Awaiting train crew

[whole diary]

[basset44]

Hi All
On the 17.56 from Cardiff to London, been waiting at Bristol Parkway for train crew. This is a new one on me.

Bassett

[phile]

Hi All
On the 17.56 from Cardiff to London, been waiting at Bristol Parkway for train crew. This is a new one on me.

Bassett

It does happen.  There are traincrew changes scheduled here and if the relief crew are delayed by late running of their previous job, that's it

[CMRail]

Drivers work off legal hours as well, and they won’t use a spare for a 5-10 minute wait as it could have a knock on effect on other services.

[theabsentmindedprofessor]

Hi All
On the 17.56 from Cardiff to London, been waiting at Bristol Parkway for train crew. This is a new one on me.

Bassett

It does happen.  There are traincrew changes scheduled here and if the relief crew are delayed by late running of their previous job, that's it

Interesting to note the original surprise, as often wondered if there is just a general lack of appreciation of the logistical side to running a railway that has shifts over a 24 hour period.  I'd suspect most who travel on trains operate 37-40 hour weeks so might not encounter the phenomenon that is shift work, so don't have anyone doing their job before they enter the office, nor taking over from them when their "shift" ends.

All the time i worked in more office based environments, be it local government or private company, we never talked about the shift we worked!

[CMRail]

Hi All
On the 17.56 from Cardiff to London, been waiting at Bristol Parkway for train crew. This is a new one on me.

Bassett

It does happen.  There are traincrew changes scheduled here and if the relief crew are delayed by late running of their previous job, that's it

Interesting to note the original surprise, as often wondered if there is just a general lack of appreciation of the logistical side to running a railway that has shifts over a 24 hour period.  I'd suspect most who travel on trains operate 37-40 hour weeks so might not encounter the phenomenon that is shift work, so don't have anyone doing their job before they enter the office, nor taking over from them when their "shift" ends.

All the time i worked in more office based environments, be it local government or private company, we never talked about the shift we worked!

I plan to jack in my job and go for Conductor or Train Manager next year as I have always wanted to be one since I was well 11. It is certainly more complex than the people who go to twitter to moan about their 1 minute delay... especially when staff try their upmost to keep passengers informed.

[grahame]

Interesting to note the original surprise, as often wondered if there is just a general lack of appreciation of the logistical side to running a railway that has shifts over a 24 hour period.  I'd suspect most who travel on trains operate 37-40 hour weeks so might not encounter the phenomenon that is shift work, so don't have anyone doing their job before they enter the office, nor taking over from them when their "shift" ends.

All the time i worked in more office based environments, be it local government or private company, we never talked about the shift we worked!

Welcome to the forum!

I suspect you're right - but perhaps being more specific than you need.

People travel by train because they need to get from Wargrave to Slough, or Melksham to Swindon or Highbridge to Bristol at a certain time of day, and back at a certain other time.  They become experts in where the train stops at the platform,  which of their fellow passengers on overcrowded trains have bad breath, and every jolt of the track (have you noticed that sudden lunge just to the north of Lacock and are you ready for that sudden swing left a couple of minutes later?).  However, thing outside their normal journey and daily life - for many people - just are immaterial.

What time did the driver have to get up to get this train ready for me?  Is there enough fuel in the train's tank and where is it topped up?  Why is there a gap of 130 minutes after this train? Who arranges crew changes and how long is the incoming crew allowed in their journey to that point to ensure they're not late?  Does the buffet trolley ever run out of Brandy?

Professor of what, Sir?   Of life or of some particular subject??

[jamestheredengine]

Hi All
On the 17.56 from Cardiff to London, been waiting at Bristol Parkway for train crew. This is a new one on me.

Bassett

It does happen.  There are traincrew changes scheduled here and if the relief crew are delayed by late running of their previous job, that's it

That's just bad planning. It's not exactly the Trans-Siberian Railway. There's really no need for train crew changes mid-route on a line that is only 3 hours long – if they were done at Paddington and Swansea instead, no-one would even notice them. Sounds very much like the crew booking on place is in the wrong location.

[martyjon]

Might be to do with the fact that SPM^▸ (St Philip's Marsh (Bristol depot)) is closing to HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) and the transfer of crews to the Stoke Gifford IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) depot and for the inbound crew to get back to Cardiff / Swansea 'within hours'.

I agree it is somewhat bad planning but sometimes towards the end of shifts rostering can appear to be a bit haphazard.

[IndustryInsider]

Sometimes it’s bad planning, but not always.  There is a very long list of reasons why driver ‘B’ might not be in position to take over a train from driver ‘A’ at a given location at a given time.  Sometimes a wait or a cancellation is unavoidable.

[bobm]

There's really no need for train crew changes mid-route on a line that is only 3 hours long – if they were done at Paddington and Swansea instead, no-one would even notice them. Sounds very much like the crew booking on place is in the wrong location.

That is fine as a principle but you need to ensure all Swansea crews end their shift in Swansea and Paddington crews end in London.  If you can't then splitting a journey between two crews may be a way of achieving it.

[IndustryInsider]

To increase driver productivity, it has been mooted that the accelerated IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) timings could mean Swansea crews doing two Swansea to Swindon trips in a shift rather than the current one trip to Paddington.

Savings in terms of increased productivity but potentially creating more problems when things go wrong.  It is always best to keep driver, guard and train together for as much of the shift as you can!

[bobm]

Hopefully some rosters will still take them on to Paddington or they will lose route knowledge and decrease flexibility.

[jamestheredengine]

There's really no need for train crew changes mid-route on a line that is only 3 hours long – if they were done at Paddington and Swansea instead, no-one would even notice them. Sounds very much like the crew booking on place is in the wrong location.

That is fine as a principle but you need to ensure all Swansea crews end their shift in Swansea and Paddington crews end in London.  If you can't then splitting a journey between two crews may be a way of achieving it.

Two-day rosters with a hotel room in the middle would come before that in aviation. Thankfully the days of quasi-random for-your-inconvenience mid-route stops at Shannon Airport types of location are long in the past.

[phile]

There's really no need for train crew changes mid-route on a line that is only 3 hours long – if they were done at Paddington and Swansea instead, no-one would even notice them. Sounds very much like the crew booking on place is in the wrong location.

That is fine as a principle but you need to ensure all Swansea crews end their shift in Swansea and Paddington crews end in London.  If you can't then splitting a journey between two crews may be a way of achieving it.

Bristol crews are involved also

[theabsentmindedprofessor]

Interesting to note the original surprise, as often wondered if there is just a general lack of appreciation of the logistical side to running a railway that has shifts over a 24 hour period.  I'd suspect most who travel on trains operate 37-40 hour weeks so might not encounter the phenomenon that is shift work, so don't have anyone doing their job before they enter the office, nor taking over from them when their "shift" ends.

All the time i worked in more office based environments, be it local government or private company, we never talked about the shift we worked!

Welcome to the forum!

I suspect you're right - but perhaps being more specific than you need.

People travel by train because they need to get from Wargrave to Slough, or Melksham to Swindon or Highbridge to Bristol at a certain time of day, and back at a certain other time.  They become experts in where the train stops at the platform,  which of their fellow passengers on overcrowded trains have bad breath, and every jolt of the track (have you noticed that sudden lunge just to the north of Lacock and are you ready for that sudden swing left a couple of minutes later?).  However, thing outside their normal journey and daily life - for many people - just are immaterial.

What time did the driver have to get up to get this train ready for me?  Is there enough fuel in the train's tank and where is it topped up?  Why is there a gap of 130 minutes after this train? Who arranges crew changes and how long is the incoming crew allowed in their journey to that point to ensure they're not late?  Does the buffet trolley ever run out of Brandy?

Professor of what, Sir?   Of life or of some particular subject??

The professor moniker was given to me when I went to university a few decades ago as a mature student.  Its stuck as a nom de plume.

Back to the crew question, i do remember once being asked by people "but why are you running empty trains the other direction.  The queues of people are on this platform!"