• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

BBC Documentary 'The Railways'

Status
Not open for further replies.

Captain Chaos

Member
Joined
31 Jan 2011
Messages
840
That's the thing - what do I do for a living?!

I can tell you exactly why that TM did that - he didn't want to deal with the issue.:roll: And I'm sorry, but that's just not ****ing good enough. Read what Pumbaa has heard to understand what his own colleagues think of him, and rightly so.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


How many times do I have to say this before some of you, including the Guards on here get it?!

You do not throw somebody off, just to pass the problem onto the next bloke. If I was the chap working the next train and I had some serious grief from a bloke you'd kicked off the train and peed him off in the process, I'd give you merry hell in the messroom next time I saw you. Why the hell do you think it's acceptable to land the next bloke in the proverbial brown stuff, when you get paid the same money as the next bloke, and are perfectly capable of dealing with the matter on board your own train?!:roll:

If they are violent or very abusive then that's different. Other times we tell them they can't travel, off you get. Then we give a description of the individual to control who then send it out. In our depot we have the general consensus that if you can't get nothing out of them then delay them. We know they are going to get where they want to eventually. All we can do is make it as difficult as possible for them.

Not a single person has ever complained to me about kicking someone off. Nor has anyone complained about anyone else for doing so at my depot.Sometimes they even magically find the money for the next bloke. It depends on the circumstances and the person's behaviour.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

tsr

Established Member
Joined
15 Nov 2011
Messages
7,400
Location
Between the parallel lines
We could do 200mph and still struggle to get a magpie. They are the most annoyingly elusive bird! It would probably be easier to kill a golden eagle than a magpie.

Is there a relevant section in the Rule Book for drivers to follow? ;)

If there were such things, it would be rather long. "Section 4529: Destruction of birds (two-colour) on or near railways with linespeeds over 100mph".

:p
 

dmacw

Member
Joined
4 Jul 2009
Messages
126
How many times do I have to say this before some of you, including the Guards on here get it?!

You do not throw somebody off, just to pass the problem onto the next bloke. If I was the chap working the next train and I had some serious grief from a bloke you'd kicked off the train and peed him off in the process, I'd give you merry hell in the messroom next time I saw you. Why the hell do you think it's acceptable to land the next bloke in the proverbial brown stuff, when you get paid the same money as the next bloke, and are perfectly capable of dealing with the matter on board your own train?!:roll:

So how would you 'deal' with a passenger that has no money and no ticket? Just let them travel anyway?
 

Ferret

Established Member
Joined
22 Jan 2009
Messages
4,131
Disagreed. You sound like the sort of guard who probably tackles drunks on the last train and gets assaulted quite often.

Not at all. Never been assaulted - maybe because I don't go around like Rambo throwing people off trains. Which is the point most of you are missing. What do you do when the chap refuses to get off? Back down and look a prat, or still play Rambo and delay the train?

In this example, I'd have chucked him off at Crewe also, and phoned the supervisor there to give a description of the passenger to try and make sure he couldn't board a later train. I suspect that Matt did this as well. I certainly wouldn't be holding up a train for 15/20 minutes costing thousands over a £60 fare. And I also wouldn't want the passenger travelling through to Euston for the BTP to meet us there if they fancy showing up.

Excellent - create another likely conflict situation for the platform staff and the chap behind you.
 

Mintona

Established Member
Joined
8 Jan 2006
Messages
3,592
Location
South West
Your company must love you holding up trains for fares that are worth a lot less than the delay minutes you're racking up!

In an ideal world I agree with you, we should be able to phone the BTP every time and they should be there when we want them. But you know as well as I do that usually isn't the case. I never held a train for a fare dodger, and it is a very very rare situation that they won't leave, usually the threat of BTP is enough to scare them off the train.
 

Ferret

Established Member
Joined
22 Jan 2009
Messages
4,131
If they are violent or very abusive then that's different. Other times we tell them they can't travel, off you get.

Totally agree here.

Then we give a description of the individual to control who then send it out. In our depot we have the general consensus that if you can't get nothing out of them then delay them. We know they are going to get where they want to eventually. All we can do is make it as difficult as possible for them.

It's slightly different for guards on the local trains I imagine, but for us long distance staff, where BTP have an office at every other station, you're perfectly able to get assistance on the rare occasion you might need it. Like you say, we know there'll get there eventually - and there's no point in making a drama out of a crisis, and acting like Rambo and trying to be a nightclub bouncer throwing people off.

Not a single person has ever complained to me about kicking someone off. Nor has anyone complained about anyone else for doing so at my depot.Sometimes they even magically find the money for the next bloke. It depends on the circumstances and the person's behaviour.

Well, we're under strict instructions not to throw a simple faredodger off. You get their details if possible, and UFN/TIR as appropriate, and leave the company to sort it out. And, even if they give false details - chances are, they'll get caught again - and they might be unlucky enough to hit a revenue block, and your previous actions will mean they are treated as a persistent fare dodger in Court.

Now, I know revenue protection is a little way down the food chain for Guards, but it is still part of the job. Tell me how you are protecting revenue if you just let somebody get off the train without putting anything in place to try and get the money owed?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Your company must love you holding up trains for fares that are worth a lot less than the delay minutes you're racking up!

Nope - I never delay a train for revenue either. Why do you keep making assumptions like that?

In an ideal world I agree with you, we should be able to phone the BTP every time and they should be there when we want them. But you know as well as I do that usually isn't the case. I never held a train for a fare dodger, and it is a very very rare situation that they won't leave, usually the threat of BTP is enough to scare them off the train.

BTP are usually OK, on the odd occasion I call them. I find it best not to threaten the BTP just in case they don't turn up! You look a right twonk having threatened it and not had them show. Done that once, never again!:roll:
 
Last edited:

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
78,202
Location
Yorkshire
.... usually the threat of BTP is enough to scare them off the train.
The last time I saw someone threatened with BTP, it did not scare them off the train. The passengers held valid tickets, but were 'dodgers' in the opinion of the Guard, who was unfamiliar with the through trains rule in the NRCoC. He went from saying off at a station with BTP, to saying a UFN would be charged, to reluctantly allowing travel but without an apology.
 

Ferret

Established Member
Joined
22 Jan 2009
Messages
4,131
The last time I saw someone threatened with BTP, it did not scare them off the train. The passengers held valid tickets, but were 'dodgers' in the opinion of the Guard, who was unfamiliar with the through trains rule in the NRCoC. He went from saying off at a station with BTP, to saying a UFN would be charged, to reluctantly allowing travel but without an apology.

A can of worms! I guess the off-chance that I might be wrong about the validity of a ticket is another reason not to go playing Rambo. I bet the boss would love me if I booted somebody off who held a valid ticket after all! Meeting without tea and biscuits I suspect.........:(
 

38Cto15E

Member
Joined
1 Nov 2009
Messages
1,116
Location
15E
Yet again i enjoyed the programme and I will sadly miss the series when it finishes, warts an all.:lol:

As an industry outsider my observationjs from this weeks episode.
The Bearded wonder featured so you can be assured certain staff were selected and the programme input vetted before showing.

The meal selection seemed very appetising obviously the chef was under instruction to turn out a good display.
£323 for a standard class ticket:roll: I still like the look on the Asian girls face in the opening credits.:lol:
The driver who said his partner worked for FGW as a driver.
The PW guy who suffered from tourettes.:lol:
I too was amazed that Stockport is still block signalling.

Finally, I know one scene was Maunday Thursday but I was amazed how crowded the trains were given that Manchester and Birmingham have 20 minute services, I said to the wife, "That's a lot of £323s":lol:
 

Ferret

Established Member
Joined
22 Jan 2009
Messages
4,131
£323 for a standard class ticket:roll: I still like the look on the Asian girls face in the opening credits.:lol:

Finally, I know one scene was Maunday Thursday but I was amazed how crowded the trains were given that Manchester and Birmingham have 20 minute services, I said to the wife, "That's a lot of £323s":lol:

They hadn't all paid £323....!;)
 

Mintona

Established Member
Joined
8 Jan 2006
Messages
3,592
Location
South West
The last time I saw someone threatened with BTP, it did not scare them off the train. The passengers held valid tickets, but were 'dodgers' in the opinion of the Guard, who was unfamiliar with the through trains rule in the NRCoC. He went from saying off at a station with BTP, to saying a UFN would be charged, to reluctantly allowing travel but without an apology.

It's different if you hold a valid ticket. If you've got a few little scroates with no ticket/no money then usually the threat of BTP will get rid of them. I know they just jump on the next train but at least they're inconvenienced, you will never get money out of some people no matter what you do.
 

Ferret

Established Member
Joined
22 Jan 2009
Messages
4,131
It's different if you hold a valid ticket.

Not for some of the Rambo Guards out there. Look at the nonsense RJ has had in using valid tickets! Denied boarding, threatened with eviction and more!
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
78,202
Location
Yorkshire
It's different if you hold a valid ticket. If you've got a few little scroates with no ticket/no money then usually the threat of BTP will get rid of them. I know they just jump on the next train but at least they're inconvenienced, you will never get money out of some people no matter what you do.
According to the Guard, no valid ticket was held.

Here's an example of a Guard stating intention to chuck a passenger off a train: A teenager held a ticket with reservation, he was sat in his reserved seat and travelling in accordance with the itinerary provided. The Guard did not like the route, and disregarded the itinerary and reservations and as it was his train, his rules apply. He decided the teenager should be removed from the train about 250 miles from home, with no replacement ticket provided, no money and no means to get home. An off-duty police officer persuaded him not to, and instead he issued a UFN. Then, later, the off-duty police officer was persuaded by another passenger to investigate further, and discovered that the booked itinerary was indeed possible by booking online, and he then asked EC to cancel the UFN, though it was not withdrawn. A replacement ticket was not provided but he was allowed to travel to the destination of that train, from where he was able to get home. The teenager did get a legal expert to write a suitably worded letter to the Company, but the Company did not respond and the passenger did not pursue it.

According to both Guards, the passenger was not travelling on a valid ticket, so the Guards acted in a way they deem fit for treating passengers without a valid ticket. If those Guards continue to act in this way for anyone they believe is not travelling on a valid ticket, but the staff do not bother to read the NRCoC, Company Policies and other relevant rules & regulations, then that is a dangerous game as one day they will do this to a passenger who takes it further.
 

Hellfire

Member
Joined
14 Dec 2012
Messages
573
As an industry outsider my observationjs from this weeks episode.
The Bearded wonder featured so you can be assured certain staff were selected and the programme input vetted before showing.

The TOC would not have had any say over what went in the programme, that would contravene BBC editorial guidelines. However, the TOC would have been in a position to make sure that it was presenting its best face to the camera.

My view was that Virgin did a much better job of doing this than EC...but you might have expected that.
 

gazzak

Member
Joined
14 Nov 2012
Messages
103
Another great episode.

My favourite part was the sarcastic bell ringing between signal boxes :lol:.

What the last episode showed was that almost everyone who works on the railways is a good person, (at least the one's shown anyway)!
 

LNW-GW Joint

Veteran Member
Joined
22 Feb 2011
Messages
21,902
Location
Mold, Clwyd
Another great episode.
My favourite part was the sarcastic bell ringing between signal boxes :lol:.
What the last episode showed was that almost everyone who works on the railways is a good person, (at least the one's shown anyway)!

And that Network Rail pay delay costs for strikes by birds "bigger than a pheasant"!

The programme was a great tonic after watching the sychophantic drivel about Flying Scotsman on Monday.
What annoyed me most about that one was the voiceover leaving out the "and" in the title when referring to the LNER and LMS.
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
30,844
Location
UK
My view was that Virgin did a much better job of doing this than EC...but you might have expected that.

I am sure that SRB was on the train (and in front of the cameras) to try and get support from passengers for keeping the franchise, and this is likely why the section was cut out as it was a bit too political for the BBC.

While it's correct that the BBC wouldn't allow Virgin to come in and see the show and ask for changes, the production company probably started with a blank canvas to a degree and Virgin would have been able to easily suggest things and manipulate things.

SRB is very good at organising things like that. It's what he does. At an (mobile phone) awards ceremony that my old company hosted (and he sat on our table!) he had managed to sneak in a load of dancing girls to storm the stage and do a routine.

Fortunately, especially as Virgin had refused to sponsor the event, they were removed before they got on stage.. but he will never miss an opportunity to promote his businesses (or himself) and I bet they could have done a whole series from what they probably got on film, as everyone would have probably been carefully selected to be fantastic on film and provide hours of footage.

I've worked for Virgin. I've met him even before the awards and he's a nice guy and is clearly looking out for himself AND his staff.. but he does cross the line (!) quite often. You can't blame him though. It's not that Virgin is evil, but rather the fact other businesses just can't compete in that arena.
 

175001

On Moderation
Joined
3 Feb 2007
Messages
1,360
Location
Between Heaven and Hell
In an ideal world, I'd be dishing out UFN's left, right and centre but working local trains that have an intense stopping pattern, it's just not physically possible to UFN everybody without a ticket or money.
 

Ferret

Established Member
Joined
22 Jan 2009
Messages
4,131
In an ideal world, I'd be dishing out UFN's left, right and centre but working local trains that have an intense stopping pattern, it's just not physically possible to UFN everybody without a ticket or money.

I have to say I'd not enjoy working local trains for that very reason. You just can't do it all. It's different on my long-distance trains as I tend to get 20+ mins between stops to sort out any issues like that, and am likely to have BTP if I get really desperate at the next stop or the one after.
 

W230

Established Member
Joined
6 Jan 2012
Messages
1,217
It might well have already been mentioned in the other pages - but it felt a bit like a Virgin promotional video! Where were the other TOCs and what happened to London Midland? Maybe they don't need any more bad press though. :lol:

Also I was a bit confused by the staff worrying about what was happening about the franchise. I assumed (probably incorrrectly) that the TM's/dispatchers/RPIs etc would TUPE into the new franchise. Does this not happen? I guess there are also some staff on fixed contracts that might not be the same though.
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
30,844
Location
UK
Yes, all permanent staff (and presumably any on a contract that crossed over) would be protected. Full time staff via TUPE and the contracted staff because of their contracts, which wouldn't suddenly become void. Actually, management level and other high-grades can sometimes be the exception to this, depending on the structure of the company - not that this included those featured on the programme.

As it happened, Virgin set the contracts to expire on the day of the changeover did it not? (Not that this suggests any wrong doing, rather the way things have to be done). As such even if Virgin kept the franchise, those people on contracts were still at risk anyway.

I thought that either the person doing the voiceover or the production company as a whole were unclear on that, but surely they'd have found out from speaking to the staff Perhaps the staff didn't know either.

Bad show if Virgin management didn't tell them, and let staff fear for their jobs genuinely.
 

driver_m

Established Member
Joined
8 Nov 2011
Messages
2,248
It might well have already been mentioned in the other pages - but it felt a bit like a Virgin promotional video! Where were the other TOCs and what happened to London Midland? Maybe they don't need any more bad press though. :lol:

Also I was a bit confused by the staff worrying about what was happening about the franchise. I assumed (probably incorrrectly) that the TM's/dispatchers/RPIs etc would TUPE into the new franchise. Does this not happen? I guess there are also some staff on fixed contracts that might not be the same though.

If we were working for first now, then they might have made more of that issue on the show. Most of us at the time were worried about what was coming, it's only natural. It wasn't just about the potential for job losses for both fixed term and permanent staff, it was also working practices, changes of management, productivity, etc. The biggest gripe we had as staff though was the total lack of information, thanks to the dft imposing a code of silence on the franchise bid. Maybe thanks to the program you can see that many of us are genuinely happy at virgin, and that comes across with the staff shown. (Forget these stupid conspiracy theories about hand picking the right staff. There were probably many asked who said no for fear of the inevitable ribbing!)
 

hairyhandedfool

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2008
Messages
8,837
I think that concern has, atleast in part, been taken the wrong way, I think it was not so much "have I got a job?" or "will we have the same trains?" but more, "how will my job change?" or "how will people react to the change?". There will be an element of "Will I have a job?" as different companies view staffing levels differently, for example, when I left Thameslink (Govia) there were six ticket office shifts Mon-Fri and four on Saturday at my station, and I believe I am right in saying that now (First Group) there are three/four shifts Mon-Fri and two on Saturdays. Clearly the staffing levels have dropped (though tbf the Saturday shifts were never going to last).
 

Geezertronic

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2009
Messages
4,124
Location
Birmingham
Yes it's probably more that the staff like working for Virgin Trains and how that would differ with another operator (such as First)
 

Oswyntail

Established Member
Joined
23 May 2009
Messages
4,183
Location
Yorkshire
....
Bad show if Virgin management didn't tell them, and let staff fear for their jobs genuinely.
It does seem to be common practice in this situation for the management of the incumbent company almost to encourage uncertainty about the effects of TUPE, so as to make the staff less positive about a possible transfer.
 

IanD

Established Member
Joined
18 Sep 2011
Messages
2,783
Location
Newport Pagnell
£323 for a standard class ticket:roll: I still like the look on the Asian girls face in the opening credits.:lol:

Editing - though shown together in the credits, the £323 was on the Virgin train in the latest episode and I think the Asian girl was at the ticket desk in King's Cross, episode 1.
 

chris89

Established Member
Joined
21 Dec 2009
Messages
1,371
Location
Somewhere
The Episode overall was very good, as others have said about that tit at the end calling Network rail lazy is a joke. Sadly any do not research journeys, to see if engineering works are happening.

Chris
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Statto

Established Member
Joined
8 Feb 2011
Messages
4,057
Location
At home or at the pub
Wouldn't have thought it would have at all. For me wouldn't be of any concern as long as they do there job. (Goes for an TM/Guard)

The Episode overall was very good, as others have said about that tit at the end calling Network rail lazy is a joke. Sadly any do not research journeys, to see if engineering works are happening.

Chris

I wonder if the bloke watched the programme?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top