Recent content by DennisM

How much longer do the final pair of 458-5 have left in passenger service before they are removed? Is this pair being converted or scrapped?

SWR Drivers are due pay rise in April, if that can be settled quickly and at an agreeable percentage it could make a new shorter course more appealing to ASLEF and its members. Better yet the DFT could use its puppet strings to make that all happen under SWR’s management. They could then reap...

I believe flashing your headlights is one rural signal, although I’m unsure of the meaning :oops:

Unwinnable at present, yes. Which is exactly why there is only 1 day of action every 2-3 months. Drivers are safe in the knowledge that a new more competent government will be along shortly, and large amounts of action before then are a waste of time. Oh and the pay rise we eventually achieve...

If true about the reintroduction on the Windsor side I can’t wait to see how they spin this, the same trains you’ve had for the last 25 years, but with 2 less carriages! :rolleyes:

I recall seeing an ASLEF newsletter from SWR in which it’s claimed they tried to push it through as a ‘conversion’ course, previously used for example to train a driver that signs 455 on 456s. The traction they were basing the conversion on was 450 (as every electric driver signs them) it seems...

They mattered to MTR, who seemed to naively think they could fix the awful pre covid performance with a handful of sticking plaster ideas that worked on the Hong Kong metro. I think they might’ve even adopted the Hong Kong industrial relations strategy too ;)

If an RMT duplicate offer is made to ASLEF, what will happen to the TOCs that have only joined the dispute this year? I believe c2c and SWR are only overdue pay rises from this year, so wouldn't benefit from the government settling last years pay deal. Would they remain in dispute on their own...

Maybe the government wants to resolve the dispute so they can claim it’s all thanks to their amazing new anti strike laws. They might even be able to push through more cuts to human rights legislation off the back of the great success.

In their current state the 458s are probably just a few years behind the 455s in terms of needing to be gotten rid of, noticeably tired and shabby compared to the 450s & 707s they work alongside on the Windsor lines. If the decision is made to throw money at these trains to add another 10 years...

Attendees should take inspiration from the party leader, and book themselves a private helicopter, regardless of whether the trains are running.

Industrial relations with SWR/SWT drivers have been good for many years, I don’t think there’s been a company wide dispute that has got anywhere close to a strike in the last 20 years. Due to the nature of collective bargaining there’s always an element of back & forth between the company &...

Its the last 6 months of that deal, so a new one will need to be agreed toward the start of 2023.

The nationwide breakdown in industrial relations ‘not the DfT’s problem’. Grant Shapps would‘ve peddled that to the general public but I’m sure First Group would laugh them out of the room.

The order was worth £900m if I remember right. Wimbledon depot certainly seems to be filling up with them, last week noticed 4 in the down shed alone, there had only been 1 or 2 in there before. Things must be very slowly moving in the right direction if SWR are continuing to allow their depots...