AutoKratz
Member
Yes, absolutely. The lightweight construction and rapid acceleration and braking make low rail adhesion much more of an issue than standard trains.
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T&W Metro facing "budget crisis"
- Thread starter Tetchytyke
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Yes, absolutely. The lightweight construction and rapid acceleration and braking make low rail adhesion much more of an issue than standard trains.
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TWTrains
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Whilst Metro may be facing a budget crisis, with 2 units (4075/4022) long out of use, it’s done alright for the age of the units. There may be peaks cancelled, there may be LRA, there may be a train failure, but it’s still serving the purpose it promised, “a quick way to the city” some 40 years later.
A lovely rose tinted romantic view but still...
40 tonnes and a lack of sanders made driving in LRA conditions very difficult. When starting away you had two options - put it in low rate and hope that you could get traction, or slowly notch up. However with there only being 3 power notches, one being a shunt notch, you were hoping for the best.
I do admit that braking could be quite fun. It is down to the skill of the driver in the end as the wheel slip protection was crap. After a few years you develop a technique including using the emergency track brake to take the speed off. Despite what managers wanted you to do, you could usually keep to within a few minutes of timetable, unless you were following something. Of course half the drivers now have started within the past 2 years and don't have as much experience of LRA as the old hands.
WatcherZero
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RMT and ASLEF have rejected a pay offer of 15% + inflation over two years.
It would increase driver salary from £38,000 to a minimum of £46,000.
T&W is broke and they are rejecting a pay offer like that.
It would increase driver salary from £38,000 to a minimum of £46,000.
T&W is broke and they are rejecting a pay offer like that.
TWTrains
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Here we go....news just in that all fares to rise in 2020 by 10p.
MetroCar4058
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I mean this happens every year so can we all avoid the same moan about how it’s not getting better blah blah blah. Done to death.
ModernRailways
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There is more to it than money. It's also the T&Cs the drivers are on. The money would bring them in line with other railway companies, however they would lose out on the terms they are on. The unions were ready to agree to the deal.
cosmo
Member
Just picking up on this - I know this isn't really the thread but we don't have one for general Metrocar discussion IIRC - I never knew this, I thought most DC EMUs had 4 notches (shunt/series/parallel/weakfield) though I suppose with only doing 80kmh/50mph I suppose a 4th notch isn't really needed per se. As a passenger I always thought I felt more than 3 "notches" when accelerating away. I know from pictures there's a 4 step brake(1/2/3/full service/emergency).
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Geordie driver
Member
I remember a few lads leaving the buses in Newcastle for the metro in the mid 1980s, we thought they were daft, metro driving was looked down on a bit and we were on the same money. Wish I had gone with them!
Considering they are roundly incompetent at running a railway or doing anything a passenger executive should (they’ve managed to lose the Shields Ferry for a month) Nexus have been uncharacteristically efficient and proactive with communicating to the public what ungrateful nasty pasties these drivers are.
Of all Metros failings, the poor old drivers are probably their best (and most respected) asset
Of all Metros failings, the poor old drivers are probably their best (and most respected) asset
Pelaw Junction
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Hear hear!
£12 a year for as long as I can remember, for a population that also get a free bus pass. I’m fairly confident by the time I get to that age they will be a thing of the past.
Imagine if it doubled to £24 a year. £24 for a year of unlimited metro travel is still stealing from the taxpayer here but it’d give the finances a boost.
Id also advocate actually enforcing the time restrictions. Too many times I’ve been at the barriers and seeing someone with a gold card ‘not realise’ there were time restrictions, they waved through.
You can probably tell I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about this!
transmanche
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I'd scrap the £12 fee altogether for T&W residents. It probably costs a fair proportion of that £12 to process the transaction!
In other metropolitan areas, local ENCTS pass holders get more than just free bus travel:
- Greater Manchester - free travel on trams and trains
- London - free travel on tube, trains and trams (24/7 on TfL services)
- Merseyside - free travel on trains and ferry
- South Yorkshire - free travel on trams and child fare on trains
- West Midlands - free travel on trams and trains
- West Yorkshire - child fare on trains
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
I'd scrap it as an annual fee...and make it a monthly one, except for disabled people.
If they want to sit on a bus for 70 minutes instead of paying £3 for the Metro, sod them.
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Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
Forget to touch in with your season ticket, and Metro will ching you for a Penalty Fare. But rock up in the morning peak with your Gold Card, and nobody gives a stuff. It's disgraceful, really, but par for the course with Metro.
To be fair, turning down a 15% pay rise is pure unadulterated greed. Let's be honest, it's just money-grabbing because they know Nexus are short.
Second there's a warm day, or an England world cup match, those drivers won't be seen for dust. "Sickness" will go through the roof, just like it does every year.
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ModernRailways
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It has not been turned down due to the money. It's the Terms that Nexus are wanting to introduce that are a huge change and the reason for rejection.
This is incredibly unfair. Nexus/Metro have been relying on overtime to run the service, when there is something like that on drivers won't come in on overtime. Sickness levels do not tend to rise.
Goodwill has all but been lost.
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
What terms? Extending the working week?
Genuinely curious. Nobody, certainly not the RMT, have said what they disagree with. Just the usual wibble about evil bosses being evil.
Indeed, but that applies on both sides of the fence. Seeing the service go up the spout whenever it's a warm day and then seeing drivers who already earn far in excess of the regional average wage turn down eye-watering wage rises gets rid of public goodwill.
Right now, I'd advocate automating the whole system!
Geordie driver
Member
What are the conditions like now, how long do they drive before a rest period, are meal breaks paid for example?
AutoKratz
Member
The power notches on a Metrocar are Shunt, Full Field and Weak Field (which is full power).
There used to be an Intermediate Field back in the 80s / early 90s between FF and WF but it was removed when the cabs were refurbished and the new controller handles were installed.
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