Fixed rosters, such as "Early", "Late", or "Mixed", whereby drivers do a limited range of start times on duties appropriate to their own link. Only 5 depots across the entire combine have links IIRC.
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Dale Charman to leave LUL
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Every depot has a roster. When you first join the depot you normally go into what is called the pool. In the pool you can be given any duty and find out those duties a week in advance. Eventually when a vacancy becomes available you join the roster and you can effectively plan your duties for years, at least until there is a new timetable.
Most drivers join what is called a syndicate (mafia for those that know) who take over your duties and hopefully give you want you want, i.e earlies, lates, certain rest days etc.
Links are like a miniature version of the roster. There is an early link, late link and mixed link which is a mixture of early and late shifts.
The issue with the links is that once you are in, it can be very difficult to get out off. So you could be doing permanent late shifts. This is fine if you like lates but sometimes things change like having children and suddenly you need earlies. Most people want to be in the early link but it’s often filled with the senior drivers. I’ve had drivers leave my depot because they were stuck in a link and moved elsewhere to get more flexibility.
Links are not common in most train crew depots.
I believe it's Cockfosters, Arnos Grove, Acton Town (District), Earls Court and Morden
Trainfan2019
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Was great to see Dale's front cab video of his final journey driving a London Underground train. Recommend it for really interesting commentary.
Egg Centric
Established Member
Dear God, that last couple of shift videos is a painful watch. What on earth is going on at TfL that everyone's that pissed off at everyone else?
ScottGallagher
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Shame hes decided to move on, always thought his videos were very interesting, and he commentates very well good luck to him in whatever he does next.
That’s not the widespread reality.
announcements
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I do think some of his videos were a little on the long/repetitive side, and I also found the merchandise a little cringe, however I did really like his relaxed manner and he comes across as a decent guy. All the best to him in his new job.
A generation ago I knew a train crew manager on the Picc who, as part of his career development process, undertook a study of sickness absence on the Picc. He identified a direct correlation between higher absence rates and shifts involving Arnos Grove/Acton workings, which are predominantly underground. Uxbridge/LHR to Cockfosters shifts had more overground running and were less prone to absence. Always thought that was interesting.
Central
Member
There’s also those who preferred nights alternated between nights and rest day covers,don’t know if this has changed with night tube.
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When I was working in the control tower at SMD it was always the same faces doing dead lates.
announcements
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Wouldn't it just be better if the depots upfront allocated based on preferences, assuming an even split between those who prefer earlies and those who prefer lates? Why keep allocating people an even distribution when they are always going to end up swapping them through syndicates? Then you have more administration burden of administering the swaps when you could have allocated them accordingly in the first place.
bramling
Veteran Member
The problem is there doesn’t tend to be an even split, generally more people prefer early turns, and there are also subsets who prefer middle turns, and also some who prefer a mixture. The waters get further muddied when you include preferences for rest days.
That said, LU could try harder on all this. LU’s attitude to staff is very much “we pay you, you’re lucky to be here, so suck it up”. Unfortunately that attitude doesn’t really wash, and if it once did then it doesn’t now - LU still receives a lot of applicants, but it doesn’t get such a high number who can actually fulfil the roles.
It’s getting to the point where the response to the quip above is “do one, you’re lucky to have someone who can actually do this job, now leave off”. TFL is a pretty dysfunctional workplace.
Weirdly, one of the new proposals within the 4DW was allowing prospective train ops to select a line whilst waiting for training, with the understanding that their selection could mean a longer wait to start training. But a line is not particularly useful - imaging living in north London and selecting Northern Line hoping you get High Barnet, but getting Morden! It's ridiculous and typical of LU.
Reminder that another proposal is to hold new train ops to their given depot for 5 years. That's 5 years of potentially travelling from one end of a line to another, plus longer working days meaning 12 or more hours out of the house.
It makes you wonder why they didn't just offer training based on a Train Crew Accommodation location.