hello to all from fgw driver

[whole diary]

[smithy]

yawn.....try working the hereford with selective door opening.
try managing staff who dont want to do any work,
try selling thousands of pounds of tickets in a day and not even getting any personal commision. hmmm makes you wonder why none of the west conductors want to apply for hss tm vacancies if hss tm's have it so easy. maybe they want to carry on working units up the beach line and get more money for doing no more work or taking on no more responsibility.

Ok, heres my real 50pence worth:

SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), whats so hard, all you got to do is walk to the correct panel, Local have to walk to panels sometimes as well you know.
Staff that don't want to work - let them and report them if it stresses you out that much.
The difference between your average money per ticket and local's is probabally huge! IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly), local don't get commsion anyway.

I have been on the 17.33 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PGN at least 5 times, from Westbury. This service goes all stations after Castle Cary, and I have never been checked on it
I have been on the 19.53 EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains)-PAD at least 5 times, to Westbury. I have been checked on it once.

I have been on the 19.08 Westbury - Trowbridge at least 12 times, and been checked at least 8 times.
I have been on the 23.10 BRistol - Westbury at least 5 times, and been checked on it at least 4 times.


Take the old 06.00 Salisbury - Cardiff Central, more often than not, the guard would only sit down between Wilton and Warminster, the rest of the time they would be checking/running the train.

i know what you mean i have travelled as a passenger yatton to padd numerous times peak and off peak and i have never had my pass checked,infact the only time i have seem the tm is when i go to the buffet for a brew or if they are operating doors from the one i get off from.
as said before i know every job has its challenges all i am saying is why do hss look down their nose at us? we are all there to do a job and it just so happens we work for and get stitched up by the same company know so should stick together.

[Conner]

Had a brilliant TM^‡(resolve) on the 7:30 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PNZ in Cornwall. I got on at Hayle and he stopped at St.Erth and issued two carriages of tickets, pretty good in ten minutes.

[Timmer]

Had a brilliant TM^‡(resolve) on the 7:30 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PNZ in Cornwall. I got on at Hayle and he stopped at St.Erth and issued two carriages of tickets, pretty good in ten minutes.

Wasn't you by any chance Vacman?

[devon_metro]

Had a brilliant TM^‡(resolve) on the 7:30 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PNZ in Cornwall. I got on at Hayle and he stopped at St.Erth and issued two carriages of tickets, pretty good in ten minutes.

Unlike mine on the 0747 PGN-PAD unable to issue a HOW!!

[hstdriver]

i thought i might say something now well for a start the train manager is only responsible for the safety of the passengers the the overall safety of  the train is my responsiblity as a driver!! if im not happy it dont go end off.  i always say hello to the west staff and ltv but like any where there are a few that just ignore you wich im glad to say is in the minority, as for waving at people if im not occupied with stopping at a platform or signal i will quite happily wave as i have done in the past and blown my horn for children. i spoke to a west driver today and i asked him if he wanted to swap his beach run for my padd he said "no thanks im quite happy plodding up and down"

as for the common misconception that as a hss driver/gaurd we just do btm-padd padd-btm i wish
sometimes this is the case if you have a short diagram BUT normally its btm-padd    padd- exeter,or
btm-padd   padd-swansea (a 3 hour run) or  btm-padd padd-hereford ( a 5 hour round trip back to btm)



like the old saying goes the grass is always greener on the otherside and trust me it isnt

[gaf71]

yawn.....try working the hereford with selective door opening. try asking someone to pay up to ^250 for a return in 1st class. try managing staff who dont want to do any work, try selling thousands of pounds of tickets in a day and not even getting any personal commision. hmmm makes you wonder why none of the west conductors want to apply for hss tm vacancies if hss tm's have it so easy. maybe they want to carry on working units up the beach line and get more money for doing no more work or taking on no more responsibility.

I think this posting probably sums up why some west guards don't want to switch to HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) and have to work with people with this sort of arrogant attitude.Though he is right in what he says about harmonisation, bring it on. More money for doing 'less' work and responsibility. Happy days!
As for Graeme and Lees' comments about steering this topic, they are correct, things should not get personal, but perhaps this helps to highlight an added dimension to the problems that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have created for theirselves with staffing issues, when some people working for the same company are unwilling to help each other!

( I have also sold well over 300 tickets in a shift many, many times!)

[devon_metro]

If HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) is so stressful; why does the TM^‡(resolve) often sit in the buffet doing naff all! Or otherwise, hibernates in the TGS for the whole journey. I know a good HSS guard when he opens the doors from all parts of the train and actually checks tickets.

West on the other hand clearly have it easy. Apart from 150s it is impossible for West staff to hibernate from the customers to open doors and generally they are MUCH friendlier and i've even been checked on a full and standing 1v2 153 on Exmouth - Paignton that had turned passengers away; the guard still a friendly chap.

Personally I don't see the hastle in operating SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), make an announcement saying which doors to use, go to correct panel, select forward, open - simple and the hardest part is when doors are left open!

[vacman]

Had a brilliant TM^‡(resolve) on the 7:30 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PNZ in Cornwall. I got on at Hayle and he stopped at St.Erth and issued two carriages of tickets, pretty good in ten minutes.

Wasn't you by any chance Vacman?

Probably not, but that service does have an Assistant ticket examiner between Plymouth and Penzance, who are ex-Wessex!

[Tickets Please]

Think it might be a good idea not to start WW3!

dont get me wrong i am not trying to start ww3 i am just expressing my view about the us and them attitude the hst crews seem to have.
it is almost like they think they are better than us,i must stress this is not all of em but you do come across a lot like it.
maybe hstdriver can enlighten us why there seems to be this attitude towards us? afterall we are all 1 big family now

maybe its the way that west crews are left alone by fgw crew management. maybe its the way that some of the west crew walk around like they have wrapped themselves in gaffa tape and rolled around in a dust bath. maybe its the way that some of your west colleagues want the same money as hss crew but dont want to work a train with 500+ people on it to London and all the grief that entails.

maybe those are some of the reasons why

not strictly true,yes they do want same money but majority also want to work hss but refuse to until harmonised.
on the other hand will hss crews want to work local trains say down the beach?i think not.
in my opinion going to london is less grief,limited stops,mainly green signals and rarely check tickets so it is swings and roundabouts.
the remark about gaffa tape and dust baths is only applicable to a small minority of which some hss crews are the same.
it is basically a case of hss think they are better than us.

your ignorance on what its like to work hss services says it all to be honest. going to london is less grief? limited stops? mainly green signals? and rarely checking tickets? not sure what services you have been on. you havent been on the morning or evening hereford services then? you havent been on a HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) service on the b & h stopping at theale and thatcham trying to work SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), load bicycles etc etc and maintain correct departure time.

the fact of the matter is - some west crews ignore hss, some hss crews ignore west - west crews have their own issues and hss crews have their own.

I've worked both HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s and units and the work load is no different, swings and roundabouts, how often do you have to get out and work ground frames? Going to London IS grief, but so is turning away passengers at EVERY station between Westbury and Bristol, trying to stand up on 142's, yes, a TM^‡(resolve) can take ^1000 in a shift, but thats probably only selling a handfull of high fares, try taking ^1500 in ^1.50 child fares, when you get through 2 whole ticket rolls (about 300 return tickets or 600 singles!), also when gangs of CHAVS literally hijack your train on the branches. Swings and roundabouts, the Train Manager name is misleading because it's a non-management grade and according to the rule book it's GUARD, funny, EXACTLY the same role/rule book as a "conductor".

see this is what annoys me about posting like yours vacman - you have NEVER sold 300 returns on-train on one diagram, ever and I would bet a years salary on that. why do you totally exagerate things like that and expect people like me to put any validity on all the other stuff you talk about. hss have chavs, hss are full and standing and yes I know that hss tm's have to turn people away or delay trains because of passanger loadings. hss guards arnt saying that unit work is easy, it has its own challanges but why do you want more money for doing the same work as you are doing now?

Firstly, I HAVE sold over 300 tickets in one shift, it's not that unusual to do that on a saturday on some branch lines! So thats ^25k you owe me
Our point is that west conductors (and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley)) should be harmonised, why should they do the same job for ^4k per year less?? If that means conductors working HST's then fair enough, if that means TM's working unit's then so be it, when it finally happens it will also see a vast reduction in trains cancelled "due to train crew unavailiabilty" as i've often seen HSS crews sat spare when a West crew have gone sick and the unit has to be cancelled! same goes for drivers!

you dont do the same job as a hss train manager, you have the same rule book and safety is the most important part of both jobs but if you compared job roles you will see that the hss train manager job description is all of what your role profile contains and more. thats why they get extra money. whats difficult in that for you to understand.

[vacman]

Think it might be a good idea not to start WW3!

dont get me wrong i am not trying to start ww3 i am just expressing my view about the us and them attitude the hst crews seem to have.
it is almost like they think they are better than us,i must stress this is not all of em but you do come across a lot like it.
maybe hstdriver can enlighten us why there seems to be this attitude towards us? afterall we are all 1 big family now

maybe its the way that west crews are left alone by fgw crew management. maybe its the way that some of the west crew walk around like they have wrapped themselves in gaffa tape and rolled around in a dust bath. maybe its the way that some of your west colleagues want the same money as hss crew but dont want to work a train with 500+ people on it to London and all the grief that entails.

maybe those are some of the reasons why

not strictly true,yes they do want same money but majority also want to work hss but refuse to until harmonised.
on the other hand will hss crews want to work local trains say down the beach?i think not.
in my opinion going to london is less grief,limited stops,mainly green signals and rarely check tickets so it is swings and roundabouts.
the remark about gaffa tape and dust baths is only applicable to a small minority of which some hss crews are the same.
it is basically a case of hss think they are better than us.

your ignorance on what its like to work hss services says it all to be honest. going to london is less grief? limited stops? mainly green signals? and rarely checking tickets? not sure what services you have been on. you havent been on the morning or evening hereford services then? you havent been on a HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) service on the b & h stopping at theale and thatcham trying to work SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), load bicycles etc etc and maintain correct departure time.

the fact of the matter is - some west crews ignore hss, some hss crews ignore west - west crews have their own issues and hss crews have their own.

I've worked both HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s and units and the work load is no different, swings and roundabouts, how often do you have to get out and work ground frames? Going to London IS grief, but so is turning away passengers at EVERY station between Westbury and Bristol, trying to stand up on 142's, yes, a TM^‡(resolve) can take ^1000 in a shift, but thats probably only selling a handfull of high fares, try taking ^1500 in ^1.50 child fares, when you get through 2 whole ticket rolls (about 300 return tickets or 600 singles!), also when gangs of CHAVS literally hijack your train on the branches. Swings and roundabouts, the Train Manager name is misleading because it's a non-management grade and according to the rule book it's GUARD, funny, EXACTLY the same role/rule book as a "conductor".

see this is what annoys me about posting like yours vacman - you have NEVER sold 300 returns on-train on one diagram, ever and I would bet a years salary on that. why do you totally exagerate things like that and expect people like me to put any validity on all the other stuff you talk about. hss have chavs, hss are full and standing and yes I know that hss tm's have to turn people away or delay trains because of passanger loadings. hss guards arnt saying that unit work is easy, it has its own challanges but why do you want more money for doing the same work as you are doing now?

Firstly, I HAVE sold over 300 tickets in one shift, it's not that unusual to do that on a saturday on some branch lines! So thats ^25k you owe me
Our point is that west conductors (and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley)) should be harmonised, why should they do the same job for ^4k per year less?? If that means conductors working HST's then fair enough, if that means TM's working unit's then so be it, when it finally happens it will also see a vast reduction in trains cancelled "due to train crew unavailiabilty" as i've often seen HSS crews sat spare when a West crew have gone sick and the unit has to be cancelled! same goes for drivers!

you dont do the same job as a hss train manager, you have the same rule book and safety is the most important part of both jobs but if you compared job roles you will see that the hss train manager job description is all of what your role profile contains and more. thats why they get extra money. whats difficult in that for you to understand.

Oh yes, west crews dont have unlimited free tea and coffee, or an extra member of staff (in the form of the customer host) to back them up if things go wrong!

[devon_metro]

The majority of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) also call at staffed stations whereas many local call at virtually all unstaffed stations and who knows who/what could be waiting on the platform.

[Tickets Please]

The majority of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) also call at staffed stations whereas many local call at virtually all unstaffed stations and who knows who/what could be waiting on the platform.

hereford line - mostly unstaffed
cheltenham to swindon - unstaffed
highbridge - unmanned
bridgwater - unmanned,
weston milton, worle, yatton, nailsea - unmanned

and trust me, even at most manned stations dross waiting to get on the trains is still an issue as a good deal of platform staff just want rid.

[Jim]

The majority of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) also call at staffed stations whereas many local call at virtually all unstaffed stations and who knows who/what could be waiting on the platform.

And even at the staffed ones, they ask the staff to run the Cuppa down to the Driver!

[Tickets Please]

The majority of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) also call at staffed stations whereas many local call at virtually all unstaffed stations and who knows who/what could be waiting on the platform.

And even at the staffed ones, they ask the staff to run the Cuppa down to the Driver!

o yeah, i see that all the time and of course the platform staff would all be prepared to do that.

[Jim]

The majority of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) also call at staffed stations whereas many local call at virtually all unstaffed stations and who knows who/what could be waiting on the platform.

hereford line - mostly unstaffed
cheltenham to swindon - unstaffed
highbridge - unmanned
bridgwater - unmanned,
weston milton, worle, yatton, nailsea - unmanned

and trust me, even at most manned stations dross waiting to get on the trains is still an issue as a good deal of platform staff just want rid.

In terms of Dispatch staff (which is what your on about?):
Great Malvern-Taunton, except Worcester/Chelt/Gloucs/Bristol Parkway/BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI))/Weston-S-Mare/Taunton - none
Upwey-Bristol TM^‡(resolve), except Castle Cary, Westbury, Bath and Bristol - none
ALL the branch line stations - none

and so on.