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It was me who said they are booked as 3/4 car and your experience is just very unlucky for it to be two car, mainly as it's a route I drive many times a week. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have either driven or known a 2 car service on the Calder Valley in the past 6 months.

But then surely if you keep a couple of "spare sets" then more short forming will happen. Most TOCS are short of units and would love to have just that. Spare sets than they can drop into service when something goes wrong. Occasionally the stars align and a spare set can be found. Only a few...

All services on the Calder Valley via Halifax are booked as either 3 or 4 car but unfortunately as trains are mechanical beings they can on occasion be taken out of service to fix things. Surely it's better to run a 2 car than cancel the service altogether?

But by your way of thinking, then its not safe for any member of staff to leave the cab if something untoward is happening in the saloon. The first responsibility of train crew is the safety of the train and passengers. This was the case in this incident. Nobody should be assaulted at work but...

They have indeed been out and about and are currently resting in Blackpool North carriage sidings...

Yes they are planned way in advance and that's when the bus companies turn round and say "sorry we don't have the buses/drivers for what you want but here is what we can provide". So does Northern plan and timetable what they can based on what the bus companies have said they can provide, or...

But that is exactly what they are trying to avoid. Surely it's better the customer knows what will be running as opposed to cancelling on the day....?

It's probably to do with that well known issue of sourcing rail replacement buses and drivers since COVID. Not ideal I know, but surely it's better to provide an hourly (or on Sundays every 2 hours) service that can be ran rather than trying to run 2 an hour without the guarantee of the buses...

Perfectly put. But this is the reality that the DFT (despite their denials) fail to grasp. They just stick their fingers in their ears and carry on, blaming everyone actually doing the job rather than looking at their own performance. It almost as if the entire department are still waiting for...

If only it was that simple. I do agree with your sentiment but unfortunately mismanagement over the past 10 years (some will say more) and the (deliberate) incompetence of the DFT have brought us to where we are today. The travelling public are fed up. The staff are fed up. Frontline managers...

Exactly this. It could be solved very easily by offering a decent t&c compensation package to bring Sundays inside the working week so it's not reliant on overtime. However it does mean employing more staff which increases costs for the TOC including pension contributions ( which currently...

Northern guards on FNW contracts do have booked Sundays within their link. They do not have to work them if they do not wish to. They also have a clause in the contract that means they are presumed to be available to work other Sundays unless they sign the non availability sheets at least 7 days...

Crew rostering is done as little as 72 hours in advance. You maybe thinking of crew links which are done months in advance. However in this instance at Northern on FNW t&c (west side) a guard can "sign off" Sundays with 7 days notice. This includes booked Sundays. Guards are not contractually...

Have seen a video taken from P14 at Picc looking towards Oxford Road. Only a 5 second one but can see a small fire and a lot of sparking....

I'm train crew yet I don't drive a car. In fact I dont hold a UK road driving license, I cycle to work roughly 8 miles in all weathers. That's my choice. But are you seriously suggesting that because its "2023, not 1923" I should use my own transport and cycle from Manchester to Preston (its...

It's a broad statement but generally it means that children will be expected to put phones in lockers or turned off during lessons. Those who transgress will have to pick them up from a central point at the end of the school day. But I'm sure there will be over zealous headteachers out there who...

Definitely engineering works this weekend despite what the TRU website may say.....

I can't see it being a barrier as a fellow driver has ADHD. However it would be down to the individual circumstances which can be discussed with the potential employer....

Indeed it is driver training. It normally forms the last week or so of the training school phase and is a chance for trainees to get their hands on with things like emergency stops and driving with isolated brakes etc....

Correct they are not ASLEF but TSSA. However there is an agreement in place between ASLEF and Northern that DTMs do not drive trains without the presence of an ASLEF driver on the train including during industrial action which is why it's not been done before. Driver managers are not driving...