New South Western franchise: Awarded to First/MTR

[Clarence Yard]

It's an industry wide problem due to planning procedures I believe but I don't know what the cause is. Maybe someone else does.

Late notice engineering changes are the primary cause. Engineering planning on some routes is in a bit of a mess at the moment.

 

[Muzer]

Network Rail staff shortages, allegedly.

 

[BestWestern]

London - Portsmouth, London - Bournemouth, London - Basingstoke, Portsmouth - Southampton, London - Rugby, London - Birmingham, London - Nottingham, London - Derby.

Gosh, you are unlucky...

 

[Muzer]

London - Portsmouth, London - Bournemouth, London - Basingstoke, Portsmouth - Southampton, London - Rugby, London - Birmingham, London - Nottingham, London - Derby.

FWIW I commute Basingstoke-London and almost every day have my ticket checked in both directions.

 

[SevenEightNine]

Interestingly just had a commercial guard on a Windsor service... I'm guessing that's just a one-off, given what's been said here earlier?

 

[Goldfish62]

Interestingly just had a commercial guard on a Windsor service... I'm guessing that's just a one-off, given what's been said here earlier?

No, they regularly work across all Windsor lines services.

 

[Wychwood93]

Gosh, you are unlucky...

I think that wibble was indicating that checks on those particular services were not quite what one would expect. In other words - on a longer distance journey one would expect a check, or at least somebody wandering through. How many times have many of us had a guard wander through asking for 'anyone who needs tickets' and not checking the others? I would never suggest that they do this for the commission for on-train sales. Perish the thought!

OT I know, re. a sort of guardy bit - note the lack of the big g - SWR guards were, in general, SWT guards. No difference - just a change of owner. They are what they were - the good, the bad and the indifferent - not a movie that Clint made, but maybe he could.

 

[LowLevel]

Another 'could have been' incident on the network today regarding the discussion on guards and their presence or otherwise - an EMT service collided with a tree at what would have been approaching 90 mph between Thetford and Brandon. Apparently the driver having ducked for cover thought he'd had a near miss but the tree actually went straight through one saloon window and bullseyed the one next to it. The train was apparently stopped by the guard, who had been in the saloon affected conducting a ticket check, pulling the passcom while the passengers dived for cover. Good job they hadn't been 'left behind in the event of short notice unavailability'. The guard apparently then managed the situation in the damaged coach while the driver dealt with a resulting fuel leak.

I hope that's a fairly good explanation of what can happen on a difficult day at the office!

 

[SWT_USER]

Interestingly just had a commercial guard on a Windsor service... I'm guessing that's just a one-off, given what's been said here earlier?

16.58 from Waterloo?

I was very surprised to be checked. Very rare in my experience on the Windsor side. Possibly more frequent beyond the zonal boundary where oyster/ contactless isn't valid?

 

[TEW]

16.58 from Waterloo?

I was very surprised to be checked. Very rare in my experience on the Windsor side. Possibly more frequent beyond the zonal boundary where oyster/ contactless isn't valid?

It can depend a lot on the traction too. The 458s make ticket checks rather difficult due to the limited locations to operate the doors from. It should be somewhat easier on all other traction.

 

[Wychwood93]

Another 'could have been' incident on the network today regarding the discussion on guards and their presence or otherwise - an EMT service collided with a tree at what would have been approaching 90 mph between Thetford and Brandon. Apparently the driver having ducked for cover thought he'd had a near miss but the tree actually went straight through one saloon window and bullseyed the one next to it. The train was apparently stopped by the guard, who had been in the saloon affected conducting a ticket check, pulling the passcom while the passengers dived for cover. Good job they hadn't been 'left behind in the event of short notice unavailability'. The guard apparently then managed the situation in the damaged coach while the driver dealt with a resulting fuel leak.

I hope that's a fairly good explanation of what can happen on a difficult day at the office!

Well done to the guard at the time - but any one of the PAX could have tugged the passcom and initiated action. As on a previous post somewhere, I, as a non-guard, just a member of rail staff, have assisted when things have happened - man with knife etc. and a dodgy door at Brockenhurst where the Weymouth guard virtually ripped a door off so that we could get stuff out on the cess side of platform one at Brockenhurst (a 442 by the way). Job done. 'We are all heroes' - no, just getting on with it. 'Are we human' - yes we are and get on with it.

 

[CatfordCat]

I can't remember the last time I got ticket checked (I commute from one of the stations towards the Reading end of the line to Clapham Junction) - used to get checked by guards maybe once or twice a week in the morning, but more often than not in the evening - albeit at the country end of the line.

I'd not really registered, but now I think about it, yes, this stopped when the 458s arrived.

SWR seem to be more keen on occasional large scale revenue blocks - did notice a recent advert for casual staff to assist RPOs with a block at Wokingham for a week or two.

 

[387star]

I will be amazed if SWR manage to refurbish the whole desiro fleet by December as reported on this forum

I know the first one takes a while but still

I am unsure if the well heeled commutors of Haslemere will take well to the revised First Class offering on the 444s. I guess the buffets are not used so no noticable loss there.

 

[SevenEightNine]

16.58 from Waterloo?

16.28 I think...

It can depend a lot on the traction too. The 458s make ticket checks rather difficult due to the limited locations to operate the doors from. It should be somewhat easier on all other traction.

Yes, that would make sense.
(That particular diagram is a 707 for anyone wondering)

 

[BestWestern]

Well done to the guard at the time - but any one of the PAX could have tugged the passcom and initiated action. As on a previous post somewhere, I, as a non-guard, just a member of rail staff, have assisted when things have happened - man with knife etc. and a dodgy door at Brockenhurst where the Weymouth guard virtually ripped a door off so that we could get stuff out on the cess side of platform one at Brockenhurst (a 442 by the way). Job done. 'We are all heroes' - no, just getting on with it. 'Are we human' - yes we are and get on with it.

Always nice when there's someone in charge, who knows what they're doing and has been trained to do so properly, though. I really don't share the belief of some on this forum that the railway should rely on 'have a go hero' passengers every time something goes wrong.

 

[BestWestern]

I think that wibble was indicating that checks on those particular services were not quite what one would expect. In other words - on a longer distance journey one would expect a check, or at least somebody wandering through. How many times have many of us had a guard wander through asking for 'anyone who needs tickets' and not checking the others? I would never suggest that they do this for the commission for on-train sales. Perish the thought!

And on the vast majority of services that's exactly what happens, tickets are checked as they should be. The 'does anybody need a ticket?' approach is not ideal, however there are some services on which it is a far more sensible way of working - a busy peak service heading into a barriered terminus for example, where everybody needs to be in posession of a ticket to get out, and there may be very significant numbers on board who haven't yet been able to purchase one. It is far more constructive to provide as many tickets as possible on board than it is to check 500 season tickets and still have dozens who are ticketless. When these trains unload high volumes of pax who still need to pay their fare onto the gatelines, it causes problems for both passengers and staff alike. There are plenty of these trains out there.

In general, revenue duties are done properly, and regularly. If there are certain TOCs, certain routes or certain staff who underperform, this should be apparent and it should be challenged. The tedious generalisation that "they never do tickets anyway" is simply not accurate.

 

[infobleep]

Network Rail staff shortages, allegedly.

How would that alleged issue be due to them not being able to recruit enough staff or not being able to afford to recruit even staff?

They are after all a public sector body and public funds are tight at the moment.

 

[infobleep]

Another 'could have been' incident on the network today regarding the discussion on guards and their presence or otherwise - an EMT service collided with a tree at what would have been approaching 90 mph between Thetford and Brandon. Apparently the driver having ducked for cover thought he'd had a near miss but the tree actually went straight through one saloon window and bullseyed the one next to it. The train was apparently stopped by the guard, who had been in the saloon affected conducting a ticket check, pulling the passcom while the passengers dived for cover. Good job they hadn't been 'left behind in the event of short notice unavailability'. The guard apparently then managed the situation in the damaged coach while the driver dealt with a resulting fuel leak.

I hope that's a fairly good explanation of what can happen on a difficult day at the office!

But some people that has being so far nd few between that they think a different outcome is fine, as it drosnt happen often.

I disagree with that or course but that is how they seem to see it.

 

[Kite159]

I will be amazed if SWR manage to refurbish the whole desiro fleet by December as reported on this forum

I know the first one takes a while but still

I am unsure if the well heeled commutors of Haslemere will take well to the revised First Class offering on the 444s. I guess the buffets are not used so no noticable loss there.

Or even the well heeled commuters of Winchester when they board a 444 with 2+2 seating in First Class. I can see the number of First Class season ticket holders decreasing with the downgrade of the area.

 

[LowLevel]

But some people that has being so far nd few between that they think a different outcome is fine, as it drosnt happen often.

I disagree with that or course but that is how they seem to see it.

We must just be unlucky then because we seem to have problem after problem where the guard has come out with a lot of credit.

 

[infobleep]

Or even the well heeled commuters of Winchester when they board a 444 with 2+2 seating in First Class. I can see the number of First Class season ticket holders decreasing with the downgrade of the area.

Will there by the same number of first class seats?

 

[infobleep]

We must just be unlucky then because we seem to have problem after problem where the guard has come out with a lot of credit.

Even problem after problem isn't enough it seems. Shame but there you go.

 

[Kite159]

Will there by the same number of first class seats?

On the 444s I believe the number of FC seats will remain the same, just as 2+2 rather than 2+1. The 450s are losing some FC seats when it gets moved to behind the cabs

 

[TEW]

On the 444s I believe the number of FC seats will remain the same, just as 2+2 rather than 2+1. The 450s are losing some FC seats when it gets moved to behind the cabs

444s lose seats too. From 35 to 32 seats.

 

[Goldfish62]

Two of the five trains I went for this week have been cancelled due to no driver. I also noticed last night that the last Weybridge to Waterloo was cancelled

Why the sudden shortage?

 

[WrongRoad]

Two of the five trains I went for this week have been cancelled due to no driver. I also noticed last night that the last Weybridge to Waterloo was cancelled

Why the sudden shortage?

Probably outstanding leave for Drivers needs to be used up by the end of April. Across all the depots max leave quotar may have been reached, add in sickness and not enough rest day workers volunteering on certain days leads to driver shortage.

 

[74A]

Two of the five trains I went for this week have been cancelled due to no driver. I also noticed last night that the last Weybridge to Waterloo was cancelled

Why the sudden shortage?

Half term

 

[Wychwood93]

Half term

The thread re. staff and holiday/half term stuff was, correctly, closed by ainsworth74, however, in the real world there are quite a few people I know who cannot take leave at certain times - that is how it is, they know that. 'Sickness' etc. happens in all industries - whilst on the railway I never 'pulled a sickie'. I would not dare to suggest that some others would do that during a school holiday period, perish the thought!

 

[TEW]

The thread re. staff and holiday/half term stuff was, correctly, closed by ainsworth74, however, in the real world there are quite a few people I know who cannot take leave at certain times - that is how it is, they know that. 'Sickness' etc. happens in all industries - whilst on the railway I never 'pulled a sickie'. I would not dare to suggest that some others would do that during a school holiday period, perish the thought!

The problems at SWR are not short notice sickness this week. The '36 hour sheets' which show the allocation of turns to drivers and guards, as the name suggests 36 hours in advance, reveal there is significant amounts of work uncovered on most days this week. A combination of leave being more popular in school holiday periods, so the quota for the number of staff on leave is likely to be full, whereas on other weeks it may not be, and people being less inclined to work rest days during the school holidays.

 

[Wychwood93]

The problems at SWR are not short notice sickness this week. The '36 hour sheets' which show the allocation of turns to drivers and guards, as the name suggests 36 hours in advance, reveal there is significant amounts of work uncovered on most days this week. A combination of leave being more popular in school holiday periods, so the quota for the number of staff on leave is likely to be full, whereas on other weeks it may not be, and people being less inclined to work rest days during the school holidays.

An oddly logical way to go about this would be to not allow any/all staff to book leave during such periods until the company was happy that there were enough staff to work a normal service - not possible to rely on staff doing overtime. Many would remove your hand when the offer came in, others would not.