-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
what tocs have the best booking on/off times
- Thread starter rob12
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Cherry_Picker
Established Member
I'd say the question is best answered by depot rather than by TOC. Depots in Zone 1 of London will "win" too because I believe there is an old BR agreement which meant Zone 1 depots mostly had train crew book on/off at times when the tube was running. Some places might have sold that if they were foolish.
Minilad
Established Member
Birmingham XC M-F
Earliest start 0312 Latest Finish 0215 No night shifts
Although to be pedantic you would have to break it down link by link as not all links do all jobs.
Earliest start 0312 Latest Finish 0215 No night shifts
Although to be pedantic you would have to break it down link by link as not all links do all jobs.
Gtr blackfriars earliest is 0500 latest is around midnight but you tend to get away earlier on quite a few.
Cabs in for the earlies so up until about 530 they will get you a cab and anything around or after midnight.
We also have remote booking on locations so can book on at Cricklewood, Luton, Bedford, London bridge and brighton which is handy as quite a few of the early jobs start at Cricklewood so you get a taxi straight from home to there and gives you extra time in bed rather then having to sign on at blackfriars and then get a cab to Cricklewood anyway.
Cabs in for the earlies so up until about 530 they will get you a cab and anything around or after midnight.
We also have remote booking on locations so can book on at Cricklewood, Luton, Bedford, London bridge and brighton which is handy as quite a few of the early jobs start at Cricklewood so you get a taxi straight from home to there and gives you extra time in bed rather then having to sign on at blackfriars and then get a cab to Cricklewood anyway.
I'm in the East Coast link at freightliner Ipswich. Even though your asking about TOC's, we have many good sociable signing on times, better than commuter pax depots that only do earlies or lates.
Everyone assumes we only do nights, but I only have 24 days in 39 weeks and they are not that hard.
Also virtually no Saturday afternoons which means I can watch the X factor or The Voice every Saturday evening and drink myself to death as no work on Sundays.
Everyone assumes we only do nights, but I only have 24 days in 39 weeks and they are not that hard.
Also virtually no Saturday afternoons which means I can watch the X factor or The Voice every Saturday evening and drink myself to death as no work on Sundays.
Is this Intermodal? It's this very reason I fancy transferring some day. Just a couple more hours in bed...
Is this Intermodal? It's this very reason I fancy transferring some day. Just a couple more hours in bed...
Yes that's with Intermodal...It will differ from depot to depot, pending on work commitments at the depot. In my link we lodge at Tees port (Yarm) and Doncaster. These jobs are pretty good signing on times and mainly afternoons.
We have 4 links. The starter link where all the grads go into have a couple of 00:30 starts, but even though their times are rubbish, they are not long jobs. And if you go round the roster they don't come up that often.
The grads will then have to wait before they can move up into the 3 main rosters, which will be a long time at our place, but if your looking to come onto the Freight, Intermodal is the way to go.
Even though we are around 3k less than HH, I like to work around a normal roster and know what I'm doing like a pax depot. so Intermodal vs HH....100% intermodal
Intermodal also have better working conditions and time all my allowances go on, my basic maybe more than HH, but then I get about 3k lodge money.
plastictaffy
Member
Northampton - earliest book on is 0350 or 55 (one of the two, I can't remember exactly what time it books on), as a cover turn. Earliest running turn is 0356. Latest book off is - drum roll please, 0224. No nights at the depot, hence the late book off and early book-on.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Christ, someone on your LDC wants shooting for allowing that in. I'd rather do nights!!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Christ, someone on your LDC wants shooting for allowing that in. I'd rather do nights!!!
Not sure if they still have it bit Bedford used to have a 0230 start, believe it was a taxi to cricklewood on the top of the diagram so at least many would be able to TSO there and have a bit longer in bed!
craigybagel
Established Member
- Joined
- 25 Oct 2012
- Messages
- 5,089
We've got an 02:53 at our place for guards! Something similar for drivers too. Our latest finish isnt too bad though, 01:20. Drivers should have their latest finish after 0200 but 9 times out of 10 they'll finish an hour early on that job.
And yes, I'd rather do nights too. Luckily you can usually swap out of it, but it is one of our best turns for comission.
Last edited:
tsr
Established Member
Some Southern depots have ridiculously varying turns even for conductors - even in the same area, you can find one depot with an earliest start of 0333 and another at 0500 or thereabouts, and varying latest finishes from 2330 approx. right through to 0203 or so. And with the complexity of routes, you may also be required to work part of a night (eg. starting at 0127) because of traction & route knowledge on diversions.
It's still there! The infamous BF1 turn I believe. I think the latest book off at Bedford on lates (not explicitly a night shift) is around 03.30hrs from memory, though I don't work at that depot.
06:18 here is my earliest, latest sign off is 23:18.
I hate you !
Victoria (SE) have favorable booking times as its considered to be "non residential" No taxi agreements though.
For me there hasn't been a time of day where I haven't booked on or off in. 04 start and 01 finish is the standard base roster at our depot.
plastictaffy
Member
Crewe have something similar. Snip of a job, but a ridiculous book-on time. The Guard used to get a taxi to Rugby, while the empties left Crewe about 40 mins later. Now the empties come from NMP at 05something, and the Guard still gets the cab.
Yep our nice 03:01 book on. When the empties ran it used to be an 03:45 book on and travel pass on the empties, it never followed us down.
whoosh
Established Member
- Joined
- 3 Sep 2008
- Messages
- 1,383
Derby EMT had a couple start at 02:54, and the latest finish is about 03:12. Nights as well! The 'Connect Link' driving Sprinters have more sociable start and finish times than the Mainline Links, where trains have to be run empty between Etches Park depot at Derby and Sheffield, Nottingham, and Leicester to start their runs in service. Also trains have to run empty between Neville Hill depot and Leeds or Sheffield - complete with an hour and a half's taxi journey to/from Derby at silly o'clock for the driver at the start or end of their day.
Nottingham have an 03:30 book on or thereabouts, to run empty to Liverpool for the first departure from there to Norwich.
So, if you can find a traincrew depot without middle of the night empty stock moves to start the service off from miles away, you'll stand a better chance of more sociable hours!
Nottingham have an 03:30 book on or thereabouts, to run empty to Liverpool for the first departure from there to Norwich.
So, if you can find a traincrew depot without middle of the night empty stock moves to start the service off from miles away, you'll stand a better chance of more sociable hours!
plastictaffy
Member
My bad. I was sure the empties used to follow you at some point. Perhaps that was before we started.
craigybagel
Established Member
- Joined
- 25 Oct 2012
- Messages
- 5,089
Do you guys still finish once you're back in Crewe on that job? Seems mad that they still have you do it when NMP sign Crewe now, but then our 02:53 job also starts with an ECS trip to bring a train back in service from a station that has a depot (larger than ours I might add!) that signs the route.
Maybe could have happened in the past but since we started definitely not.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Yes we do Monday-Fri, its taxi to Rugby, 05:16 Rugby-Northampton, PNB, 06:35 Northampton-Crewe and done.
Saturday isn't so cushy though as it has the 09:02 to Milton Keynes, pass back tagged on since the new diagrams!
plastictaffy
Member
Only link one sign Crewe, and they don't start early enough for that job. I think their earliest start is 05something.
dk1
Veteran Member
Definitely not AGA Norwich. We have some awful early early shifts along with lates many very long. We do have nights though thankfully not in my link. Trouble is many want the 4-day week but this does come with many shifts around 9hrs.
craigybagel
Established Member
- Joined
- 25 Oct 2012
- Messages
- 5,089
That Saturday sounds pretty grim!
Yet another reason to be grateful we're all in one link at our place - we all share the rubbish!
plastictaffy
Member
There is/was a job at my old place where you did BLY-EUS as an express, then EUS-TRI-EUS-TRI-EUS PNB, then EUS-TRI-EUS-BLY to terminate. 1314-2222, BY766 diagram. I don't know what job it is now, but it was horrible. 6 hours on an 8 car 321.........
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Take the 4 day week!!!!!!! I get a long weekend every three weeks - in fact just coming off mine tomorrow morning. Yes, as you quite rightly said, you'll get longer shifts, and occasionally work 7 on the bounce, but you get sooooo much more time to yourself. sd0733 - agreed???
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Take the 4 day week!!!!!!! I get a long weekend every three weeks - in fact just coming off mine tomorrow morning. Yes, as you quite rightly said, you'll get longer shifts, and occasionally work 7 on the bounce, but you get sooooo much more time to yourself. sd0733 - agreed???
Not e most popular job at the depot, is a later start on a Sat though don't book on until 03:40, major lie in!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Definitely would take 4 longer shifts and shed loads of time off. As you say the long weekends are brilliant. Wouldn't want a 5-day week now.
dk1
Veteran Member
Yes mate, i basically have that now. Only around 5 in in a 26 week roster still have 5 days & get a long weekend every 3wks too. It is great when you pick up a 6hr shift off spare though. Turns have got longer & longer as have some of the PNBs. Just makes the day drag sometimes but hey-ho, cant have everything.
- Status