Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Looks like Mr Hopwood's plans are going to get tested!

It may be coming home, but you probably won't be if you need a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train on Sunday!

Seriously though, I am sure we all have 100% faith in the Hopwood plan..............even as I write this, I am sure it is being implemented with all the seamless majesty we have come to expect...........

No doubt the more cancellations there are on Sunday the more delighted you will be!

[TaplowGreen]

Looks like Mr Hopwood's plans are going to get tested!

It may be coming home, but you probably won't be if you need a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train on Sunday!

Seriously though, I am sure we all have 100% faith in the Hopwood plan..............even as I write this, I am sure it is being implemented with all the seamless majesty we have come to expect...........

No doubt the more cancellations there are on Sunday the more delighted you will be!

Bit of a silly comment II.

I'll be pretty appalled if thousands of people are inconvenienced (as I have been myself on occasions), by GWR failing to provide an appropriate Sunday service on such a significant occasion because they are unable to effectively manage their workforce & fail to put their customers first.

I'd imagine most people will feel the same & it's a potential PR^▸ (Public Relations) disaster......the National team did the job, but the railways let the side down.

I'm sure plans are in place to avoid that scenario as you've indicated elsewhere, but if worst comes to worst, you won't need to do too much soul searching to work out why the car is King.

[Witham Bobby]

Memories of the blackboard propped up on the wall of the shunters' cabin at Westbury South, at the time of any important match, with the score chalked-up on it.  For the benefit of passing traincrews and any passengers who looked-out for it

Communications have advanced a bit since those days

[IndustryInsider]

Bit of a silly comment II.

That’s how your narrative often comes across, to me at least.

I will be surprised if there aren’t quite a few cancellations- that’s what a once every 55 year event and out of date working practices (and an ongoing pandemic with several staff in forced isolation) is likely to result in sadly.

I’ll be doing my bit, and probably missing the match as a result.

[TaplowGreen]

Bit of a silly comment II.

I’ll be doing my bit, and probably missing the match as a result.

Sincerely, good for you.

[a-driver]

It may be coming home, but you probably won't be if you need a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train on Sunday!

Seriously though, I am sure we all have 100% faith in the Hopwood plan..............even as I write this, I am sure it is being implemented with all the seamless majesty we have come to expect...........

I'll be pretty appalled if thousands of people are inconvenienced (as I have been myself on occasions), by GWR failing to provide an appropriate Sunday service on such a significant occasion because they are unable to effectively manage their workforce & fail to put their customers first.

I'd imagine most people will feel the same & it's a potential PR^▸ (Public Relations) disaster......the National team did the job, but the railways let the side down.

I'm sure plans are in place to avoid that scenario as you've indicated elsewhere, but if worst comes to worst, you won't need to do too much soul searching to work out why the car is King.

Cancellations I’m afraid to say will be a scene replicated on a lot of TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)’s. No amount of planning or money being thrown at a situation will significantly change anything. It’s potentially a once in a life time.
My TOC, we’ve made ourselves unavailable for Sunday, that includes the night shifts so it’ll probably affect things into Monday morning.

The only way to bring Sunday into the working week will be to offer a significant salary increase, that’s just not going to happen especially given the current situation and a lot of crews still wouldn’t be interested. Nothing can be changed at the moment without the approval of the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

Personally I signed an employment contract which states Sunday are outside the working week and there’s no commitment to work any. I don’t see why that should ever change.

[broadgage]

It would be unreasonable to force Sunday working on employees whose contracts do not require this.
However I understand that NEW staff are required to work Sundays, so the problem will gradually reduce.

[TaplowGreen]

It may be coming home, but you probably won't be if you need a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train on Sunday!

Seriously though, I am sure we all have 100% faith in the Hopwood plan..............even as I write this, I am sure it is being implemented with all the seamless majesty we have come to expect...........

I'll be pretty appalled if thousands of people are inconvenienced (as I have been myself on occasions), by GWR failing to provide an appropriate Sunday service on such a significant occasion because they are unable to effectively manage their workforce & fail to put their customers first.

I'd imagine most people will feel the same & it's a potential PR^▸ (Public Relations) disaster......the National team did the job, but the railways let the side down.

I'm sure plans are in place to avoid that scenario as you've indicated elsewhere, but if worst comes to worst, you won't need to do too much soul searching to work out why the car is King.

Cancellations I’m afraid to say will be a scene replicated on a lot of TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)’s. No amount of planning or money being thrown at a situation will significantly change anything. It’s potentially a once in a life time.
My TOC, we’ve made ourselves unavailable for Sunday, that includes the night shifts so it’ll probably affect things into Monday morning.

The only way to bring Sunday into the working week will be to offer a significant salary increase, that’s just not going to happen especially given the current situation and a lot of crews still wouldn’t be interested. Nothing can be changed at the moment without the approval of the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

Personally I signed an employment contract which states Sunday are outside the working week and there’s no commitment to work any. I don’t see why that should ever change.

Well, since others have cited narratives it'll be interesting to see how that one ages in the post COVID world of fewer passengers and lower demand for rail travel.

I wish all those relying on GWR/the railways to get to sporting events, work, families etc over the weekend (and on Monday morning!) the best of luck..........it sounds as if you may need it.

[IndustryInsider]

A couple of dozen provisional cancellations listed on an email I’ve seen.  I would expect that to grow by Sunday.

I wonder why the final of these tournaments are held on a Sunday anyway?  Surely they’d be better on Saturday’s?  Not specifically because of the railway not being able to get its act in order, but the fact Saturday would surely suit the fans better?

[bobm]

A couple of dozen provisional cancellations listed on an email I’ve seen.  I would expect that to grow by Sunday.

Are those long distance or local services?   I see regional services in the South West have been hit today with cancellations to Barnstaple, Newquay and Paignton.

I wonder why the final of these tournaments are held on a Sunday anyway?  Surely they’d be better on Saturday’s?  Not specifically because of the railway not being able to get its act in order, but the fact Saturday would surely suit the fans better?

In some tournaments the Saturday was reserved for the third place playoff - which no one really wants to play in.  Thankfully there isn't one in this competition.

[IndustryInsider]

A mixture of both, Bob.

[stuving]

A lot of European leagues routinely play on Sunday evenings (or did when "routinely" meant something).

[TaplowGreen]

A mixture of both, Bob.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Twitter warning of "Planned cancellations" (that's a new one!) to Penzance/Plymouth - London services on Sunday due to staff shortages & telling people to check on Sunday before travelling.

Given the frequency of services even on a "normal" Sunday, that doesn't leave many options.

[IndustryInsider]

It would be unreasonable to force Sunday working on employees whose contracts do not require this.
However I understand that NEW staff are required to work Sundays, so the problem will gradually reduce.

Yes, that’s correct.  Though as I said a couple of years ago, it will be very gradual and take many years before making a tangible difference.

More flexible route knowledge for drivers would be a much better/quicker way to help IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).  For example, Reading depot is the only GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) depot that signs The North Downs and Basingstoke.

Train Manager route knowledge seems to have been expanded over the last few years and that appears to have had a positive impact on staff availability.  Perhaps the same could be considered for drivers, where average route knowledge at many depots has decreased over the years?

[Surrey 455]

It would be unreasonable to force Sunday working on employees whose contracts do not require this.
However I understand that NEW staff are required to work Sundays, so the problem will gradually reduce.

Yes, that’s correct.  Though as I said a couple of years ago, it will be very gradual and take many years before making a tangible difference.

More flexible route knowledge for drivers would be a much better/quicker way to help IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).  For example, Reading depot is the only GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) depot that signs The North Downs and Basingstoke.

Train Manager route knowledge seems to have been expanded over the last few years and that appears to have had a positive impact on staff availability.  Perhaps the same could be considered for drivers, where average route knowledge at many depots has decreased over the years?

Couldn't you just put a customized sat nav in each drivers cab to show where you are, where you are going, what speed you should be doing, where the next signal is, where the next station is, how long it will take to reach them at your current speed plus any other relevant information?

Problem solved. No route knowledge needed.

Oh, maybe not. I've just remembered it's the railway. It would come in way over budget and never work as it was supposed to eventually being scrapped before introduction.