Scotrail RMT strike action and possible temporary service cuts to a third of services

[Walter Whigham]

It is reported in the Scottish Press this morning that Jenny Gilruth makes greater use of her ministerial limo than Scotrail services. One wonders if she will be travelling to Reston's station opening tomorrow by road?

 

[Peter0124]

Why has our railway come to this? Was it covid impact?

 

[Falcon1200]

So, according to the BBC News website, more than 300 Scotrail trains are cancelled again today. However, checking Realtime Trains, there are no cancellations showing on my local line. On closer investigation Scotrail appear to have invoked the Planned Cancellation system, whereby as long as alterations are agreed by 2200 the day before, the timetable can be amended and thus trains are no longer cancelled, but instead are no longer booked to run in the first place. This of course does not help anyone who did not think or know to check their timetable before heading to the station today to catch, for example one of the first three trains this morning (all missing), or expecting a half-hourly service when today it is in fact hourly. But Scotrail are not greatly concerned, their website shows only 'Minor Disruption' on the route, despite more than half of the service being wiped out.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, who is to blame and how things will be resolved, Scotrail just now are a complete and utter shambles.

 

[Watershed]

So, according to the BBC News website, more than 300 Scotrail trains are cancelled again today. However, checking Realtime Trains, there are no cancellations showing on my local line. On closer investigation Scotrail appear to have invoked the Planned Cancellation system, whereby as long as alterations are agreed by 2200 the day before, the timetable can be amended and thus trains are no longer cancelled, but instead are no longer booked to run in the first place. This of course does not help anyone who did not think or know to check their timetable before heading to the station today to catch, for example one of the first three trains this morning (all missing), or expecting a half-hourly service when today it is in fact hourly. But Scotrail are not greatly concerned, their website shows only 'Minor Disruption' on the route, despite more than half of the service being wiped out.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, who is to blame and how things will be resolved, Scotrail just now are a complete and utter shambles.

This underhanded, and frankly disgusting, method of massaging the punctuality/reliability statistics has been used by several TOCs in recent years. ScotRail is by no means the first operator to do so.

 

[Mag_seven]

This underhanded, and frankly disgusting, method of massaging the punctuality/reliability statistics has been used by several TOCs in recent years. ScotRail is by no means the first operator to do so.

What has happened to the "Rail Regulator"? This is the sort of thing that back in the day when the office was created they would clamp down on.

 

[Falcon1200]

This underhanded, and frankly disgusting, method of massaging the punctuality/reliability statistics has been used by several TOCs in recent years. ScotRail is by no means the first operator to do so.

Indeed, and as a NR employee I was responsible both for agreeing it at the TOCs request, and asking for it when it suited NR. But I was never happy with the process. IMHO the Planned Cancellation process should only apply from Day 3, ie if agreed by 2200 Monday to apply from Wednesday onwards, to allow the altered timetable to be properly advertised and communicated to passengers.

(IIRC Scotrail did use the process in the past for known Traincrew shortages, but then stopped. Obviously they are now doing it again, which is very surprising for a now nationalised operator, presumably Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government are aware and support what is being done).

 

[Bluejays]

I've seen some hyperbole in my time, but likening a genocidal maniac with an industrial dispute takes some gall.

Couldn't agree more. I've seen some ridiculous quotes in my time, but I think that one takes the biscuit.

 

[Number5]

All the cancellations are showing on Journeycheck.

 

[Davester50]

Why has our railway come to this? Was it covid impact?

As I see it, poor oversight of the Abellio contract from Transport Scotland has a lot to do with it.
Transport Scotland has form for being incompetent.

 

[Ex-controller]

(IIRC Scotrail did use the process in the past for known Traincrew shortages, but then stopped. Obviously they are now doing it again, which is very surprising for a now nationalised operator, presumably Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government are aware and support what is being done).

They probably have no idea what any of it means.

 

[142blue]

Just as Putin was allowed to get away with too much, and then over-played his hand, so it could be (although without the terrible bloodshed) with RMT. Ruthlessly holding the public to ransom may lead to a realisation that perhaps we don't need railways all that much. But there will be a lot of pain in the process.

Nevertheless, the country should stand up to the unions.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 May 2022 ==


Yes, I've already booked National Express coach tickets for my holiday.

Absolutely disgusting comparison to make. If that's the views you hold then please stay on the coach in future

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2022 ==

Why has our railway come to this? Was it covid impact?

Managed decline anyone?

 

[Falcon1200]

They probably have no idea what any of it means.

I think you are probably right, although one would hope someone might wonder why, after 300 plus cancellations, Scotrail's punctuality and reliability figures for today are still relatively high !

 

[GRALISTAIR]

With a week to go, still no sign of the temporary weekend timetable - but no less than 343 cancellations today. Regardless of the ins and outs it's starting to become embarrassing how poor this is.

Yikes is all I can say. That is a large % for Scotrail surely?

 

[chesterred16]

Not if they’ve been sitting around waiting for instructors for months on end. They will likely still be many months from finishing as the practical driving phase is by far the longest part of the training.



I can’t think of any other industry that is so reliant on overtime. Can you name any?

My industry, road haulage. Absolute 100% reliance on overtime (what happens when a driver hits their contracted hours while on the motorway?)

 

[John Bishop]

Still no timetables published for this weekend, thats utterly poor for people trying to plan weekend activities/ travel. It surely can’t be that difficult to come up with a timetable given it’s largely similar to Monday to Friday.

 

[Bikeman78]

To be fair nurses really are underpaid, whereas traincrew are very reasonably paid and so only deserve inflation unless the role has materially changed (e.g. DOO).

Quite. Who fancies 12.5 hour night shifts for £35k a year. And if you screw up, you could kill someone. Sod that for a laugh. I'm amazed that anyone signs up.

 

[66701GBRF]

Quite. Who fancies 12.5 hour night shifts for £35k a year. And if you screw up, you could kill someone. Sod that for a laugh. I'm amazed that anyone signs up.

So railway workers don't have the opportunity to screw up and kill someone then?

 

[Watershed]

Still no timetables published for this weekend, thats utterly poor for people trying to plan weekend activities/ travel. It surely can’t be that difficult to come up with a timetable given it’s largely similar to Monday to Friday.

There's a lot more that goes into these plans than meets the eye. ScotRail and NR will undoubtedly be working overtime to get the timetable out ASAP.

Of course, if they had the benefit of 2 weeks' notice - as would be the case if this were official rather than unofficial industrial action - perhaps the timetable would already be published...

 

[Bikeman78]

So railway workers don't have the opportunity to screw up and kill someone then?

I never said that. But nursing requires extensive training for a job that has antisocial hours and isn't very well paid, unless you get promoted. Personally I wouldn't do it.

 

[Robertj21a]

So railway workers don't have the opportunity to screw up and kill someone then?

Not really the same is it?
Most nurses could adversely affect your life - perhaps signalmen/NR would be the nearest on the rail system ? Surely, it's not the drivers, ticket office staff etc?
In any event, most rail work has to be handled to an agreed procedure, hardly the same as a nurse having patients with numerous varied issues.

 

[66701GBRF]

Not really the same is it?
Most nurses could adversely affect your life - perhaps signalmen/NR would be the nearest on the rail system ? Surely, it's not the drivers, ticket office staff etc?
In any event, most rail work has to be handled to an agreed procedure, hardly the same as a nurse having patients with numerous varied issues.

There are many things on the railway that can result in a death or serious injury from many grades. It generally doesn't happen because staff are highly trained, there are certain measures or mitigations or just through dumb luck. That doesn't mean someone on their 5th 12 hour nightshift working understaffed couldn't do some damage.

...and no it might not be the same so why again and again do comparisons with nurses have to be brought up.

 

[43066]

Not really the same is it?
Most nurses could adversely affect your life - perhaps signalmen/NR would be the nearest on the rail system ? Surely, it's not the drivers, ticket office staff etc?
In any event, most rail work has to be handled to an agreed procedure, hardly the same as a nurse having patients with numerous varied issues.

Are you a nurse or a railway worker? You seem to know a great deal about other peoples’ jobs.

What do you do yourself, out of interest?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It's somewhat ironic that Reston station is only served by English TOCs, and therefore will be one of the few stations in Scotland that won't be affected by the reduced timetable coming into force tomorrow.
No doubt the Scottish government will be keeping very quiet about that.

Transport Scotland will be funding part of the new Newcastle-Edinburgh service to enable the stops at Reston.
They just happen to be paying a DfT TOC to deliver the service - it would cost Scotrail more to do it themselves.
It's similar to Lockerbie stops by Avanti/TPE on the WCML.

 

[Starmill]

It's somewhat ironic that Reston station is only served by English TOCs, and therefore will be one of the few stations in Scotland that won't be affected by the reduced timetable coming into force tomorrow.

No doubt the Scottish government will be keeping very quiet about that.

I doubt they'll be keeping quiet about Reston having almost no Sunday service however, because of industrial action at the "English" TOC.

 

[John Bishop]

There's a lot more that goes into these plans than meets the eye. ScotRail and NR will undoubtedly be working overtime to get the timetable out ASAP.

Of course, if they had the benefit of 2 weeks' notice - as would be the case if this were official rather than unofficial industrial action - perhaps the timetable would already be published...

Well the Monday to Friday timetable is an almost copy and paste from the COVID timetables so can’t be that difficult to get something together for the weekends. They‘ve had since last Wednesday when the Monday to Friday timetables were released.

Press reporting this morning that it’s been estimated to be costing the Scottish economy £80 million a week. SNP seem to be coping it for their arms length approach to the situation and don’t seem to want to get involved.

 

[LowLevel]

What has happened to the "Rail Regulator"? This is the sort of thing that back in the day when the office was created they would clamp down on.

It's crap, especially when they just don't show on the station screens rather than being cancelled. I could have done Northern's leadership team bodily harm during their guard strikes a few years ago when they sold advances for the last trains from Nottingham on a Saturday all week despite the fact they'd not run for months and then P coded them - cue a train load for the last Sheffield turning up and starting fights with any member of staff they saw at 2300.

Absolutely disgraceful behaviour and those who direct it should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[Watershed]

Well the Monday to Friday timetable is an almost copy and paste from the COVID timetables so can’t be that difficult to get something together for the weekends. They‘ve had since last Wednesday when the Monday to Friday timetables were released.

Yes and how many engineering works do you get Mon-Fri as compared to weekends? All that will have to be replanned in such a way as to minimise the number of driver turns required.

Having previous Covid timetables is only useful to a limited extent, as you still need to fit things within the LTP turns that are now in place. Which are completely different in many cases.

It would be wrong to claim "driving can't be that difficult, you just have to push a lever". And equally, it'd be wrong to claim "rewriting a timetable can't be that hard, you just have to copy and paste".

 

[duncanp]

I doubt they'll be keeping quiet about Reston having almost no Sunday service however, because of industrial action at the "English" TOC.

But if they do that, someone might remind them about the unreliability of Scotrail trains on Sundays (not to mention the rest of the week), due to the industrial action.

 

[43066]

It's crap, especially when they just don't show on the station screens rather than being cancelled. I could have done Northern's leadership team bodily harm during their guard strikes a few years ago when they sold advances for the last trains from Nottingham on a Saturday all week despite the fact they'd not run for months and then P coded them - cue a train load for the last Sheffield turning up and starting fights with any member of staff they saw at 2300.

Absolutely disgraceful behaviour and those who direct it should be ashamed of themselves.

Does that mean they just vanish from the platform screens as opposed to showing as cancelled?

Completely agree it’s ridiculous to sell tickets for trains that are known not to be running.

 

[LowLevel]

Does that mean they just vanish from the platform screens as opposed to showing as cancelled?

Completely agree it’s ridiculous to sell tickets for trains that are known not to be running.

Yep. The train is effectively removed from the timetable as long as it is input before 2200 the day before so it doesn't show up on departure screens.