Tube Strike

Author
Discussion

crankedup

25,764 posts

242 months

Wednesday 3rd February 2016
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Welsbeef and rs, it's perhaps true that the privatisation was botched and I agree that a seven year contract is crazy, no way of a duration that inspires for investment as such. But leasing rolling stock seems reasonable to provide carriages of acceptability to the public. As always major investment occurs around London forgetting about us country bumpkins.

Laurel Green

30,770 posts

231 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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It would seem the 'other' strike has been susspended --> Clicky

rs1952

5,247 posts

258 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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crankedup said:
Welsbeef and rs, it's perhaps true that the privatisation was botched and I agree that a seven year contract is crazy, no way of a duration that inspires for investment as such. But leasing rolling stock seems reasonable to provide carriages of acceptability to the public. As always major investment occurs around London forgetting about us country bumpkins.
It all gets very complicated when you get down to the detail.

Most trains are leased, and the leasing companies hands are tied to an extent by the government because the TOCs are told what trains they can have and the level of service they have to provide.

The leasing companies have expensive assets to lease and a very limited pool of customers to lease them to. They have no incentive to build new trains, and in any case the decision on what new trains get built is taken by - yes youve guessed it - Whitehall.

The TOCs and the leasing companies are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They know who is resposible for the feck up we currently have, but if they say anything publicly - well, come the next franchaise round, I wonder which companies will get them? The loudmouths or those who STFU and toe the line? Now, let me see... scratchchin

The basic problem is that Whitehall thought that privatisation would make the railways implode and they wouldn't be there to trouble them any more. The fact they haven't imploded is the root cause of the problem so what is the answer? Oh yes, more regulation from Whitehall... And, apparently, renationalisation...

Oddited for teepees



Edited by rs1952 on Friday 5th February 21:21

Stedman

7,213 posts

191 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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rs1952 said:
The vast majority of the Train Operating Companies don't own their rolling stock - they lease it from leasing companies.


The main decision maker on who gets what rolling stock and where it gets used is Whitehall.

Not exactly on topic, but that's one of the odd things that I don't quite understand about those who think railway renationalisation is a good thing. The railway system is dictated to by government now far more than it ever was. In day to day practical terms, it already is nationalised smile
:nod: A thin veil of privatisation.

DfT told GatEx they were getting the 442's, and that was that!

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Tuesday 24th May 2016
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And rinse, and repeat.

London Underground maintenance and engineering workers have voted to go on strike in a row linked to the new Night Tube.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union backed walkouts by 85 per cent, with a bigger majority in favour of other forms of industrial action.

The union is in dispute over pay, staffing and pensions for workers employed by Tube Lines, linked to the night Tube, which is due to start on August 19.

The union's executive will consider the result of the ballot before deciding its next move.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT members have now shown their anger at the way that Tube Lines have attempted to tie in attacks on pensions with the offer on pay and night Tube.

"There are also major unresolved issues over the Tube Lines staffing arrangements for the night Tube and over performance-related pay.

"The ballot result will be considered by RMT's executive and, now that the members have shown their anger, it is absolutely essential that there is the earliest possible resumption of serious and meaningful talks on these issues and the union is ready to engage in those talks."

The all-night service was due to be launched last year but no agreement was reached with unions, leading to strikes.

New London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced on Monday that the night Tube will start on two lines at weekends from August 19.

The first services will run on the Central and Victoria lines. Night services on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines will follow in two separate phases later in the autumn as new Tube drivers complete their training and final preparations are made.

Around 200 part-time drivers are currently taking part in a 14-week training programme for the new service.

The engineers' strike ballot result is the first faced by the new mayor since he took over from Boris Johnson earlier this month.

Jockman

17,912 posts

159 months

Tuesday 24th May 2016
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Bring me sunshine, in your smile....Bring me laughter, all the while.

fido

16,752 posts

254 months

Tuesday 24th May 2016
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Looks like the mayoral honeymoon period has come to an end .. smile

Slaav

4,240 posts

209 months

Tuesday 24th May 2016
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Khan is so going to drop this ball left, right and centre! It is such a lose/lose for him it is unreal....

I had the misfortune of catching the RMT speaking about this last night/this morning on the news; The RMT bod seemed to let slip that they main anger was over the fact that some had got a pay rise better than them and his main goal was to achieve a substantial pay rise for his members regardless of whether it was fair or remotely right.

Utter 4rse!!!




Unless it is all a cunning Baldrick type plan and Khan has set them up to quickly 'roll over' on a pre agreed secret deal with the unions.....

walm

10,609 posts

201 months

Tuesday 24th May 2016
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It must be such a downer to be on the amazing high of just being voted into the one of the most powerful fiefdoms in democracy and then finding out you get to spend your days negotiating with a bunch of militant communists.
No wonder Boris spent his time hanging off a zip wire.

ascayman

12,732 posts

215 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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Workshy, jobsworth wkers.

Replace them with monkeys.

PoleDriver

28,616 posts

193 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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I thought they'd already done that?

myvision

1,931 posts

135 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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PoleDriver said:
I thought they'd already done that?

Particularly running the union.

untakenname

4,953 posts

191 months

Wednesday 7th November 2018
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Working from home today due to the Tube strike, there ust more to the story than london undergrounds statement?
TFL said:
London Underground said both the RMT and Aslef unions were demanding that two drivers were reinstated on the Central line - one who deliberately opened the doors of a train in a tunnel and one who failed a drugs test.

Union leaders said to be furious that an appeal to reinstate the driver who had opened the train doors at a station while two carriages were still in the tunnel was rejected by Tube chiefs.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/why-is-t...
Just wondered if there was any mitigating circumstance (broken down tube train?) surprised there's no automatic override for opening the doors when not at the station.
The one about the drug testing is bizarre unless the amounts were so miniscule that it could be a mistake?

kev1974

4,029 posts

128 months

Wednesday 7th November 2018
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untakenname said:
Working from home today due to the Tube strike, there ust more to the story than london undergrounds statement?
TFL said:
London Underground said both the RMT and Aslef unions were demanding that two drivers were reinstated on the Central line - one who deliberately opened the doors of a train in a tunnel and one who failed a drugs test.

Union leaders said to be furious that an appeal to reinstate the driver who had opened the train doors at a station while two carriages were still in the tunnel was rejected by Tube chiefs.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/why-is-t...
Just wondered if there was any mitigating circumstance (broken down tube train?) surprised there's no automatic override for opening the doors when not at the station.
The one about the drug testing is bizarre unless the amounts were so miniscule that it could be a mistake?
All tube stations have a system called "Correct Side Door Enable" which ensures not only that only the doors on the platform side can open, but also that the train is stopped in the right place as well.

There is a formal process and protected buttons for overriding it (the special buttons are such that the driver is forced to virtually step out of his cab onto the platform to do it, it can't be done from the regular driving position). My understanding was that on some trains (maybe the newer types)? the controls for overriding this are even further protected, I am sure I read that they're effectively behind a break glass or have a wire seal that has to be cut to get to them? Either way the driver definitely knows he's doing something unusual and therefore there will be a formal procedure / checklist around using those controls.

Whatever happened it will all be on the platform and train CCTV so presumably TfL will have looked at that and be more than certain that the driver knew what he was doing and didn't follow procedure.

blueg33

35,589 posts

223 months

Wednesday 7th November 2018
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untakenname said:
Working from home today due to the Tube strike, there ust more to the story than london undergrounds statement?
TFL said:
London Underground said both the RMT and Aslef unions were demanding that two drivers were reinstated on the Central line - one who deliberately opened the doors of a train in a tunnel and one who failed a drugs test.

Union leaders said to be furious that an appeal to reinstate the driver who had opened the train doors at a station while two carriages were still in the tunnel was rejected by Tube chiefs.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/why-is-t...
Just wondered if there was any mitigating circumstance (broken down tube train?) surprised there's no automatic override for opening the doors when not at the station.
The one about the drug testing is bizarre unless the amounts were so miniscule that it could be a mistake?
The irony is that when the same unions call for strikes on overground trains they are usually citing safety as the key factor - ie you must have a guard for safety, but when a driver is sacked for failing a drugs test or opening the doors in a dangerous situation, safety doesn't seem to be mentioned.

Murph7355

37,651 posts

255 months

Wednesday 7th November 2018
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blueg33 said:
The irony is that when the same unions call for strikes on overground trains they are usually citing safety as the key factor - ie you must have a guard for safety, but when a driver is sacked for failing a drugs test or opening the doors in a dangerous situation, safety doesn't seem to be mentioned.
Their union and its approach seems to be the last surviving relic of the 70s. The sooner the tube is automated the better.

vixen1700

22,669 posts

269 months

Wednesday 7th November 2018
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Lovely walk to Stratford station in the pissing rain this morning with no replacement Routemasters in sight and the normal buses bursting with people.

Cheers, tube-drivers!

Hope yer mate doesn't fail another drugs test.