London Midland - shortage of drivers

[whole diary]

[Electric train]

I wonder if part of LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise)'s problems stem from the way the franchise was setup not sufficient drives TUPE^▸ (The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.)'d in also LORL will have taken some of the drivers for the WC^▸ (Wiltshire Council (Unitary Authority)) part of LM. 

The downside of the franchising system, if the companies bid has to pay over the odds to the government then only way they can pay for the bubbly at the share holders meeting is bare the staff to the bones, also as a franchise gets close to its end the parent group are reluctant to recruit this is the case with SE Trains currently.

Drivers are also quite a flexible commodity they will vote with their feet and change employers, from a railway employees point of view this about the only benefit of privatisation if you don't like your bosses find one you do and if they are offering better T & C then jump ship.

[eightf48544]

Made the Today programme today 28th

[TonyK]

Made Radio 4 on Friday too. Having a standard cab sounds like a good idea. It works in aircraft, where the Airbus 300, 310, 320 and 330 are all the same to look at, and a pilot can fly all four without type conversion training. Impossible with trains, though

[eightf48544]

Not impossible with trains America have had basically standard cabs and control sytems for deisel locos for years hence you can have mixed consists of ancient and modern GE and GM deisels all hauling the same train.

[MrC]

TBH^▸ (to be honest) most modern units have very similar cabs with the only major difference being things like separate power/brake and a combined power brake controller, and things like the TMS/AWS^▸ (Automatic Warning System)/TPWS^▸ (Train Protection and Warning System) etc being in a different place. Finding mcbs and air cocks along the train can be a bit more difficult but most drivers are issued with traction books with this sort of detail in plus a lot of TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) have now gone down the phone-a-friend route for non-basic faults now. A conversion course from one type of unit to another can be around a week or two (from experience).

The real issue for experienced drivers becoming productive after changing employers is route knowledge as that will take several weeks for just a simple route, and more complex or longer routes can take months.

[TonyK]

Yes, there's more to this train driving than meets the untrained eye.

[IndustryInsider]

A conversion course from one type of unit to another can be around a week or two (from experience).

Indeed.  To give a sense of perspective, drivers learning the Class 180s who already drive Turbos get two days classroom training, one day 'static' training (messing about with one on the depot and creating faults, etc.) and then (I think) a minimum of nine hours actual driving with an Instructor Driver - that would probably take around three or four days to achieve, so a total of six or seven days.

[John R]

I seem to recall that a recent report on a rather unpleasant rush hour failure of a FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) unit was very critical of FCC because drivers had not been appropriately trained on the unit (it was one of the Southern Electrostars, not the usual 319s). It transpired that whilst they could drive the trains OK, once things started going wrong, the differences in the units and the unfamiliarity with them meant that the driver response was not as effective as it should have been.   

So as previously noted, it's rather more involved than the layout of the cab being a bit different to usual. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

I seem to recall that a recent report on a rather unpleasant rush hour failure of a FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) unit was very critical of FCC because drivers had not been appropriately trained on the unit (it was one of the Southern Electrostars, not the usual 319s).

Indeed, John: the Kentish Town incident in May 2011, which was covered by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch report (available on their website) - see page 36 et seq.

[Bristolboy]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

London Midland driver shortage cancels 133 more trains

London Midland, which has cancelled more than 400 trains in three weeks because of a driver shortage, plans to cancel 133 more on Saturday.

The firm lists the planned cancellations on its website, which impacts a range of services, mainly in the West Midlands region.

The firm, which runs 1,300 services a day, said 410 trains had been cancelled since 7 October and many others had been disrupted.

On Friday, 38 trains were cancelled.

Lines affected on Friday included Birmingham-Coventry-Northampton, Lichfield-Birmingham-Redditch and Wolverhampton-Birmingham-Walsall-Rugeley.

Some services terminated early and road transport was provided where necessary, according to London Midland.

On Saturday, the same lines are expected to be affected, while many trains between Birmingham New Street and London Euston will be running only shorter distances.

The firm said the shortfall in qualified train drivers would be addressed by mid-December.

A London Midland statement said: "Due to a temporary shortfall of qualified train drivers, we have had to cancel a number of trains over recent weeks. We're sorry if you have been affected.

"Whilst the shortfall itself should be addressed by mid-December, we are working hard to ensure the impact on our passengers in the meantime is kept to an absolute minimum. On most days we hope to run a full service."

The firm said some drivers were working overtime to reduce the impact and "a number of changes to the way we resource our train services" would also help.

London Midland has said it will list its cancellations every day on its website until 11 December.

Rail Minister Norman Baker has warned the firm its performance is being monitored.

The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce has said it is "critical" the issue is resolved for businesses in the area, especially shops during the half-term holiday.

The Sunday Politics in the West Midlands will be looking at the London Midland issue in more detail on BBC1 at 11:00 GMT on Sunday.

As previously mentioned I use London midland for journeys into London from herts and there haven't been many major cancellations on these services so far (certainly not the widespread cancellations seen in the midlands). however, I have heard rumours this is due to the company prioritising this area as it is financially more rewarding. Whether true I have no idea (for example not even sure if the drivers will have suitable training to just change etc).

The worrying thing is the impact it will have on rail usage now and into the future.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

London Midland driver shortage hits 37 trains

The ongoing driver shortage affecting London Midland is expected to affect 37 train services by the end of Thursday.

Six shifts have been left uncovered, meaning 37 of its 1,311 scheduled services have been cancelled or are starting later or terminating early. The disruption included a replacement bus service between Coventry and Nuneaton prior to 13:30 GMT.

The train operator has been warned it could face Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) sanctions. Leader of the House of Commons Andrew Lansley MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) said London Midland was not yet technically in breach of its obligations, but if improvement was not seen "in very short order" the Department for Transport would need to consider taking action.

The issue of hundreds of cancellations by London Midland was raised in the House of Lords on Wednesday. Labour peer Lord Hunt of Kings Heath said the company was "not fit to run the franchise".

London Midland mainly operates services across the West Midlands but also runs services to Liverpool and London Euston. The train operator said it had seen a higher than normal turnover of drivers, which has hit more than 500 services since 7 October.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers)) said earlier this month that 31 London Midland drivers had recently joined other operators for better pay and conditions.

London Midland has repeatedly apologised for the problem which it expects to be resolved by mid-December. It said drivers were working overtime as part of efforts to keep disruption to a minimum.

Train drivers' basic annual gross salary in West Midlands

London Midland..........^42,619

Arriva Cross Country...^53,171

Virgin Trains..............^49,620

Chiltern Railways........^45,305

Source: Aslef trade union website

[TonyK]

"Dear London Midland,
I would like to help you by training as a train driver with you from scratch"

"Dear Arriva Crosscountry,

Do you think you will have any vacancies for drivers in two years or so, when I will be qualified?"

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

London Midland: Train drivers' union blames pay levels


Simulators are used to test how trainee drivers react to emergencies.

Delays caused by London Midland's ongoing driver shortages have happened because other train operators in the West Midlands "pay substantially more", according to the Aslef union.

The drivers' union has been working with London Midland over the amount of overtime its members can work to cover the shortage but said this was only a "temporary solution".

Simon Weller, from Aslef, said: "Across the concourse [at Birmingham New Street] they've got CrossCountry who pay substantially more. Their work is more interesting, it's less of the suburban type of stuff. It is very, very attractive, so London Midland is losing their drivers."

Mr Weller also said London Midland will train people with no previous experience while CrossCountry employ "qualified drivers".

A spokesman for CrossCountry said: "While we don't take on untrained drivers we do have to train any we recruit to use the types of trains we operate and to familiarise them with the routes."

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers)) claimed last month 31 London Midland drivers had recently joined other operators for better pay and conditions.

Steve Male, who is undergoing the year-long training course necessary before he can drive a London Midland train, said the training was very "safety critical".

"You are responsible for thousands of people's lives every day and you can't take any risks," he explained.

It is the length of time it takes to train a driver that London Midland blames for the more than 500 trains it had to cancel or alter in October.

The train operator has said the number of drivers who had left lately had been "far larger than planned". The mathematics is that drivers have to give three months notice before they can leave but it takes a year to train their replacement. Would-be drivers have to undergo physical and psychometric tests before they can even begin to train.

Mr Weller, national organiser for Aslef, said there was a "very high failure rate".

"The psychometric tests measure whether an individual is capable of taking instruction and their ability to concentrate and do system-type tasks," he said.

He said trainees were expected to be a competent driver after 250 hours of driving accompanied by an instructor. They also had to master the rules and regulations that govern safety on the railway.

Mr Weller said simulators were used to test how trainees respond in an emergency. "The simulators are quite realistic and it puts the individuals under quite a bit of pressure," he said.

He was a driver for 25 years and still remembers how big the train cab seemed the first time he was in it on his own. "It was very nerve wracking because you are responsible for several thousand horsepower and a lot of people," he said.

Shropshire commuter Ben Whitehouse probably hears more complaints than most about the train company's problems.

Mr Whitehouse travels every day on London Midland's Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton-Birmingham service and, after tweeting about his own problems of overcrowded trains and delayed and cancelled services, became what he said was "almost a counselling service" for other frustrated commuters.

The commuter, better known to his 1,300 followers on Twitter as @benjionthetrain, said using social media had produced a "community" for equally disheartened travellers.

"When people are stuck on a delayed train, they have time and can whip out their phone to take photos and video of any overcrowded services they're on and complain publicly," he said. "London Midland are very good on Twitter, and passengers can then get a real-time response - and maybe an apology - if they tweet them."

However, he said the instant apologies often appeased travellers to an extent they then did not bother to make formal complaints.

"When the government comes to looking at who runs franchises in the future, they'll be looking at the numbers of official complaints and passenger satisfaction survey results, rather than how many people have contacted London Midland via Twitter," he added.

"It's really important that as well as tweeting them, people make those official complaints and register the issues on a website like fixmytransport.com where lots of people can club together to add weight to any service problems as a group."

Mr Whitehouse said in the future it could be worth investigating whether a passenger-run co-operative could take on an entire rail franchise itself.

He added: "I would be willing - and I suspect many others would be too - to put money into knowing a service would be run for the passengers rather than advancing revenues or shareholders' profits."

[TonyK]

He said trainees were expected to be a competent driver after 250 hours of driving accompanied by an instructor.

Blimey! I flew solo after 15 hours' instruction. My then instructor did his first solo at 6 hours.

[JayMac]

I suspect though that you'd need considerably more hours before you can fly with hundreds of people behind you.