It's a wonder then that other TOCs are managing to increase service levels then. Wonder how they do it... Easy to blame the DfT for the recruitment freeze, but it takes two to tango as the saying goes.
Very subtle, and I doubt many people noticed, or cared. Is this train for Dorking or is it for Guildford?
If they do, you can be sure people up North will point out that the South is again getting improvements that Northern hasn't had.
Yes I think this too.
ok thanks
Because they don't have space on the SWR network with the 455s still in service.
SWR are struggling to retain new guards due to the new pay deal.
I see, thank you
Yes, but they didn't, did they. What did happen was some rebalancing of rolling stock fleets at timetable changes to suit the operational needs, but to some extent that has continued to happen since.
Not initially, ‘Route Branding’ came in a little while after NSE actually started.
Exactly. It took until 2006 to get rid of the last NSE livery units. The DfT won't waste money repainting the 701s when they've only just entered service. It would be yet another delay to introduction if they have to be rotated out to get painted or vinyled
Not when one is a Private and the other is the Air Vice Marshall.....
Having spoken to a friend who has recently started as a Guard at SWR, they're also struggling to retain guards due to them being paid considerably less than their colleagues for the first two years for doing the same job, and on top of that expected to work to a higher standard. Why stay when you can leverage the short experience elsewhere on the railway and get paid better and have better T&Cs AND not deal with the chaotic mess of a hellhole that is Waterloo?
From a customer perspective, I'm not aware of any significant shortcomings of the units that are in service.
I think that is fair, for the sparse services they actually work
Perhaps @I_am_Nobody could elaborate on what issues their friend has discussed with them that are contributing to staff retention problems?
Eh?
yup, seems to be the case, guards being signed off on DOGC only now.
So finally after all these years of disputes, the 78 days of strike action from the RMT, etc etc, and then finally getting all parties to sign off on it earlier this year, they've decided to drop DCO efforts.
There should be a re-negotiation of drivers' pay, then, as they are not doing the full role they are paid to do.
Pretty poor of the industry but will go unnoticed by MSM as to how much time and money has been wasted here but they need to get the trains into use now as their carrying the cost of two fleets.
Additionally, most new trains come with a guarantee on the paintwork. For eight years or possibly more. If you repaint them to apply a new livery you lose that.
They'll notice 4 years late, like with the windscreen wipers
They wont notice that the method of operation has been a farce. Maybe if the Transport Select Committee did an enquiry it might get beyond the railway press but it wont as GBR and HS2 will take up the committees time allocated to railways.
Does this mean ABDO is dead in the water too?
That was well down the list of priorities already and I recollect another poster reporting all that was going to happen was show it worked from a contractual point of view. Its not as if they need to push more trains into the timetable anymore either.
So SWR only now doing what Southern did almost a quarter of a century ago when it first introduced its Electrostars!
