ECML delays 05/11

[91109]

How close would their drivers have been to running out of hours as a result of the incident?

A few of them were, as were the Train Managers, hence we had a few cancellations yesterday.

 

[Stampy]

I think they were changing crews at PBO anyway...

 

[DarloRich]

If I could publish excerpts from the daily logs and show people exactly what went on behind the scenes last night, I would gladly do so. Pretty easy to pass judgement on something when you don't have all the facts surrounding what happened.

Indeed - but it is the second incident recently of, on the face of it, poor customer service from VTEC during/following disruption. An after action review might be of use.

 

[tsr]

Specifically regarding the mobile phones query...

The method which has been suggested on here, of using speakerphone mode, is actually the official method of last resort for communication between trains at certain TOCs, but only in a selected few circumstances where there is literally no other practical option. (For clarity, this includes at least one operator at which an assisting train may be either a multiple unit or a locomotive.) If the phones lose signal then the train might have to stop to allow staff to reach a clear understanding again.

However, this doesn’t overcome the needs of the trains to be compatible and connected per anything in the relevant emergency coupling plan, including variations on brakes and suchlike.

 

[Chris M]

It is certainly not failsafe, high risk of one or the other losing coverage.

Whether the method is failsafe or not will depend on what procedures are in place for action to take if/when coverage is lost - e.g. stop immediately if coverage is lost is going to be failsafe in almost every situation I can think of.
And this is completely irrelevant to how it is (or isn't) more of a distraction than a radio, which may also lose communication at any point (blackspots, out of battery, impact with floor, influx of coffee, etc).
Indeed at an event I was involved with communication with one member of staff was much more reliable by mobile phone than by radio after his radio objected to being dunked in a fountain (although a few days after the event his company mobile phone went for a swim in a canal...).

 

[Tetchytyke]

If I could publish excerpts from the daily logs and show people exactly what went on behind the scenes last night, I would gladly do so. Pretty easy to pass judgement on something when you don't have all the facts surrounding what happened.

It is a shame that VTEC can't/won't do this. It could answer a lot of questions. Not least because crisis management has been absolutely shocking on the ECML for years now, long before Virgin came on the scene.

I can't understand the thinking, given that the following trains were known to be full and standing, but hey.

 

[Chris M]

It is a shame that VTEC can't/won't do this [publish extracts from the daily logs].

Who does have the authority to publish such extracts?

 

[91109]

Post deleted.

 

[TheBigD]

Deleted

 

[ainsworth74]

@91109 very interesting thanks for publishing that! Is there any chance of getting a timeline for when those updates came through? Fine if not as that by itself is very informative.

 

[91109]

@ainsworth74 can do when I get home.

 

[HowardGWR]

@ainsworth74 can do when I get home.

Have a 'well done' from me. It would have made a great documentary and would be a great advert for the railway IMO.

 

[Tetchytyke]

@ainsworth74 can do when I get home.

Thank you, that was really very informative.

And the later update, labelled night shift, makes me think my first opinion wasn't so very far off the mark after all. Disorganization on a Kentish Town scale, shall we say.

 

[bramling]

Thank you, that was really very informative.

And the later update, labelled night shift, makes me think my first opinion wasn't so very far off the mark after all. Disorganization on a Kentish Town scale, shall we say.

I don’t think it can be compared to Kentish Town. That incident resulted in a loaded train stuck in a tunnel then subsequently moving with doors open, and also a member of train staff injuring their hand. A few hours stuck in the cold at Spalding isn’t the end of the world by comparison.

 

[91109]

Post deleted.

 

[158820]

All I can say is that it is fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

 

[SPADTrap]

Sharing internal control logs is incredibly foolish, be extremely careful...

 

[Loop & Link]

Why is this in the public domain?