ScotRail cancelling services July 2024

[eoff]

I noticed yesterday that ScotRail is cancelling an unusually large number of services and it continues this morning. Do they not have enough staff to run services during holiday season?

 

[Carntyne]

Pay deal hasn't been agreed...

 

[CEN60]

Edinburgh Glasgow Shotts service has been decimated!

 

[Scotrail84]

Train crew shortages playing a big part as well as fleet availability too. I think theres a lot of units out of traffic just now for various faults, particularly the diesel fleet has taken pounding recently.

 

[snookertam]

This is the tip of the iceberg. Only going to get far worse.

 

[Blindtraveler]

And no doubt as Scott rail is now nationalised and the blame will be placed directly at the government's door, it will all be Westminster's fault for some reason. Is there any factors in particular affecting the diesel fleet availability? Or is it just simply that they've in many cases got the wrong types of diesel fleet for the wrong types of work? In other words, HST that should probably have been scrapped a decade ago and turbo star and sprinter that are knackered after being flung up and down the Highland main line too many times

 

[northscots]

First week of the school holidays so im sure a lot of staff are choosing not to work overtime so they can spend time with families. Im sure it has nothing to do with staff not liking how pay negotiations have been going....
Either way, it highlights how reliant Scotrail are on overtime to cover the timetable.

 

[Scotrail84]

First week of the school holidays so im sure a lot of staff are choosing not to work overtime so they can spend time with families. Im sure it has nothing to do with staff not liking how pay negotiations have been going....
Either way, it highlights how reliant Scotrail are on overtime to cover the timetable.

It's not just ScotRail, every single TOC relies on OT to cover nearly all grades. It's always happened and it always will.

 

[Falcon1200]

It's not just ScotRail, every single TOC relies on OT to cover nearly all grades. It's always happened and it always will.

Disruption this week not just on the railway, McGills buses in the West of Scotland were a shambles on Monday! But at least the railway (usually) tells you when a service is cancelled.....

 

[sheeldz]

Announcements at Central tonight specifically state that it is a lack of train crew staff.

 

[scotraildriver]

The pay deal is supposed to be agreed by April 1st each year. It's now July and the government are just mucking about and not making any meaningful offers. Some people are fed up with this nonsense every year and not working their days off, combined with school holidays and people spending time with their kids. The usual story, hire enough staff this won't happen. But overtime is way cheaper.

 

[AlistairCowell]

It's not just ScotRail, every single TOC relies on OT to cover nearly all grades. It's always happened and it always will.

It’s National Rail’s problem, this was all John Majors mistake from 1994 and all of UK’s railways are still suffering today.

 

[hexagon789]

It’s National Rail’s problem, this was all John Majors mistake from 1994 and all of UK’s railways are still suffering today.

BR cancelled services due to staff shortages often enough. Read old issues of Modern Railways or RAIL from the period and exactly the same issues existed then as now.

 

[Peter0124]

This is the tip of the iceberg. Only going to get far worse.

How so?

 

[numtot12345]

Yes, several AM cancellations at mount Florida this week which has been frustration. Signs state it is due to shortage of train crew.

Genuine (and probably naive) question - why do we have a rail system which is reliant on people working overtime to meet the timetabled service?

 

[northscots]

Yes, several AM cancellations at mount Florida this week which has been frustration. Signs state it is due to shortage of train crew.

Genuine (and probably naive) question - why do we have a rail system which is reliant on people working overtime to meet the timetabled service?

Money. It's cheaper to pay overtime than the training costs and salary of a trainee driver.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Personally, I'd rather they (The TOC, the DfT, whoever) permanently cancelled services until sufficient staff were employed. If that is too expensive, then just permanently cancel services.

 

[Peter0124]

Personally, I'd rather they (The TOC, the DfT, whoever) permanently cancelled services until sufficient staff were employed. If that is too expensive, then just permanently cancel services.

I disagree, hopefully these temporary cancellations will pass as we get into August when the schools are back on

 

[Scotrail84]

Personally, I'd rather they (The TOC, the DfT, whoever) permanently cancelled services until sufficient staff were employed. If that is too expensive, then just permanently cancel services.

Utter lunacy.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Utter lunacy.

Whereas advertising services that are likely to be cancelled at short notice isn't?

 

[Carntyne]

Management will no doubt introduce another emergency timetable soon. Can't remember the percentage last time around, but it all could be solved with a decent pay offer from the Scottish Government!

 

[Bill57p9]

Management will no doubt introduce another emergency timetable soon. Can't remember the percentage last time around, but it all could be solved with a decent pay offer from the Scottish Government!

To be fair, is that not how the free market is supposed to work?
If the something is in short supply - in this case labour during holiday season - then it can command a higher price. This higher price will both dampen demand and likely increase supply.
In this case, offer a bit more OT pay and hey presto you will have a few more volunteers.

This is why in many places overtime rates for Sundays and Bank Holidays are higher than weekdays.

 

[Scotrail84]

To be fair, is that not how the free market is supposed to work?
If the something is in short supply - in this case labour during holiday season - then it can command a higher price. This higher price will both dampen demand and likely increase supply.
In this case, offer a bit more OT pay and hey presto you will have a few more volunteers.

This is why in many places overtime rates for Sundays and Bank Holidays are higher than weekdays.

The rate of pay for OT can't be increased just to cover services during the holiday season. This has to be discussed and included in the annual/bi annual pay talks.

Also working too much OT means taking a hammering with tax too, working 8 rest days a month is pointless as you end up working for pennies after tax.

 

[eoff]

The rate of pay for OT can't be increased just to cover services during the holiday season. This has to be discussed and included in the annual/bi annual pay talks.

Also working too much OT means taking a hammering with tax too, working 8 rest days a month is pointless as you end up working for pennies after tax.

Better not ask for a pay rise then as you will pay more tax.

Train crew shortages playing a big part as well as fleet availability too. I think theres a lot of units out of traffic just now for various faults, particularly the diesel fleet has taken pounding recently.

When I first noticed the cancellations I think for all the trains I checked the reason for cancellation was lack of train crew.

 

[Morayshire]

"Train crew member being ill" is also quite common.

 

[Carntyne]

Tomorrow's timetable is decimated in the central belt.

 

[InkyScrolls]

Tomorrow's timetable is decimated in the central belt.

One in ten are cancelled? Not ideal.

 

[najaB]

Also working too much OT means taking a hammering with tax too, working 8 rest days a month is pointless as you end up working for pennies after tax.

Explain how, with our progressive tax system, someone can end up worse off for working extra hours?

 

[Scotrail84]

Explain how, with our progressive tax system, someone can end up worse off for working extra hours?

Not worse off but if you're working 8 rest days a month you end up working for about £50 a day if you do that. Its barely worth it

 

[Bill57p9]

Not worse off but if you're working 8 rest days a month you end up working for about £50 a day if you do that. Its barely worth it

I take it that's £50 net.

So the reward on the table is insufficient to encourage that level of overtime. Going back to my "free market" comment, if the employer has a problem they are sufficiently motivated to solve, then they will need to increase the incentive in some way.
I am sceptical that the employer here is sufficiently motivated though.

The rate of pay for OT can't be increased just to cover services during the holiday season. This has to be discussed and included in the annual/bi annual pay talks.

Why not? This kind of "problem to solve" is exactly what negotiations are made of. You can dress it up as anything you want, but it comes down to making a deal attractive for both parties.