Recent content by 800 Driver

The current roster is the standard Mo, Tu rest day week 1, We Th rest day week 2 and Fr Sa rest day week 3 (Sundays are out side the week but never rostered between weeks 3 and 1, so you get a 5 day long weekend every 3 weeks. However this is all irrelevant as th talks to put Sundays in the...

1. Earliest starts are 2am, latest finishes are, well there's night shifts, but excluding those 2am ish. Most drivers do permanent swaps, so either earlies or lates, you just need to find someone to swap with. Also as it's a big depot there's normally people with kids that are happy to do the...

If you work your 17 rostered Sundays it'll be just shy of £10k extra. There's currently talks going on about putting Sundays in the working week, so I suspect that by the time you pass out it'll all be a bit different.

GWR have very good conditions. Not sure of GTR's but on GWR you can demand staying on your booked turn (so resources can't mess you around on the day), you can't do over 5 hours work (which includes walking times and taxi times) without a break, so many jobs have 2 breaks in them, limited turn...

That discount is only for people who lived along the line before MTR took over services, it s not for new starters nor existing staff who move house to MTR station areas.

The work at Paddington is really quite good, with a mix of intercity and suburban work.Most diagrams aren't too intense, with decent down time. You get to drive 125mph traction from day 1 once you qualify, you'll sign 800s, 165's and 387's plus the 230 battery train. Shifts can start quite early...

As a union rep I'd be pissed off if my company didn't discipline someone for urinating in the cab, rather than one of the 8 actual toilets on our trains.

ASLEF is a democratic organisation and whenever this issue comes up and is debated within union structures a clear majority of members agree that rostering Sundays within a 35 hour week, where it is pensionable, covered by sick leave and drivers are able to book AL if they want the day off, is...

Because the fare policy is being used to regulate demand

I'm not sure the use of tear gas and or water cannon in a busy city centre transport interchange would be wise, even if they were part of the police's armoury.

Shift pattern will be Week 1 Rest Days Mon and Tue, Week 2 Rest Days Weds and Thrs and Week 3 Rest Days Fri and Sat, giving you a 5 day weekend every three weeks. Sundays are outside the working week and committed (though you can avoid working the if you find someone to work your Sunday) 1 in 3...

They do NOT have full European Train Driving License Competency and their pay and T&Cs are more in line with a tram operation.

Hitachi's inability to maintain their trains

The deal is, as Paul said, they are made of fibreglass, and as Gareth says, without cost prohibitive upgrades, they are no longer suitable for mainline operation. We need new trains.

If you are happy concentrating for long periods with not much to do and prepared to be stranded away from home or heavily delayed multiple times a week, then go for the intercity option. If you need lots to do to keep you focused and want your day to finish near enough to when it's meant to then...