Transpennine woes and a moan...

[GB71]

Pre-Covid I was one of the regulars on TPE South - buying 3 1st class returns a week - the service was to be honest poor back then - often short formed and eastbound always late because of poor performance with the Northern stopper through the Hope Valley. Today for the first time in nearly 3 years I decided to give it a go again. TPE did not run a train from Sheffield until after 8am - I ended up driving over Woodhead. I used to fear how bad the Woodhead pass would be and that's what kept me on TPE for the best part of 5 years pre-Covid. Now there has seriously been 2 times where TPE would have been quicker for me door to door in loads of journeys than driving Woodhead - on average I save 15 minutes each way a day and it's cheaper (albeit I acknowledge I travelled first class), it's quicker and I can leave when I want and don't have the daily lottery of TPE.

I feel so much for TPE staff - they really almost to a person were lovely and regulars got to know the catering and conductors. It is such a shame to see people who were dedicated being left with this shambolic chaos that it has become.

 

[Dannys]

Shocking service this morning on the south.

Scunthorpe departures westbound:
0547 cancelled
0708 running
0811 cancelled
0908 running
1108 cancelled
1208 cancelled
1308 cancelled
1508 cancelled
1608 running
1708 cancelled
1808 running
1908 running
2008 running
2108 running
2208 running

 

[VauxhallNova]

So there now aren't ANY traincrew?

 

[Killingworth]

Pre-Covid I was one of the regulars on TPE South - buying 3 1st class returns a week - the service was to be honest poor back then - often short formed and eastbound always late because of poor performance with the Northern stopper through the Hope Valley. Today for the first time in nearly 3 years I decided to give it a go again. TPE did not run a train from Sheffield until after 8am - I ended up driving over Woodhead. I used to fear how bad the Woodhead pass would be and that's what kept me on TPE for the best part of 5 years pre-Covid. Now there has seriously been 2 times where TPE would have been quicker for me door to door in loads of journeys than driving Woodhead - on average I save 15 minutes each way a day and it's cheaper (albeit I acknowledge I travelled first class), it's quicker and I can leave when I want and don't have the daily lottery of TPE.

I feel so much for TPE staff - they really almost to a person were lovely and regulars got to know the catering and conductors. It is such a shame to see people who were dedicated being left with this shambolic chaos that it has become.

Yesterday services wrre also dire between Sheffield and Manchester. Added to TPE absences two successive Northern stoppers were also cancelled leaving EMR trains to provide the only services for a long period.

It seems TPE may sometimes suggest they've been delayed by the stopper. Westbound the boot is more often on the other foot, held at or just out of, Sheffield to wait for a delayed TPE service. Eastbound the stopper may have been delayed to allow a late running EMR train to proceed from Chinley, or by a freight service halted at Dore West Junction for a path onto the Midland Mainline north or south.

Currently many former TPE users are planning to use the Northern services that take longer but are more reliable, and cheaper.

That's not how it should be although good that there is an alternative. TPE had a torrid period in 2019. Very briefly they seemed to have got it right in late February and March 2020 before we hit Covid.

GB71 is absolutely right and every single former user will agree with the sentiments. In 2019 a first class user might have to sit on the floor to use their laptop. Today it's very likely they'd have the 1st clas compartment to themselves, but a very high chance the train wouldn't turn up at all. It doesn't take a genius to spot the connection!

 

[TUC]

When most of the rest of life is back to normal, it is hard to view high levels of sickness amongst rail staff with any credibilty.

 

[LowLevel]

When most of the rest of life is back to normal, it is hard to view high levels of sickness amongst rail staff with any credibilty.

Is it? Front line staff spend all day long mingling with hundreds or thousands of other individuals, particularly train crew in enclosed environments. At one point yesterday I had 167 passengers in my 46 metre long train. Anti social shifts do nothing for your immune system either. Current poor industrial relations and other issues take a toll on your mental health to boot.

I catch every cold bug going, despite taking multi vitamins and trying my best to get a decent amount of sleep. The other week in short turnover time I got home from work after 1am on Sunday morning and started work at 0356 on Monday morning. My mental health is best described as patchy at present and some days I can't just can't shake the low mood.

I've been on the brink of knocking sick on the grounds I can't face the day several times this year, and that's without having a bad chest and head.

I love my job but it would be foolish to say that an early/late rotating cycle of shifts changing every week whilst being stuck in an enclosed environment with many other people is conducive to rude good health.

 

[TUC]

Is it? Front line staff spend all day long mingling with hundreds or thousands of other individuals, particularly train crew in enclosed environments. At one point yesterday I had 167 passengers in my 46 metre long train. Anti social shifts do nothing for your immune system either. Current poor industrial relations and other issues take a toll on your mental health to boot.

You mean rather like supermarket staff do every day and turn up for work?

 

[nr758123]

When most of the rest of life is back to normal, it is hard to view high levels of sickness amongst rail staff with any credibilty.

Is it? Front line staff spend all day long mingling with hundreds or thousands of other individuals, particularly train crew in enclosed environments.

Are TPEs staff sickness levels consistently higher than for other TOCs? If so, why?

 

[LowLevel]

You mean rather like supermarket staff do every day and turn up for work?

Most railway staff also turn up for work. You notice the impact on the railway more because if the crew or a signaller aren't available, a train or trains get cancelled. I've just been to a supermarket and had to queue for a checkout. The staff were talking about being short and struggling to get their breaks in. It's life.

When things fall to bits the motivation to push on through diminishes. I say that as someone who hardly ever knocks sick and who made themselves seriously unwell "just pushing through it" requiring surgery to correct the result recently.

Are TPEs staff sickness levels consistently higher than for other TOCs? If so, why?

Because working there is nonsense I imagine. You don't know whether you'll get home at the end of your shift. You'll deal with angry people whose lives are being affected all day. There's no end in sight. If you feel a bit under the weather why would you want to go to work to be exposed to all that every day?

 

[Frankfurt]

Are TPEs staff sickness levels consistently higher than for other TOCs? If so, why?

I very much suspect it isn't higher than others. Even if it's slightly higher than usual it shouldn't mean that the service is decimated like it is currently. Would be nice to hear an official statement from the man in charge, the silence from the top is deafening.

 

[DanNCL]

I think @gimmea50anyday has pretty much summed up what’s happening. The staff are in the most part there but they’re not being utilised for whatever reason.

 

[mike57]

I actually feel sorry for TPE front line staff. You cannot work in 'crisis mode' permanently, and dealing with the inevitable fallout from passengers who are unable to complete their journey in a timely manner must take its toll. This will lead to ever higher absence as some find it too much and are not fit for work. To my mind TPE senior managers are not only failing their customers, but also their workforce.

 

[londonmidland]

TPE cancellations are increasingly affecting East Midlands Railway services between Sheffield and Manchester.

A 4 car 158 is often left full and standing leaving Sheffield bound for Manchester, both on weekdays and at weekends.

 

[Killingworth]

When most of the rest of life is back to normal, it is hard to view high levels of sickness amongst rail staff with any credibilty.

I know the trains LowLevel works. They're nothing like a supermarket for intense pressure and contact. There are days when users spill out onto platforms to allow others out, then try to get back in. He's not TPE but currently he and his colleagues working the Manchester-Sheffield route are probably more stressed than their TPE colleagues - and the average passenger.

It is one disastrous day after another. 2 coach EMR trains trying to cover for their own load plus what should have been aboard a 6 coach TPE service supposedly running half an hour ahead. Today 3 consecutive TPE services missing before the 8.08 ran.

Comparison of sickness levels across operators, routes and time periods will be interesting but low morale must be having an effect. It's a factor too often neglected.

 

[SuperNova]

I actually feel sorry for TPE front line staff. You cannot work in 'crisis mode' permanently, and dealing with the inevitable fallout from passengers who are unable to complete their journey in a timely manner must take its toll. This will lead to ever higher absence as some find it too much and are not fit for work. To my mind TPE senior managers are not only failing their customers, but also their workforce.

But seriously, what do the senior managers do? This is a legacy of Goodwin's mis-management.

Without rest day working agreements, nothing changes. It doesn't matter who is in charge.

 

[VauxhallNova]

In what sense are Leo's policies still an issue? Any thoughts on the current directors?

 

[_toommm_]

Just four departures today from Cleethorpes to Manchester. It’s not as if it’s some backwater branch line. It’s laughable really.

 

[td97]

Without rest day working agreements, nothing changes. It doesn't matter who is in charge.

What will change with a rest day working agreement? Avanti have one in place and look at where they are.
Are guards and drivers who are presently in dispute with their employer really going to volunteer to work a rest day, and in numbers high enough to cause a substantial increase in reliability?

 

[NorthOxonian]

Just four departures today from Cleethorpes to Manchester. It’s not as if it’s some backwater branch line. It’s laughable really.

Likewise, only four departures from Newcastle to Liverpool. And that's including the 0426 which is unlikely to be useful for most passengers. A fifth transpennine train ran as far as York but was cancelled west of there.

Obviously the situation for Newcastle isn't quite as bad as Cleethorpes because there are other trains to York and then a more regular hourly service west, but it's still pretty shoddy.

 

[trainophile]

Nothing Liverpool to Newcastle today between 0854 and 1554, I wouldn't want to be on that 1554 with six train loads on it.

Last two tonight, 1954 and 2108 also cancelled. Why on earth would anyone even consider booking on this route currently?

 

[LowLevel]

It's got to point where EMR's 2 car 170s are leaving Grimsby heaving with people trying to escape west and changing at Nottingham.

 

[SuperNova]

What will change with a rest day working agreement? Avanti have one in place and look at where they are.
Are guards and drivers who are presently in dispute with their employer really going to volunteer to work a rest day, and in numbers high enough to cause a substantial increase in reliability?

Services would be more reliable with the timetable in its current form. And the training backlog that exists could start to be worked through. The DfT could sign RDW off tomorrow. It's the key to bring reliability back. I'd suggest a few people I know would jump at RDW given rising cost of living and Xmas on the horizon... but it is a fair point - there are equally those who have no drive to do so. However, it's the first unblocker to resolve the current crisis. DfT won't though - as it costs money and thanks to Loony Liz and Kami Kwasi that's at a premium!

In what sense are Leo's policies still an issue? Any thoughts on the current directors?

The decisions, as has been mentioned on here before, about 3/4 drivers/conductors working one service are a key driver to cancellations currently. Only takes one driver to be missing for that service to be cancelled. Throw in lack of traction/route knowledge in some depots for covering services and you lose resilience. That issue will take years to resolve.

Current directors? Golton talks a good game but from what I've seen/heard isn't being forward enough about the current situation. Whether that's anything to do with the NRC and not being allowed to slag off the DfT... who knows. But I hope they get some stark realisation at how bad it all is, as we've been asked to fill in some check in survey and nothing positive from me.

 

[VauxhallNova]

The decisions, as has been mentioned on here before, about 3/4 drivers/conductors working one service are a key driver to cancellations currently. Only takes one driver to be missing for that service to be cancelled. Throw in lack of traction/route knowledge in some depots for covering services and you lose resilience. That issue will take years to resolve.

Very interesting, thankyou. Sounds like a total nightmare.

I think forum members previously said that approach was designed around "efficiencies" / cost cutting. Do you know when it first began being implemented i.e. which timetable change?

It seems from what you've suggested that the solution comes in two sections. Firstly, agreeing rest days to ease the shortage of traincrew. Secondly, undoing the Leo & FirstGroup approach of 3/4 traincrew per train, which may take a lot longer.

 

[Redmike]

With so many trains cancelled I'm surprised to see so many of the remaining services being short-formed. When will someone take responsibility for the mess at TPE?

 

[Peterthegreat]

TPE already showing 60 cancellations for tomorrow.

 

[londonmidland]

78 current train cancellations and TPE are reporting a 'Good service' on their Journey Check..

 

[Dannys]

Same appalling service from Scunthorpe tomorrow.

Westbound cancellations
0547 cancelled
0708 cancelled
0811 running
0908 cancelled
1108 cancelled
1208 cancelled
1308 cancelled
1508 cancelled
1608 cancelled
1708 cancelled
1808 running
1908 running
2008 running
2108 running
2208 cancelled

That means only 5 out of 16 services are running. It wouldn't be half as bad if the 5 were spread evenly through the day, but the trains that are running are probably the quietest ones of the day, as the line tends to be busier westbound in the morning, and eastbound in the evening. To make matters worse, its half-term week, usually a time where lots of "occasional" users might be planning days out. Id imagine any regular commuters would have given up on the service long ago!

 

[800001]

I think @gimmea50anyday has pretty much summed up what’s happening. The staff are in the most part there but they’re not being utilised for whatever reason.

I’ve heard many many reports of multiple drivers and guards sat in mess room, available to work, all well with in hours, yet control don’t utilise them and just cancel the train. It’s almost as if there being told not to run the train service.

 

[Facing Back]

The DfT could sign RDW off tomorrow.

My apologies for not going back to the beginning of this thread. "DfT could sign off RDW tomorrow"? Have the DfT banned the payment of overtime for rest day working?

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Today is looking better on north route at least, 04:25 ran and pretty much on time despite having to eject one passenger before the train left Newcastle for being verbally abusive at staff and the bi-directional working at Durham, the 05:40 ran, 06:40 is running, 07:43 however is cancelled as that set did not come off Doncaster so the 08:44 will not be running either (both sets run coupled from Doncaster IEP and are split at York to form the 06:18 and 07:10 departures from York to Newcastle respectively) 09:47 will be running, 10:46 isnt running but the 11:42 is.

so thats 2 out of 3 of the Edge Hill sets out, all three from heaton but neither of the doncaster sets in traffic. 5 out of 8 Compared to just 1 of the 8 (incorrectly counted 7) yesterday.