circuit past the home signal outside, so the recording systems have artificial times added to them to take these into account.
A lot of stations are in the middle of a track circuit, so the systems won't know whether a train has arrived or departed a station.

MML said:

But 2 questions arise:
1. Why are there at least 3 dispatch staff per platform when other stations have none ?
2. Why is one member of staff noting things down on a clip board ? Surely if it is arrival and departure times these are nowadays available automatically through electronic means ? Is the data which is recorded on the clip board then re-entered into a system later. Seems a bit archaic.

Click to expand...

1. (Pretty much answered by the above) Safety - How busy the station gets, the curvature of platforms (some platforms have 4 staff for a 12 car),
2. Delay Attribution - they note down when the train arrived and when the wheels start moving - if there is any delay to the dispatch of a service (eg. punters holding doors, train held on a red, platform alteration) - it is noted, then recorded on the system at the end of the day

It's a very good observation and one that GWR station staff would be well advised to emulate. Amongst all the stations staff of railways that I use - I travel around a lot by rail - GWR trains spend more time in platforms than any other. Less blowing whistles and more walking along the platform closing doors would be a good start.

MML said:

I've always been very impressed by the way the train dispatch operation is run at East Croydon with staff suitably attired and well trained. I think they'd look even smarter with a Southern uniform cap rather than the odd tea cosy though.

But 2 questions arise:
1. Why are there at least 3 dispatch staff per platform when other stations have none ?
2. Why is one member of staff noting things down on a clip board ? Surely if it is arrival and departure times these are nowadays available automatically through electronic means ? Is the data which is recorded on the clip board then re-entered into a system later. Seems a bit archaic.

Click to expand...

Apparently East Croydon despatch performance used to be poor due to understaffing - see e.g.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-5th-january-2015.110286/page-39#post-2357569

.. so it's good if they've got more people on it now.

Platform staff performance has vastly improved during the day (0630ish onwards) but has not always noticeably improved overnight. Recruitment of staff (which sometimes involves agencies where strictly necessary) is done quite quickly now, and indeed the training process churns ever onwards as I type. Part of the improvement also relates to the rollout of the infamous “Pit Stop” station performance strategy which was rolled out at the time of the May timetable change. Although said policy/strategy got slated for its suggestions for the assistance of those with accessibility needs, in reality it has proved to be a real driver of improvement for dispatch punctuality for Southern/GX.

The curved platforms, signal sighting and sheer volume of passengers (many of whom behave exceptionally irresponsibly around the ramps and when running for trains) mean that platform staff dispatch is mandatory for all passenger and ECS trains which call at East Croydon.

As well as being curved, the platform has multiple buildings and isn't particularly wide. These and the sheer number of people waiting must make it very difficult to see a large part of a train from one place.