Scotrail

[blanco]

5 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

And you get paid pretty well as it is, no point in blowing it for other sections. That was my attitude when negotiating wages on behalf of colleagues, best deal for us, let others fight their own battles.

I've only ever worked DOO services so naturally I disagree with the RMT saying what im doing is unsafe. If other drivers want to go into dispute over it then good luck to them but it's not a winnable battle IMO.

[HTG]

16 hours ago, Günther said:

I think the point that is being made here is that there are plenty of services in the Strathclyde area that don't have a 2nd member of staff on the train. Gourock, Weymnes Bay etc don't have have often enough. Granted those are electric trains but surely a diesel unit can't be any different??

on the Glasgow to Edinburgh via FK High, the Inverness and Aberdeen journeys then aye, makes sense for a 2nd member of staff. But the likes of Dunblane to Glasgow and Edinburgh and the Fife circles surely don't need one. 

A number of those trains on the routes you mention are crammed to f**k in the morning and evening. They definitely need a second person on them to assure safety. Outside peak hours then fair enough. 

[flyingscot]

To be honest it's rare to get on an electric train in Glasgow and not get a ticket check, so there is usually 2 people on board. It does happen on occasions though.

12 hours ago, blanco said:

I've only ever worked DOO services so naturally I disagree with the RMT saying what im doing is unsafe. If other drivers want to go into dispute over it then good luck to them but it's not a winnable battle IMO.

I agree. When you look at the numbers of passengers involved travelling on DOO services it doesn't add up. I'd feel for any DOO driver who doesn't follow the book at the moment- ASLEF better have some balls. 

[Tommy Nooka]

19 hours ago, vikingTON said:

'Public feedback' at your ludicrous, twenty person 'pickets' at Glasgow Central and Queen Street? Non-existent, any time I've strolled past. I think your online claim will be taken with the shovel of salt it merits. 

Erm I have done, on many occasions. The last train on the Inverclyde lines is de facto without a ticket conductor and without an alcohol ban every night. Whether they're sitting in their cabin or have swanned off to the pub doesn't make a difference. And absolutely no-one has ever needed them to come out and open the doors. If there was an incident on board, the last person who would - or should - be getting involved is a ticket conductor. That is a matter for the BTP. 

This sums up the idiocy of a union like the RMT. A train guard role is an utterly redundant position on a 21st century rail service - but it existed before, so let's strike to keep it in place. Yes: because that guarantees the best service for the passenger on what is in fact a public service, not a jobs for the boys cartel. Throw in an utterly bullshit scare story about 'passenger safety' and a ridiculous strike is good to go.

There is no credible threat to clippy positions because the vast majority of train stations do not have ticket barriers and couldn't feasibly put them in place. On the Inverclyde lines there is precisely two barriered stations out of twenty-two stations. Which means that if a rail company were stupid enough to get rid of clippies in the near future, they would instantly lose huge amounts of their revenue. So that's not going to happen. 

If at some distant point in the future a train company manages to raise revenue from passengers without needing a clippy on board, then their role is obsolete and they shouldn't be employed in that role. Tough luck: we don't have clippies on buses any more either. The economy moves on, as should any public service. 

Not at all - but it's pretty obvious that removing a completely redundant layer of employees from a public service will reduce the pressure to raise fares beyond the standard escalator: or for the savings to be used, in part, to provide a better service and facilities for the passengers. Handing it over to some berk in a uniform achieves absolutely nothing for the passenger. 

When they did away with conductors on buses did they get miraculously better? Did they get cheaper?

What utter shite, trains and buses are a business now, cutting costs means bigger profits not more investment. It costs more for the bus to the City centre than it does for the train where I am, train is quicker, cleaner and cheaper.

But I'm sure the Dutch state owned company Abellio will invest any savings they make in keeping fares down and improving the service for the Scottish public.

On the contrary my experience of Abellio so far is more cancellations and delays.

[vikingTON]

10 hours ago, Tommy Nooka said:

When they did away with conductors on buses did they get miraculously better? Did they get cheaper?

Would they be more expensive if each bus still had two full-time employees on it, one of which was taking a wage for contributing absolutely nothing? Absolutely. This is very basic stuff; can't say I'm surprised that you're struggling with it though. 

Quote

What utter shite, trains and buses are a business now, cutting costs means bigger profits not more investment.

The two go hand in hand. A private franchise operator is obviously interested in making a decent profit. It is also interested in investing in the service to provide better facilities. By removing pointless costs like a train guard to open and close the door - a task that perfectly functional human beings do every single day on electric trains - they can achieve both outcomes at the same time.

Oh and trains and buses were originally businesses, and remained businesses even when they were nationalised - except that the taxpayer picked up the tab for any losses. The modern system is by no means the most efficient way of running them, but that isn't what the RMT are striking about. They're striking because a company wishes to remove an obsolete layer of employees from the service and they are entirely wrong to do so. It's that simple. 

Quote

 

But I'm sure the Dutch state owned company Abellio will invest any savings they make in keeping fares down and improving the service for the Scottish public.

On the contrary my experience of Abellio so far is more cancellations and delays.

 

Can't remember the last time that a train was delayed or cancelled on the Inverclyde line and just took advantage of their new advance ticketing structure to secure £12 returns for our trip to Dundee in September. Not that your whining has anything at all to do with the RMt's ridiculous strike, so back in your box you go. 

[welshbairn]

The thing I don't understand in this great new world of private enterprise efficiency is why Abellio had to employ 15 new staff to stare at the new very expensive ticket barriers at Inverness in case they didn't work, which is all the time. Before you had 2 or 3 staff checking tickets on the platform, along with ticket inspectors on the train. I can only think it's the early experimental stages of sacking all Railway employees, including drivers. They'll probably ship the carriages to the third world to get cleaned. And the smart card still isn't working, despite all the terminals.

Edited July 28, 2016 by welshbairn

[placidcasual]

Was an absolute shambles again at and around Glasgow Central this morning. On the odd occasion I get the train to work this seems to be pretty much par for the course these days. Given that the shite service has overlapped from First to Abellio one can only surmise that Scotrail is staffed by incompetent morons for the most part.

[GordieBoy80]

More strikes announced

http://www.forth1.com/localnews/rail-strikes-announced-for-opening-weeks-of-edinburgh-fringe/

Get back to work you lazy c***s.

[blanco]

26 minutes ago, placidcasual345 said:

Was an absolute shambles again at and around Glasgow Central this morning. On the odd occasion I get the train to work this seems to be pretty much par for the course these days. Given that the shite service has overlapped from First to Abellio one can only surmise that Scotrail is staffed by incompetent morons for the most part.

Those morons don't have anything to do with overhead wire problems though. Your ire should be directed towards the morons employed by network rail in this instance.

[invergowrie arab]

time to send in the troops

[vikingTON]

Quote

the staff are fighting for the basic principles of rail safety.

 

[Bobby Skidmarks]

Your ire should be directed towards the morons employed by network rail in this instance.

My bad.

[blanco]

1 minute ago, Bobby Skidmarks said:

 

My bad.
 

 

Did you forget which account you were logged into there? 

[Bobby Skidmarks]

Did you forget which account you were logged into there? 

I thought it might have been obvious, maybe not.

As you were.

[BallochSonsFan]

I see that there are strikes planned around the weekend of the 13th/14th.

Any noises about continuing to Monday Aug 15th? I need to be in Dundee for 9:45 that day which means leaving Dumbarton around 6:30. Need to know if I can travel on the day or if work need to book me a hotel. Bus on the Monday morning won't cut it so its train on the day or bus/hotel on the Sunday

[ajwffc]

Those morons don't have anything to do with overhead wire problems though. Your ire should be directed towards the morons employed by network rail in this instance.

It might of been a Scotrail unit that brought the wires down

[19QOS19]

I see that there are strikes planned around the weekend of the 13th/14th.

Any noises about continuing to Monday Aug 15th? I need to be in Dundee for 9:45 that day which means leaving Dumbarton around 6:30. Need to know if I can travel on the day or if work need to book me a hotel. Bus on the Monday morning won't cut it so its train on the day or bus/hotel on the Sunday

Honestly couldn't say but I'd be surprised if they announced Monday as a strike date if they haven't already done it.

With any luck in the very close future, those 3 dates won't be going ahead anyway...

[blanco]

28 minutes ago, ajwffc said:

It might of been a Scotrail unit that brought the wires down

Might not HAVE been, it could have been a virgin, cross country or transpennine service if it even was a train that affected them in the first place.

[blanco]

28 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

 

 

Honestly couldn't say but I'd be surprised if they announced Monday as a strike date if they haven't already done it.

With any luck in the very close future, those 3 dates won't be going ahead anyway...

 

 

You guys must be taking some hit in your wages because of this. 

[ajwffc]

Might not HAVE been, it could have been a virgin, cross country or transpennine service if it even was a train that affected them in the first place.

There was a Scotrail train with It's pantograph wrapped round the wires in central. So it was either a fault with the wires or the trains pantograph.