Recent content by Economist

If there is a fault with the AWS system, it can fail to cancel if even if the cancellation button is pressed and released within the allotted timeframe. When this happens an emergency brake application will be the result. In nearly a decade of driving trains I only recall it happening to me once.

My understanding is that because UK railways use route signalling and much of Europe (including France) generally uses speed signalling, the route learning process in the UK takes a lot longer. Therefore, in the UK it is not possible for agency drivers to be used. Occasionally, freight...

MPs got 5% this year, for me the annual MP pay deal sets the bar for what I'd vote in favour of assuming no changes to T&Cs. The Driver pay anniversary at my TOC is May so no news that I've heard of yet.

Given the amount of infrastructure so far destroyed and the low likelihood of a peaceful resolution in the near term, I wonder how long it'll be before public transport staff become "key workers" once again? If we have car fuel rationing of any sort there will presumably be significant demand...

Tell me about it, could probably go part-time driving and still be legal Hidden-wise.

https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9117 Part of me is thinking of cheekily applying, surely there's got to be an argument somewhere that someone leading the railway should have operational experience "on the job"?

Getting the cars from A to B could be a task completed either by whoever was sitting spare at the time out of any grade who had signed up, or the company could have one or two dedicated driving staff to ferry them. At my TOC we have drivers, train managers, caterers and cleaners and most of the...

I'd be quite happy having it as a requirement for new starters if we could opt-out of company-funded taxis and drive company pool cars instead, as part of a productivity-related pay deal. There would of course have to be a derogation for people who were already in the company who didn't have...

The main alternative would be to bid by seniority like some of the airlines do and I doubt that'd be ideal for people with young families during the summer school holidays or over Christmas. At my place there's a quota for the number of people allowed to be on block or floating leave. If the...

These days easyJet and Ryanair with their regional bases and fixed-pattern rosters consisting of day trips don't seem too bad in terms of lifestyle. That said, I hear they have quite a cut-throat attitude towards most things, none of the airlines in the UK appear to have particularly strong...

As a qualified driver, I can't help but think this programme is absolutely bonkers. Passengers deserve to have the most capable drivers the company can find with the resources it has available, that means taking on the best trainees they can find solely on grounds of ability. As much as I...

I'd like to see driver instructors and possibly even regular drivers involved in the initial sift and the driver manager interview for driving roles, it would have to be carefully managed to avoid nepotism etc. however I've seen a few trainees who've managed to get through over the years and...

Looking at your username OP, are you not tempted by a move to the flight deck? I'm a driver who moved to intercity work from suburban work in SE London and I'm certainly tempted by such a move myself.

I'll have to ask the DMs at my place about it since it's customary to leave work tablets on flight mode whilst driving because they have loads of technical information on them. One of the last things I want to be doing is waiting a couple of minutes for it to turn on if I want to have access to...

I was thinking of something that would either make an RAIB report or make the headlines like the BA pilot who was sacked for snorting coke off a colleague's chest downroute. Not saying it would necessarily happen but if it did I wouldn't be surprised if it somehow got out and much was made of...