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ChrisB
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« Reply #30 on: July 15, 2014, 20:53:49 » |
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Mega apologies now appearing on the NR» LCD screens at major stations.
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chrisr_75
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« Reply #31 on: July 15, 2014, 21:39:27 » |
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It doesn't help that a lot of the 1960s resignalling cables on the ex BR▸ -WR are buried. I'm sure we will suffer quite a few more cable strikes whilst the electrification mast piling work is underway  Are you really saying that the railways don't use CAT scanners to identify buried utilities or undertake other due diligence before piling operations?! Even when it is a known fact that there are buried cables? |
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Surrey 455
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« Reply #32 on: July 15, 2014, 23:29:48 » |
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One tool I've found useful recently is the FGW▸ Twitter account @JourneyCheckFGW. Searching for "journeycheck" on Twitter brings up...FGW, ATW▸ , FCC▸ , SWT▸ , TPE▸ , FSR▸ , GA▸ , VT▸ , LM▸ . Don't know if they're all live or if I've missed any. It's @JourneyCheck followed by the abbreviation above without spaces. |
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SDS
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« Reply #33 on: July 15, 2014, 23:47:58 » |
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TaplowGreen
I agree with bribes incentives for staff who do a good job. Thing is there needs to be consistency. Some Managers will give an employee a ^10 Argos voucher for assisting in an incident off duty, and others would say "Tough your in uniform get on with it, Sorry you want Overtime as well?!!!" If you respect your staff they will respect you.
I know of another TOC▸ (Which isnt FGW▸ btw) who would send personalised thank you letters to each employee involved in a major disruption (What would know be a CSL2 Severe Red or Black). These would be inked signed by the then Disruption Manager and it would also include a voucher to redeem or save up. e.g. Points make prizes.
But you need managers who respect their staff. If you respect the staff and not treat them like........ then they will respect you back. If you get a manager with no experience straight out of uni who then starts telling a staff member of 10 years experience how do you think they are going to feel? Also customers need to respect the staff (which is never going to happen) your more likely to get the answer you want.
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I do not work for FGW▸ and posts should not be assumed and do not imply they are statements, unless explicitly stated that they are, from any TOC▸ including First Great Western.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #34 on: July 16, 2014, 06:23:30 » |
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TaplowGreen
But you need managers who respect their staff. If you respect the staff and not treat them like........ then they will respect you back. If you get a manager with no experience straight out of uni who then starts telling a staff member of 10 years experience how do you think they are going to feel? Also customers need to respect the staff (which is never going to happen) your more likely to get the answer you want.
........much rhetoric about staff respecting each other and customers respecting staff, however I note you omit any requirement for staff to respect customers? Was this accidental or just indicative of a prevailing mindset amongst staff? |
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Electric train
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« Reply #35 on: July 16, 2014, 07:49:35 » |
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In regards to 1969 kit still being used, if it works, is working then why fix it? To prevent the kind of disturbance that we're discussing? Called Preventative Maintenance.... NR» don't believe in it. At all. That's what caused the fire in the Marylebone tunnel too. ......absolutely right - "let's wait until it goes wrong and then try to fix it" summarises one of the major problems...........prevention is always better, safer (and normally cheaper) than cure. and "customers always moan about something" succinctly sums up the general attitude of the the organisations involved to their customers. As far as customers always remembering the "single" bad incident (well there was two yesterday!!!), customer satisfaction figures would be smoothed over a year to account for particularly bad periods..........incentives can be provided for good performance, and if the employees genuinely "won't care" - firstly re-train them, then discipline them, then sack them if necessary, and employ those who understand what it is to work in a public service industry, where the customers pay their wages. That's how the real world works. There is a vast amount of Plan Preventative Maintenance done, most of it at night in the dark when the trains are not booked to run while all the "customers" are tucked up in bed. There is also a huge investment in live remote condition monitoring, every point machine, point heater, every signal, power supplies, is being connected up to monitoring centre where proactive response can be made before hopefully something fails (of course there will still always be some kit failures). Then there are the NMT's (New Measurement Trains) the yellow trains you see traveling around, they collect vast amounts of data that aids the focusing of maintenance and repair. Yes staff do get trained and retained for managers and team leaders the place is called "Westworld" errrrrrr I mean Westwood an in house training facility that is recognised by the of the rest of the industry as being industry leader and is envied by them, there has also been major investment in front line training schools, Paddock Wood, Basingstoke, Walsall to name a few; and NR's apprentices get their first year training at HMS Sultan by the same organisation that trains the Royal Navy! It doesn't help that a lot of the 1960s resignalling cables on the ex BR▸ -WR are buried. I'm sure we will suffer quite a few more cable strikes whilst the electrification mast piling work is underway Are you really saying that the railways don't use CAT scanners to identify buried utilities or undertake other due diligence before piling operations?! Even when it is a known fact that there are buried cables? Yes CAT scanning is done. The team doing the piling would know the cables are there a trial hole will have been dug. With the age of the cables a direct strike may not be needed to cause them to fail. |
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Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
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chrisr_75
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« Reply #36 on: July 16, 2014, 08:34:35 » |
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Yes CAT scanning is done. The team doing the piling would know the cables are there a trial hole will have been dug. With the age of the cables a direct strike may not be needed to cause them to fail. To be quite honest with you, if buried cable has been located there isn't much excuse for damaging them. Are the pilings being installed by rotary or percussion methods? If either of those methods, considering the depth of the piling is so shallow, disturbs these signalling cables then in my opinion (and yes I do know quite a bit about piling and drilling boreholes...) the cables must be in an alarmingly delicate state of repair!! |
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a-driver
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« Reply #37 on: July 16, 2014, 08:46:11 » |
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TaplowGreen
But you need managers who respect their staff. If you respect the staff and not treat them like........ then they will respect you back. If you get a manager with no experience straight out of uni who then starts telling a staff member of 10 years experience how do you think they are going to feel? Also customers need to respect the staff (which is never going to happen) your more likely to get the answer you want.
........much rhetoric about staff respecting each other and customers respecting staff, however I note you omit any requirement for staff to respect customers? Was this accidental or just indicative of a prevailing mindset amongst staff? Respect is a two-way street. If you're not willing to give it, then you definitely don't deserve it. Unfortunately there's a minority of passengers who don't understand that principle and think that being abusive and aggressive from the outset is going to achieve something. I'd happily help out anyone who is polite and reasonable where I can. Someone at the other end of the scale, not a chance. |
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broadgage
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« Reply #38 on: July 16, 2014, 09:25:29 » |
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I am sorry to report that I have witnessed a couple of cases in which passengers behaving in a rude, aggressive or threatening way HAS produced the desired result, though of course I would still not condone such behaviour.
In one case large "fines" were being imposed, unreasonably in my view, on board a train. Those passengers who behaved in a calm and polite fashion had to part with several hundred pounds.
Those who behaved more aggressively and threatened to "deal with" the RPIs▸ were not "fined"
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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU▸ is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
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« Reply #39 on: July 16, 2014, 10:00:25 » |
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Yes CAT scanning is done. The team doing the piling would know the cables are there a trial hole will have been dug. With the age of the cables a direct strike may not be needed to cause them to fail. To be quite honest with you, if buried cable has been located there isn't much excuse for damaging them. Are the pilings being installed by rotary or percussion methods? If either of those methods, considering the depth of the piling is so shallow, disturbs these signalling cables then in my opinion (and yes I do know quite a bit about piling and drilling boreholes...) the cables must be in an alarmingly delicate state of repair!! I am not sure the signalling issue at Twyford was Electrification related, the GW▸ Electrification works are not that far East yet and Crossrail is between Maidenhead and Burnham. Unless it was trial hole digging that caused it. The piles used are steel tubular dia approx. 750mm length 5 metres upwards, they are driven by a vibration manipulator fitted to an RRV▸ , and that this cannot drive in they bring out a bigger "hammer" |
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Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
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grahame
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« Reply #40 on: July 16, 2014, 10:08:45 » |
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A "narrow" thought, not looking at people in general, but at members. On the forum here, our members do show a respect back and forth between staff and passengers. The very act of staff members signing up and answering questions from passengers is in itself a tremendous positive acknowledgement of the passengers - THANK YOU to those staff members; not said enough, but "we appreciate you".
Passengers asking question here - and that includes new sign-ups with a "What the $%^&" first post are also seeking and respecting the information coming back from the staff.
And, for everyone, what a positive attitudinal difference it makes to be aware of the metrics of the other "side" - to be understanding in the circumstances of things not running perfectly, and perhaps being able to make better travel decisions too based on the understanding of what's going on.
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #41 on: July 16, 2014, 10:12:09 » |
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TaplowGreen
But you need managers who respect their staff. If you respect the staff and not treat them like........ then they will respect you back. If you get a manager with no experience straight out of uni who then starts telling a staff member of 10 years experience how do you think they are going to feel? Also customers need to respect the staff (which is never going to happen) your more likely to get the answer you want.
........much rhetoric about staff respecting each other and customers respecting staff, however I note you omit any requirement for staff to respect customers? Was this accidental or just indicative of a prevailing mindset amongst staff? Respect is a two-way street. If you're not willing to give it, then you definitely don't deserve it. Unfortunately there's a minority of passengers who don't understand that principle and think that being abusive and aggressive from the outset is going to achieve something. I'd happily help out anyone who is polite and reasonable where I can. Someone at the other end of the scale, not a chance. Only missed the point by about a mile and reinforces my impression of the culture which exists, still in the dark ages........ It always amazes and amuses me in equal parts how so many of the servants of the "railway industry" clearly regard paying customers as an inconvenience to be tolerated at best, treated with contempt at worst...I really think you'd prefer it if you could run empty trains all day without pesky passengers being part of the equation..........but then again there would be no-one to pay your wages?  |
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a-driver
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« Reply #42 on: July 16, 2014, 10:34:19 » |
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Respect is a two-way street. If you're not willing to give it, then you definitely don't deserve it. Unfortunately there's a minority of passengers who don't understand that principle and think that being abusive and aggressive from the outset is going to achieve something.
I'd happily help out anyone who is polite and reasonable where I can. Someone at the other end of the scale, not a chance.
It always amazes and amuses me in equal parts how so many of the servants of the "railway industry" clearly regard paying customers as an inconvenience to be tolerated at best, treated with contempt at worst
You're going to have to help me here. Where about's have I suggested that? Come and spend a day in the life of a member of platform staff I really think you'd prefer it if you could run empty trains all day without pesky passengers being part of the equation
Some days yes!!!!  |
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a-driver
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« Reply #43 on: July 16, 2014, 10:43:48 » |
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Yes CAT scanning is done. The team doing the piling would know the cables are there a trial hole will have been dug. With the age of the cables a direct strike may not be needed to cause them to fail. To be quite honest with you, if buried cable has been located there isn't much excuse for damaging them. Are the pilings being installed by rotary or percussion methods? If either of those methods, considering the depth of the piling is so shallow, disturbs these signalling cables then in my opinion (and yes I do know quite a bit about piling and drilling boreholes...) the cables must be in an alarmingly delicate state of repair!! I am not sure the signalling issue at Twyford was Electrification related, the GW▸ Electrification works are not that far East yet and Crossrail is between Maidenhead and Burnham. Unless it was trial hole digging that caused it. The piles used are steel tubular dia approx. 750mm length 5 metres upwards, they are driven by a vibration manipulator fitted to an RRV▸ , and that this cannot drive in they bring out a bigger "hammer" Electrification is nearly all the way from Didcot to Tilehurst with stantions already erected. They have been vegetation clearing through Sonning Cutting the past few days in readiness for piling. Plus there is the odd piece of piling in the Taplow to Burnham area with upgrade work and additional piling carried out on the existing electrified sections from Hayes |
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a-driver
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« Reply #44 on: July 16, 2014, 10:54:49 » |
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I am sorry to report that I have witnessed a couple of cases in which passengers behaving in a rude, aggressive or threatening way HAS produced the desired result, though of course I would still not condone such behaviour.
In one case large "fines" were being imposed, unreasonably in my view, on board a train. Those passengers who behaved in a calm and polite fashion had to part with several hundred pounds.
Those who behaved more aggressively and threatened to "deal with" the RPIs▸ were not "fined"
That's one of the reasons why I believe RPIs and TMs‡ should carry body cameras to ensure consistency. |
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