Cancellations and changes this morning

[whole diary]

[GBM]

Because there isn't a simple explanation without getting into the minutae of how it all works
Unless you have been in this sort of public service job then it is difficult to explain how it all works. GBM summed it up quite nicely. Very, very similar in many ways except you just can't recruit like that and put them out on a train as you can with a bus. A week learning routes and off you go.

"ahem" 'clears throat'.  Two weeks route learning and even then many routes are a mystery as to where the stops are and where to go! Generally (but not officially) it's more "you'll be all right, left here; right there; look for the pub/Church & turn left", etc. Officially you don't run a route unless you know it.  If you don't you ask for a pilot.  Mostly no spare drivers available, hence the 'get on with it, we've all done it'

[LiskeardRich]

Cornwall has gone well and truly tits up this morning, broken down engineer train at st Germans with a hydraulic fault apparently, I caught the 0950 from liskeard at 1150ish! I had turned up for the 1133 service, the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service terminated at Plymouth and immediately became a Plymouth to Manchester service that should have departed 30 mins before we arrived. Not sure what happened to the Glasgow service the 0950 should of been.
The broken train was moved at 10mph into Plymouth before us, and line should be getting back to normal albeit with a lot of displaced trains and staff.
The 1016, and 1133 were both showing as delayed behind the 0950,

[Chris from Nailsea]

Cornwall has gone well and truly tits up this morning ...

In the circumstances, richwarwicker, I rather think that was a masterpiece of restrained language. 

[LiskeardRich]

Cornwall has gone well and truly tits up this morning ...

In the circumstances, richwarwicker, I rather think that was a masterpiece of restrained language. 

I deleted my original choice of wording before posting! I was in a foul mood as my car had already broke down early this morning and my youngest daughter is currently in derriford hospital, Realtime trains shows as 120 late into Plymouth. The XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) train manager promoted the use of delay repay, if I'm not mistaken this is something xc offer but not GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)?
All members of staff encountered were a credit to their employers, both gwr and xc, a gwr manager was also present at liskeard, and there was 2 members of staff plus the manager present on the platform answering as many queries as possible, although they had very little information being supplied to them. They made phone calls to presumingly control to get answers to questions fielded to them they couldn't answer. One received a phone call and was able to immediately share with the waiting passengers that the train had just left Bodmin. The CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) boards just said 'delayed' with no estimated times.

[GBM]

Very, very similar in many ways except you just can't recruit like that and put them out on a train as you can with a bus.

Casuals down this way are mostly retired full time drivers who want a bit of work to keep their hand in (and pocket money).  A few are casual because driving full time conflicts with family reasons or medical problems that precludes full time work. 
Hence they have route knowledge and their CPC's are still valid.  First are very good at keeping CPC's up to date, even for casuals. 
Winter time maybe a shift or two a week; summer uplift-as much as you want (but within legal limits of course)!

[Billhere]

I turned my licence in when I decided to come back onto the railway for a couple of years. Nice to get back to something that is properly organised (despite it not appearing to be sometimes). It also stopped the phone calls from people asking if 'I want to do a bit.' (coaching jargon for a fifteen hour day on rail replacement).

I shall be seventy in September and I am going to retire a week before that, and go and do something else on a part-time basis, well away from road transport. Tooo stressful.

[LiskeardRich]

'Signalling problems' has caused Cornwall to go wrong again this morning. Can only assume it is a depot based issue at long rock, as the 0600 to Cardiff is on time, the 0520 ish is 45 late starting from st Erth and the 0700ish to London is starting from Plymouth.
The Xc service to Glasgow only a few minutes late.

I find it incredible how rude some people of a certain generation are to station staff, I don't like to stereotype but all the people I've seen being rude to staff in recent disruption have been grey haired! Of course not all grey haired people are rude!

[grahame]

I find it incredible how rude some people of a certain generation are to station staff, I don't like to stereotype but all the people I've seen being rude to staff in recent disruption have been grey haired! Of course not all grey haired people are rude!

There are those, I'm afraid, who get oldies a very bad name.  I have a theory that as we get older, we get more extreme ... and at times that's extremely intolerant and inconsiderate. 

Community Rail's mandate doesn't extend to specific operational events with individual customers; it requires a certain (trained?) mindset and robustness to deal with the issues, and a certain authority to answer with backup and consistency.  But having said that, in the role of service support I'm now in, I/we do come across the odd person who feels that disruptions and procedures that don't take do 100% what they want, to the exclusion and expense of others aren't acceptable. And who feel that front line staff they meet have intentionally and maliciously plotted a failure of service to deny them what they want ...

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

Was a problem with a set of points so struggling to get stock off the depot, and reduction of available platforms at the station, as for your second comment unfortunately there seems to be a core of people who belive that not being told exactly what you want to hear is poor customer service .... After all rail staff are just servents apparently .....

[phile]

'Signalling problems' has caused Cornwall to go wrong again this morning. Can only assume it is a depot based issue at long rock, as the 0600 to Cardiff is on time, the 0520 ish is 45 late starting from st Erth and the 0700ish to London is starting from Plymouth.
The Xc service to Glasgow only a few minutes late.

I find it incredible how rude some people of a certain generation are to station staff, I don't like to stereotype but all the people I've seen being rude to staff in recent disruption have been grey haired! Of course not all grey haired people are rude!

The 0600 departure to Cardiff would,no doubt, have been stabled in the station.

[LiskeardRich]

Was a problem with a set of points so struggling to get stock off the depot, and reduction of available platforms at the station, as for your second comment unfortunately there seems to be a core of people who belive that not being told exactly what you want to hear is poor customer service .... After all rail staff are just servents apparently .....

All the staff I've encountered in disruption have been great, can't fault them.

[SandTEngineer]

Nor can I.  I have been travelling with most of them on and off for the past 30 years.  Usually they only struggle when Swindon Control fails to keep them up to date.

[TonyK]

I find it incredible how rude some people of a certain generation are to station staff, I don't like to stereotype but all the people I've seen being rude to staff in recent disruption have been grey haired! Of course not all grey haired people are rude!

One situation in which my lack of hair is a benefit!

Given the chance, I gently point out to someone that the person they are shouting at is almost certainly not the problem, and may even be the solution. Why do people (usually older than me, although these days not by much) rage at the bus driver because the previous bus didn't show? He did, for pity's sake! I was once subjected, with about a dozen others, to a rant by a senior law lecturer about the dismal attendance at his lecture. When, eventually, he paused for breath, I pointed out quietly that we weren't the ones who were absent. Out like a lamb.