Train strikes

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Melian

Can people please reply to the consultation about ticket office closures - https://www.gwr.com/haveyoursay

This is really going to affect people like me who are disabled. But given what's happened to me this year in regards to assisted travel, I know I'm not welcome on GWRs services.
 
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epl000

This really makes me sad to read, public transport should be for everyone, and I really think that cutting costs has severely impacted vulnerable people the most.
 
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CrackingOwlSanctuary

It is disgusting, they are proposing stations like Workington close and have someone staffing it for 2 hours a day: anyone with mobility issues will need staff assistance to cross the platforms there as there is no lift just a barrow crossing.
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I actually think the DPPP act is the best way to trip their plans up, one of the reasons certain older rolling stock had to be retired was due to it not being DPPP compliant in that it didn't allow a wheelchair user access to a toilet, so I can't see how not having assistance available for those who need it is DPPP compliant.
 
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ElektraWintour

I’m supposed to be going to a matinee show on Saturday in London. I’ve looked at the revised timetable and there are supposedly two trains an hour, am I going to drive 20 mins to the station, park, pay for parking and find train after train cancelled? What happened during the previous strikes? Did trains run to the revised timetable?
 

Folkevermore

I usually still commute to work on strike days and haven’t had much of an issue, there’s just less services
 
Reactions: 1

Yel

Moderator
I'm not sure how these strikes will ever end. Apparently revenue is down by over half now season tickets are bought far less. There's not these vast profits creamed off by operators.

Definitely sounds unfair that people haven't had a rise in 4 years, although pay rises along with changes in working conditions have been turned down. But the whole buisness model has changed beyond recognition. The only easy way out is to give more public money, but everywhere wants more public money and the debt built up recently is eyewatering - especially now as interest rates have shot up.
 

Folkevermore

I’m a management grade on the railway and they seemed to have no issue finding a payrise for me or all of my other coworkers - and a fairly decent one at that.
They’re deliberately screwing over the front line workers who earn less than half of what management do.
I don’t know that much about the T&Cs changes to be honest, but some of them are supposedly pretty unreasonable.
The problem is, as with any privately owned company, shareholder profit is being prioritised at the expense of workers.
 
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CrackingOwlSanctuary

Although that TSSA deal sold future colleagues down the river which is why I voted against it, not that it meant anything (also found the stats for my particular TOC on that vote very suspicious).

Revenue is another case of Schrodinger's trains: no-one travels apparently yet peak trains are still full and standing. There was an FOI about platform sales floating around facebook the other day which seems to have been deleted that showed there are still loads of tickets being sold and more often than not the booking office trumps ticket machines at locations where both are present.

The official line seems to be that the railway is on it's arse and has no money yet I have a few well placed sources that confirm not only is there a lot of money still sloshing around for the 'right' departments to eat free breakfasts etc but revenue at a certain large TOC had returned to 85% of pre covid figures 18 months ago. Not quite the penniless picture being painted by some. The same way no-one apparently uses the trains but a strike day costs the economy billions, and the media doesn't question the nonsensical nature of these briefs.

Conductors have the worst end of the current situation as most TOCs paid commision on ticket sales made by conductors, however in recent years there has been a huge push to eliminate this by pushing mobile tickets, more retail barriers and prominent signage suggesting boarding a train without a ticket is a criminal offence (when in reality you'd be lucky to see the BTP turn up for more severe offences let alone fare dodging - in fact when I was crew I witnessed two seperate incidents of the BTP actively assisting fare dodging for a quiet life!). All this means they have had a double whammy of no pay rise and now non existent comission.

I think the best chance of resolving the strikes now is a Labour government arriving (not that I trust them but resolving them would be an easy win). The wider ideological issue is that toe Tories despise the strength of ASLEF and the RMT and whilst I have my issuss with the attitudes of certain reps at local levels sometimes, I do think the long term Tory lust to defang the last effective blue collar unions in the UK is bad news for all workers if they succeed. It's lost in the ether of recent events now but I remember years ago a clip leaked from some Tory event where a big bollocks MP was giving it large about smashing the unions to teach them a lesson, they wouldn't be able to afford their mortgages and credit card bills if they had to keep striking etc well before these latest disputes were existing, or Covid existed. It has always been their long term ambition to go after the railway for the crime of existing in the form they themselves created.
 
Reactions: 2

Yel

Moderator
Folkevermore said:
I’m a management grade on the railway and they seemed to have no issue finding a payrise for me or all of my other coworkers
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They've had no issues with offering pay rises in line with what the average workers in the country are getting apparently, but they've all been rejected. I keep hearing the terms of the pay rises are unreasonable without much meat to justify it. So it's hard to have an opinion either way on that.

Folkevermore said:
shareholder profit is being prioritised at the expense of workers.
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I know that's the main line the unions are using and it's instantly alluring. But I remain unconvinced it's an accurate portrayal of a complicated situation such as rail in a post covid world and the subsidies from governments.

So hard to see beyond the spin of all the strikes currently happening in European rail.

CrackingOwlSanctuary said:
Revenue is another case of Schrodinger's trains: no-one travels apparently yet peak trains are still full and standing.
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Simon Calder was saying revinue is down 54% on season tickets I'd presume there's hard data to back that up else someone reputable wouldn't say it?

Numbers on commuter trains have definitely never recovered since covid here (SE into London). Most people I know that use to go in daily are 1-2 days a week.

CrackingOwlSanctuary said:
The official line seems to be that the railway is on it's arse and has no money yet I have a few well placed sources that confirm not only is there a lot of money still sloshing around for the 'right' departments to eat free breakfasts etc
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can't they both be true? The finances are on its ass and money is still being wasted? Especially on things that represent insignificant amount in the big picture. The national debt is still being racked up every day.

I think the important thing is revenue. Season tickets were very lucrative - one of the big earners and seem to be down massively. Leisure travel has recovered, but this is sold at a far lower price so it does seem likely there's big back holes in the finances.

With this stuff I wish either side would present data to back up their pov and move away from the emotive stuff.

edit this seems legit:

 

Folkevermore

The commuter aspect only applies to some TOCs, particularly local and some regional operators.
The TOC I work for (not gonna say which) was never heavily reliant on season ticket holders, because it’s intercity. It’s more dominated by business travel (ad-hoc rather than daily) and leisure travel.
I commute on a regional operator into London multiple times a week, and it’s often full and standing
 
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EleanorRigby

My journey is a mix of tourists and commuters and trains are almost always full and standing unless you travel at silly o'clock (as I do because I like a seat).
 
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CrackingOwlSanctuary

The RMT were actually happy to negotiate a while back but RDG tried to slip Driver Only Operation in to the conditions after the fact which is what outraged a lot of their members. No-one is accepting a real terms pay cut in exchange for changes to their roster agreements, holidays and sick pay in addition to a clause that says you aren't needed anymore.
 
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Millyve

I travelled today, had to drive further as my local station didn’t have trains departing but that was no issue, I support the strikes, the union have successfully negotiated a pay deal for my company, I’m worried about what happens when that comes to an end soon, does anyone see an end to this with the trains?
 

Folkevermore

Discussions seem to have completely broken down at this point, so I have no idea when the end will be.

My fiancé has worked for the same TOC for just under five years now with not one pay rise. trying to help him find a new job because it’s just not feasible for him to work on the railways with the way the cost of living is now.

25k just isn’t enough money for a job with crazy shift work in London
 

PinkandTwinkly

gossipgirlxxo said:
Does anyone know if the DLR is affected by the strike on 2nd September?
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Its only these TOCs

The DLR is TFL
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Millyve said:
I’m worried about what happens when that comes to an end soon, does anyone see an end to this with the trains?
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I don't see an end anytime soon

The strike action isnt disruptive enough to force any action
And I know that sounds crazy to people who have the plans disrupted, the Aslef and overtime bans is just helping the Govt cut services and the the RMT odd Saturdays isn't really having any long term effect

I work for a TOC who's Grds had lots of strike days previously, including every Saturday in the Summer of 2019 and it wasn't until the tool a whole month strike did the get the conversation they wanted
 

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