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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: RMT v Trainline
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on: November 09, 2024, 13:38:51
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Split ticketing with restrictive advance purchase tickets in the middle. Selling combinations of tickets that are dearer than the cheapest way to travel, Off Peak Day Returns sold as Off peak returns, etc, etc. I have seen all these. Also, whilst not mentioned in the report, railcard discounts given for say a 26-30 railcard when they have been sold a Network Railcard. The latter NOT valid in that geographical area.
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All across the Great Western territory / Introductions and chat / Re: Members from Plymouth
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on: November 02, 2024, 22:15:36
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I am a total Janner. Apart from a 6 month stay in London I have lived here all my life. Born at home less than 1/4 mile from station and lived in Stuart Road next to the Cornwall main line between Cornwall Junction and Devonport Junction up till I was 14. Then all over much of Plymouth. A warm welcome
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Journey by Journey / Cross Country services / Re: Labour agrees pay deal that gives train guards £300 bonus
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on: October 16, 2024, 22:37:18
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From Daily Fail via MSNTrain guards will be get a £300 bonus every time they work a five-day week under a new overtime deal signed off by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.
The agreement was reached at the end of last month to stop staff at CrossCountry going on strike every Saturday this month.
The operator, which runs a patchwork of intercity services from Penzance to Aberdeen, had incurred the wrath of the RMT▸ union by using managers to fill in for rank and file staff at weekends.
Staff typically work a four-day week and have been paid time and a half for working on a Saturday.
The extraordinary arrangement was made alongside the bumper pay deals that were done to end national rail disputes. Guards and other rail workers were handed a 9.5 per cent pay rise over two years.
It puts fresh focus on Ms Haigh, who was publicly slapped down by Keir Starmer over the weekend for urging Brits to boycott P&O Ferries.
The comments sparked fury from the firm's parent company, Dubai-based DP World, which threatened to pull £1billion of investment ahead of the PM's vaunted global business summit tomorrow.
The Saturday bonus payments will be backdated to August under the deal and comes days after Labour struck a nationwide deal that gives guards and other rail workers a 9.5 per cent pay rise over two years.
Shadow transport secretary Helen Whately told The Sunday Times: 'Rail unions can't get enough of this government. They now know that every time they go on strike Labour will cave.'
A DfT» spokesperson said: 'While this is a local matter for CrossCountry, it's crucial that passengers receive a more reliable service, on every day of the week - something our overhaul of the railways will help deliver.' Actually there is stuff that is missed here, as per usual with the press. Managers were actually being offered up to £650 at weekends on top of their wages to work weekends, and Guards paid flat rate for overtime. The argument has been, if managers can be paid that much then why not qualified Guards who have the experience and knowledge of actually working trains! Paying Guards £300 is actually saving money, believe it or not! Guards do not all work a 4 day week. With long 10 hour plus turns, this would be possible but with some shifts, particularly those booking on before 5am being as little as 6 hours many weeks can be 5 day weeks. Hard to work 10+ hours if booking on at 3.30am! The £300 payment is only if Guards work a rest day, not for normal time at all. However, they will now get a £300 bonus and their pay at the normal rate until the middle of next month. I hope this informs a little more |
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Rail unions industrial and strike action 2024
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on: August 17, 2024, 22:15:05
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I thought that the RMT▸ had settled up until the current pay round?
Yes I think so. And will now presumably be asking for a not unreasonable 4.5% for the next settlement? More than double the rate of inflation, funded by the taxpayer with no strings attached? "They've had it, so we want it too" is not necessarily a good test of reasonableness! Settled for 2022-2023 at 5%, half inflation. 4.75% for last year was less than inflation and 4.5% this year is double this years inflation but remember no pay rise at all in 2020 or 2021. Set against this it seems a reasonable ask. Especially as big bankers have had a £4.25 bn reduction in tax! (However it is likely to be a familiar refrain now that a new Labour Government has opened its chequebook......twas ever thus!) |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Network Rail is failing.
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on: December 08, 2023, 22:33:54
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Personal opinion. Network Rail are failing left, right and centre. It's time for Andrew Haines to start by, at the very least, making public apologies. We only really highlight problems on GWR▸ , and to a lesser extent SWR» , lines on this forum, but there have been far too many instances of infrastructure failures in this part of the world in recent weeks. The weather can't be blamed for all of them. Looking wider there has major disruption in all parts of the country recently where the cause has been infrastructure related. Under no circumstances should people should be stranded on trains for four hours plus, on a mainline in a densely populated part of the country. Tonight's fiasco wasn't on a rural branch line miles from anywhere. I fully understand the self-evacuations that took place. I would've done the same. Mealy mouthed apologies in the media from a nameless 'Network Rail spokesperson' just isn't good enough. It's time Andrew Haines was in front of a Select Committee explaining himself. Preferably before there's an infrastructure failing that costs lives. I believe the situation currently really is that serious. Also, if it's budgetry constraints that are part of the cause of these failings then whoever is this week's SoS for Transport needs to be hauled before Committee too. The network is falling apart. And I'm bloody angry about it.  What is happening on the Western and Wales Region specifically in the Thames Valley area recently is not wholly representative of the rest of Network Rail. Andrew Haines if he were to appear before a select committee he would say give the Rail Industry GBR▸ . By the way he does has regular meetings with the Rail Minister, I suspect he and the Regional Managing Director were on conference calls with the Minster last night. The decision to evacuate passengers is not one taken lightly, track level is a very hazardous environment, track ballast is not easy to walk on, there are cables, catch pits and much more which is a challenge to experienced track workers. There has to be a plan of where do you take people to exit the railway and then you need to assist them to a safe place. Where people left to long, yes. Could water, food have been provided probably The fact that the public address on the Elizabeth Line train stopped working fairly quickly needs to be looked at. There are no "Thunder Birds" for class 387 and 345 trains unlike class 800 which have engines so can self rescue. Should there be a "Thunder Bird" based at Old Oak Common, Northpole or Reading On another forum it's stated that GWRs class 57 was requested as a rescue loco as it has a universal coupling available, however as the ASLEF» bruvvers are taking industrial action this request wasn't met. I think its wrong to blame ASLEF that no class 57 was working. They advised GWR of the strike. Its the maintenance, and lack of toilets, Guards, all financial cost cutting effects which should be blamed. The railway is an investment, like roads, not a subsidy and it generates economic activity wherever it goes. The real fault lays at the hands of the DfT» and Government in general |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion
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on: October 13, 2023, 22:46:54
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Wrecking ball – Selling off the land, removing the safeguarding of the route and Reducing the scope of Euston scope of Euston effectively prevents any future government from completing HS2▸ without incurring massive additional costs (above the cost of completing HS2 to Manchester as currently scoped). These
The current Government I fee will go for a "fire sale" before the General Election. They will put it on the land on the market below its true value and not recoup the full costs of the original purchase, land clearance etc, but will market as good deal for the tax payers / voters; the cynic in me think they have already lined up their mates ahead of the PM speech at the Tory conference. The motivation as you said is to kill off or at least attempt to kill off HS2 to the North, also to use the sell off money as a spending carrot. Or just as likely to be sold off to donors to a particular political party perhaps? |
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Railway staff unions industrial and strike action - 2023
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on: July 18, 2023, 20:19:05
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The sad fact of that offer is that if they stopped at this:
The proposal comprises a two-year pay offer which provides for a 4% increase in year one (including retrospective pay) and a further increase of 4% in year two
This would have been settled a long time ago. The changes to the terms and conditions aren’t, in my opinion, going to make any significant cost savings.
Significant cost savings can only be achieved by altering the structure of the franchising system, and that will never happen because that would be accepting privatisation has failed.
The same with RMT▸ too. Its the conditions being ripped up that matter |
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