[Albion] Train Drivers Strike - Luton (a)

[theboybilly]

Train drivers are on huge money. . It must be harder to drive a bus , You don’t steer a train !

I'll bite. How long does it take to pass out as, a bus/coach driver? It can take up to 2 years to qualify as a Train Driver (depending on depot, route & traction knowledge) and the stuff a Train Driver has to carry with him isn't just an ignition key. Do bus and coach drivers fix their vehicles or call out for assistance? A Train Driver has to assess whether he can fix a fault before declaring the train a failure (or if he thinks he can does he have to have lines blocked so that he can work on the outside of the train) otherwise the backlog of trains gets worse and worse causing £££££ in delays and that can be on HIS/HER decision. There's hell to pay if the driver does so and it's found to be a fix well within his capability . All this, on his own say at 7.30am on a packed commuter train. There's no railway AA or RAC to come out quickly. I know, I've had it and had to go through the rigmarole of having to detrain passengers at Selhurst knowing that I am the last direct rush-hour morning service from the Coast to The City after leaving East Croydon. I made the announcement to get off - nobody did. Not one person. So I then had the horrible task of going back and facing up each of 8 carriages-full of angry passengers. It ain't fun. Overpaid? Never in a million years - the qualifying exam pass rate shows this. And having just 2 goes at passing out fully doesn't guarantee a job at the end.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

I'll bite. How long does it take to pass out as, a bus/coach driver? It can take up to 2 years to qualify as a Train Driver (depending on depot, route & traction knowledge) and the stuff a Train Driver has to carry with him isn't just an ignition key. Do bus and coach drivers fix their vehicles or call out for assistance? A Train Driver has to assess whether he can fix a fault before declaring the train a failure (or if he thinks he can does he have to have lines blocked so that he can work on the outside of the train) otherwise the backlog of trains gets worse and worse causing £££££ in delays and that can be on HIS/HER decision. There's hell to pay if the driver does so and it's found to be a fix well within his capability . All this, on his own say at 7.30am on a packed commuter train. There's no railway AA or RAC to come out quickly. I know, I've had it and had to go through the rigmarole of having to detrain passengers at Selhurst knowing that I am the last direct rush-hour morning service from the Coast to The City after leaving East Croydon. I made the announcement to get off - nobody did. Not one person. So I then had the horrible task of going back and facing up each of 8 carriages-full of angry passengers. It ain't fun. Overpaid? Never in a million years - the qualifying exam pass rate shows this. And having just 2 goes at passing out fully doesn't guarantee a job at the end.

No need to justify yourself.
Train drivers are well paid.
The fact so many other industries aren't isn't your problem.

One of the main reasons for that is they have a strong union who protect their workers terms and conditions.
And yet the common refrain, is "why are you striking, you earn a fortune?"

There is something deeply wrong with our society, where we feel it's appropriate to decry people who receive a decent salary.

 

[S.T.U cgull]

The last train to London was around 8:40pm, I can tell you this as a FACT. Trains didn’t stop at Hassocks, that problem will be rectified if the same timetable runs again.

Curiosity standpoint only.. why was, potentially is, that the case that trains stop much earlier for Hassocks/Burgess Hill than Haywards Heath? I imagine if it is thameslink there is no requirement for there to be staff at platform - so other than low passenger demand (which I think is unlikely) i’m a bit stuck for a reason. Same scenario with trains on boxing day where no trains all day from Hsk/Bh

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'll bite. How long does it take to pass out as, a bus/coach driver? It can take up to 2 years to qualify as a Train Driver (depending on depot, route & traction knowledge) and the stuff a Train Driver has to carry with him isn't just an ignition key. Do bus and coach drivers fix their vehicles or call out for assistance? A Train Driver has to assess whether he can fix a fault before declaring the train a failure (or if he thinks he can does he have to have lines blocked so that he can work on the outside of the train) otherwise the backlog of trains gets worse and worse causing £££££ in delays and that can be on HIS/HER decision. There's hell to pay if the driver does so and it's found to be a fix well within his capability . All this, on his own say at 7.30am on a packed commuter train. There's no railway AA or RAC to come out quickly. I know, I've had it and had to go through the rigmarole of having to detrain passengers at Selhurst knowing that I am the last direct rush-hour morning service from the Coast to The City after leaving East Croydon. I made the announcement to get off - nobody did. Not one person. So I then had the horrible task of going back and facing up each of 8 carriages-full of angry passengers. It ain't fun. Overpaid? Never in a million years - the qualifying exam pass rate shows this. And having just 2 goes at passing out fully doesn't guarantee a job at the end.

I’m glad you did bite; this is an interesting and informative post. Whilst I have never had an issue with train driver’s salaries, or the means they use to obtain a decent and livable salary, I must admit I didn’t know how truly demanding the position is.

 

[jackalbion]

Curiosity standpoint only.. why was, potentially is, that the case that trains stop much earlier for Hassocks/Burgess Hill than Haywards Heath? I imagine if it is thameslink there is no requirement for there to be staff at platform - so other than low passenger demand (which I think is unlikely) i’m a bit stuck for a reason. Same scenario with trains on boxing day where no trains all day from Hsk/Bh

It’s a lag from the RMT strike, when you couldn’t open those stations due to lack of staff.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

Sack 'em all if they don't want to work. They'll have honest people queuing up for their easy money, sit on your arse jobs. The worst thing they have to deal with is hosing the occasional jumper off the front of their carriage

Whatever you think of the strike situation, you didn’t need to write that last sentence. Have a think and a step back in future please before you post things like that.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Sack 'em all if they don't want to work. They'll have honest people queuing up for their easy money, sit on your arse jobs. The worst thing they have to deal with is hosing the occasional jumper off the front of their carriage

 

[jackalbion]

18 months is your Pal pulling your leg? Good job there are no roundabouts and 3 point turns to be trained on or might take a lifetime to learn how to press a stop/start all button.

I mean a previous post by @theboybilly has explained how difficult it is, why don't you just stop chatting a load of wham, and learn some respect. You manage to come across as incredibly self centred, would probably learn a thing or two from learning from and listening to other people. This strike has pissed me off but there's no need to disrespect others. I would love to know what profession you do.

 

[essbee1]

My Dad was on the railway for 25 years (firing steam trains, station manager roles etc). He was always advised to get a job
as far away from the travelling public as possible. He obviously took that with a pinch of salt, but some of the abuse that
rail and underground (London) staff get these days is quite upsetting.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

My Dad was on the railway for 25 years (firing steam trains, station manager roles etc). He was always advised to get a job
as far away from the travelling public as possible. He obviously took that with a pinch of salt, but some of the abuse that
rail and underground (London) staff get these days is quite upsetting.

To be fair, the abuse many public facing employees get is upsetting. I have posted before about the crap EasyJet cabin crew endure and the abuse the undertrained youngsters get at the AMEX.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

18 months is your Pal pulling your leg? Good job there are no roundabouts and 3 point turns to be trained on or might take a lifetime to learn how to press a stop/start all button.

As has already been asked, what do you do for a profession then?

 

[Guinness Boy]

Its hard to imagine the Palace game going ahead 3pm on a Saturday. When wss the last time we played them then? It will be a pain in the backside if there are no trains.

No, no it's not. The game is locked in at 3pm Saturday. The only train action that day is an overtime ban and some form of service will happen between Brighton and Falmer.

The away game last season was a 3pm Saturday, they are not unprecedented and planning for them will start the second the TV games are chosen and the fixture remains at its default time and date. There are almost no physical confrontations at all these days. Up there we tend to get an escort to and from Norwood Junction, down here their ultras hide in Spoons on West St or somewhere miles out of the way like Polegate. After the game they're kept in and a one way system imposed. If it wasn't for the poor stewarding of the one way sometimes leading to the risk of crushing, then it would be one of the safest games in the calendar. Train overtime bans won't change any of that.

It's particularly interesting that you and @mile oak seem to have a very similar posting style and identical views and have been giving each other a thumbs up. I wonder what would happen if I did an IP check?

*checks*

Oh. Interesting...........

 

[de la zouch]

We have the highest ratio of railway staff to passengers of any country in Western Europe. Travelled in Switzerland recently by train didn’t see a staff member, hence cheaper trains. On my morning commute today as I went through the automated barrier c6 staff chatting away.
I think the drivers are paid about the right amount btw

 

[London Irish]

I'll bite. How long does it take to pass out as, a bus/coach driver? It can take up to 2 years to qualify as a Train Driver (depending on depot, route & traction knowledge) and the stuff a Train Driver has to carry with him isn't just an ignition key. Do bus and coach drivers fix their vehicles or call out for assistance? A Train Driver has to assess whether he can fix a fault before declaring the train a failure (or if he thinks he can does he have to have lines blocked so that he can work on the outside of the train) otherwise the backlog of trains gets worse and worse causing £££££ in delays and that can be on HIS/HER decision. There's hell to pay if the driver does so and it's found to be a fix well within his capability . All this, on his own say at 7.30am on a packed commuter train. There's no railway AA or RAC to come out quickly. I know, I've had it and had to go through the rigmarole of having to detrain passengers at Selhurst knowing that I am the last direct rush-hour morning service from the Coast to The City after leaving East Croydon. I made the announcement to get off - nobody did. Not one person. So I then had the horrible task of going back and facing up each of 8 carriages-full of angry passengers. It ain't fun. Overpaid? Never in a million years - the qualifying exam pass rate shows this. And having just 2 goes at passing out fully doesn't guarantee a job at the end.

Also it's well known the Tory press constantly lie about train driver rates of pay yet still people are dumb enough to swallow it. The figures invariably bandied around are all ones with massive overtime payments - without overtime the network would grind to a halt because management are too incompetent to train and then hire enough train drivers we need

 

[London Irish]

Sack 'em all if they don't want to work. They'll have honest people queuing up for their easy money, sit on your arse jobs. The worst thing they have to deal with is hosing the occasional jumper off the front of their carriage

Calm down Mussolini, have a day off

 

[Springal]

Also it's well known the Tory press constantly lie about train driver rates of pay yet still people are dumb enough to swallow it. The figures invariably bandied around are all ones with massive overtime payments - without overtime the network would grind to a halt because management are too incompetent to train and then hire enough train drivers we need

Is that what train drivers want - to lose their overtime opportunity ?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Also it's well known the Tory press constantly lie about train driver rates of pay yet still people are dumb enough to swallow it. The figures invariably bandied around are all ones with massive overtime payments - without overtime the network would grind to a halt because management are too incompetent to train and then hire enough train drivers we need

Check the graph halfway down.

Train strikes: Here's how much train drivers are paid around Europe

Train strikes over pay disputes are common. But what are train drivers actually paid?

www.euronews.com

,

 

[jackalbion]

Is that what train drivers want - to lose their overtime opportunity ?

No because there isn't enough to cover basic service, they need to recruit more, the government won't allow it, I can tell you that from experience.

 

[Springal]

No because there isn't enough to cover basic service, they need to recruit more, the government won't allow it, I can tell you that from experience.

But if there were enough - would the current ones be happy about a pay cut with no overtime ?

 

[jackalbion]

But if there were enough - would the current ones be happy about a pay cut with no overtime ?

There would still be overtime opportunity, its at a point now, where basic service cannot be covered by even volunteer overtime, take a look at Thameslink over Christmas as an example. Some operators are in better positions than others