Db Schenker and Network Rail

[daccer]

Just a query which maybe someone can help with. Network Rail seem to have split much of their haulage work between the main FOC's with DB Schenker being the main loser. I have seen mentioned in several places that DBS actually gave up much of the work (or didnt actually tender for it). Does anyone know i this is correct. I am surprised if it was economic as Colas and Gbrf seem to be ordering new motive power on the back of some of the NR work.

 

[D1009]

Just a query which maybe someone can help with. Network Rail seem to have split much of their haulage work between the main FOC's with DB Schenker being the main loser. I have seen mentioned in several places that DBS actually gave up much of the work (or didnt actually tender for it). Does anyone know i this is correct. I am surprised if it was economic as Colas and Gbrf seem to be ordering new motive power on the back of some of the NR work.

I believe DB Schenker went through a crisis with their drivers a few months ago, and as a result lost a number of contracts for infrastructure and charter work, and have concentrated more on their core regular freight business.

 

[trainplan1]

Does seem to be that way, certainly in recent months I think I've seen more DRS and GBRF trains than there used to be. FLHH seem to be up and down depending on the area but the drivers issue at DBS definitely didn't help.

 

[455driver]

I know of a few renewal jobs that were deferred because DBS couldnt provide a driver for the ballast train, everything else was in place and booked.

NR were not impressed.

 

[Ploughman]

I know of a few renewal jobs that were deferred because DBS couldnt provide a driver for the ballast train, everything else was in place and booked.

NR were not impressed.

That has been a long standing problem even before I left Renewals in 2009.
In some cases we had 4 trains on site and 1 driver chasing around between the 4 trains.

 

[Pacerpilot]

They bailed out in front of me in a T3 last year.... Driver got a taxi home. I had to work their train off site, then taxi back to work my own train.
But if you continue to treat drivers like **** then they have no incentive to see the job through.

 

[KA4C]

I know of a few renewal jobs that were deferred because DBS couldnt provide a driver for the ballast train, everything else was in place and booked.

NR were not impressed.

What happened quite often a while ago is that planners would accept more "reservations" for depots than depots had men to cover, thus ending up with a shortfall, instead of accepting what could be done
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They bailed out in front of me in a T3 last year.... Driver got a taxi home. I had to work their train off site, then taxi back to work my own train.
But if you continue to treat drivers like **** then they have no incentive to see the job through.

Yeah, but he could have been on 12 already and had to have his hours controlled?

 

[Trog]

There was also a period where EWS cut back on the number of guards they supplied to relaying sites. I was once on a site a mile long with six trains and we only had one guard. She was not well and having seen her drag herself from one end of the job to the other a couple of times, the Relay Supervisor directed one of his men with a van to drive her back and forth. The site end marker boards being moved to coincide with access points.

On a smaller sites we would often have no guard at all, the trains coming up to the site marker boards DOO then waiting for a guard before they would come on site. We were sometimes reduced to ringing the PIC and shortening the site on the road next to the hole so it started twenty yards past the end of the dig. We would then move the boards, and have the PIC ask the driver to move up to the board. Once the train was opposite the hole we would then agree with the PIC that we would extend the site back clear of the train move the boards back and then start loading or unloading it.

Madness but what else can you do when you have a huge great hole in the track, time is running out and a bottom ballast train with no guard. It was no use complaining to EWS as they were only liable for a certain level of charges for failure to provide trains and staff. Which they generally exceeded in weeks from the start of the year, after that they could do what they liked. Provided a train arrived on site we had to pay for it regardless if it was useable or not.

 

[YorkshireBear]

IMHO DBS got cocky and it has come back to bite them.