Great Western Coffee Shop

3 ATW drivers have succeeded in obtaining modest compensation from ATW because of repetitive strain injury from driving DMUs various.

Here's (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/Misc/2009/8.html) the judgment in the case.  It's an interesting read because the Judge goes into great detail about driving techniques, seating positions and all sorts of related issues.  You can ignore the legal bit.

That's an interesting one. Seems a little odd that a problem like that should be confined to ATW drivers working out of Carmarthen - I wonder if this potentially opens the floodgates for large numbers of drivers working the second generation BR 14x and 15x DMUs. It's noteworthy that the cab of the 175 was deemed not to be a problem.

I wonder if there is a connection between this:


and this:

Perhaps worth noting that Carmarthen drivers go to Pembroke Dock and the southern half of the Heart of Wales line... so to complement the 175s on the expresses and early/late locals, there are lots of 153s, which are well-known for the cramped second cab.

If they took their wallets out of the pockets before they sat down, they would have far more room ;D ;D ;D

Although interestingly if you read the judgment it was suggested that the smaller second cab is actually more comfortable, at least for some drivers. I know full well that the Carmarthen drivers operate a lot of 15x and 14x stock (five years of journeys to and from west Wales!) - my point was that it seemed slightly strange that these problems had not been manifesting themselves in the many other areas of the country where drivers principally work these forms of traction (FGW and Northern local drivers, to name but two).

This may have more to do with the drives action based on ATW's "Professional Driving Policy," than the units themselves

for taller drivers no2 end cab (the small dog box one) is more comfortable due to more leg room around the desk compared to no1 end