Liverpool is possibly one of the worst affected areas by the strike action. Given that Merseyrail staff aren't actually on strike, and that there are just two workstations at Sandhills, it's rather disappointing that none of the network is open.
Even if so (and I imagine that's the basis on which most planning nationwide has gone on), it would take just 2 competent managers to get the network open. Hardly a huge ask, I'd have thought?
I'm not suggesting it would just be 2 managers and that's it; but compared with other areas of the country it really wouldn't be that impossible.
To be fair even if the only route that ran was Rock Ferry circuits via Liverpool Central that would make a pretty big difference given the capacity of the road tunnels.
The problem is what you end up doing then is putting additional pressure on the contingency staff, which means they're less likely to be able to effectively manage disruption, risk suffering adverse safety consequences owing to overwork, and, more pressingly, you're going to lose the goodwill of the contingency staff to actually volunteer to work if they're going to have to come in for a 12 hour shift knowing they're going to have to be jumping between desks every five minutes.
You don't want to lose goodwill of the contingency staff but at the same time you want to maximise them. You don't want 1 person to just be sat sorting Kirkby - Liverpool Central as that is surely a waste of a signaller.
Relevant question - are the heavy maintenance activities affected by the strikes (do they even work Saturdays?), and how does the reduced service miles from three days of not running stack up against the time lost to trains in the wrong place, no drivers to move trains etc.?
Interesting; so with the first Ormskirk-Central service starting at Maghull on Wednesday and Friday, we'll likely see a unit sat there from tonight to Wednesday morning? Hope they lock the station, that seems like a prime graffiti opportunity!
