Recent content by vdriud

What i find bonkers is 5 car IETs operating Bristol to Worcester stoppers, empty. There have even been 9 car ones operating this service with 8.5 empty carriages. Meanwhile, they pass rammed 4 coach voyagers. The capacity is in the wrong place.

The one I inspected at Rail Live was impressive. Far more leg room than a Voyager and the wide vestibules make them feel like one long saloon. I have always wondered why wide vestibules were not used on mainline stock before now?!

So where are the Nottingham to Cardiff drivers? The service is still hourly as it was before and these seem to be taking the big brunt of the cancellations. 1638126114 Your TOC sounds very well and professionally run. Good to hear. That is quite an interesting rule, what is the benefit of...

On the Bristol to Birmingham corridor we have lost our half hourly service to hourly. That is a 50% cut. What has happened to these drivers? XC should be overstaffed right now not understaffed. There should be no need for rest day working with at least 20% of drivers spare? Its all very odd.

Surely the drivers are still employed though? If some are off from covid etc then call up the reserves who were driving the services. It makes no sense at all. Have XC stopped recruiting so numbers have dropped naturally and not been replaced?

The only thing about my employment that is frustrating is the lack of train or a seat to sit on to get me there. My terms of employment are fantastic thanks. And because of that when there is a crisis I am more than happy to go the extra mile. What about passengers work life balance? The...

I saw your comment earlier up thread and I agree totally with your comments. Let's hope something gets sorted soon as the cuts and withdrawing the HSTs are untenable for passengers. As a regular user of GWR and XC my experience is that GWR is a much better operator, although they do enjoy...

Thanks for the additional background. I am glad talks are ongoing. Let's hope there is an early resolution. How many Sundays in a month are you expected to work? 1 in 4, 2 in 4 etc? How many days a month would you be expected to work? I agree that your early starts etc must make it hard on...

Fair play to you for going the extra mile. As a passenger this is very much appreciated The thing is from my perspective we have an agreement for RDW. The union have decided to not extend this. So the reality is that ASLEF/members have decided to change the status quo not the dft or XC. If an...

How did XC breach the contract? I have heard this said over and over with no facts or evidence presented. You do realise not turning up means I don't get to see my 5 year old daughter and means I don't get to work? If I am lucky enough for a train to run I am rammed into a smelly voyager...

So it's all down to ASLEF and the drivers wanting to change the status quo and causing this unbelievable situation? So your union does not allow you to vote on an agreement that affects you? Very democratic of them. Funny how other unions such as the GMB don't seem to operate like ASLEF...

Good to see you have ignored the disruption and impact on the people you serve. That is exactly the 1970s attitude that needs to change. If drivers have refused to resign an existing agreement then is this not your doing? Please correct me if I wrong?

So are you saying ASLEF has done this unilaterally with no ballet? If so how is that even lawful?

People on here like me who don't drive for medical reasons have no choice than to use the railway. We rely on it. We are already suffering a 50% reduction in services from covid. Your actios have literally ruined our lives and stopped us seeing parents, daughters and being able to work. And you...

Unfortunately the passenger is of no important to ASLEF or its members. The public won't forget this in a hurry. I have a meeting with my tory MP next week to discuss this matter further. How far away are we from AI and automated trains .... the more incidents like this the more accepting the...