More Media Rail Bashing

[TheEdge]

Nice to see the Metro (a paper which exists only because of the railway don't forget) is having another bash at the railways for no good reason.

A new excuse was added to the list of reasons for rail delays this week.

London Midland cancelled two rush-hour trains – because the crews were banned from walking.

Ticket conductors were making a 1km (half-mile) journey from Birmingham Snow Hill station to New Street in a taxi when it broke down in a busy tunnel.

Link

 

[gordonthemoron]

if they were in a road tunnel, I expect that walking would be too dangerous, never mind the money aspect

 

[Lockwood]

I believe that there are TROs on the A38 tunnels banning pedestrians (Are these the tunnels the taxi would be going through?)
Once you get out of them, you're then stuck in the middle of a junction with no pedestrian facilities, due to no expectation of pedestrians being there.

 

[Tetchytyke]

It probably is the Queensway tunnel.

I guess they're just commenting on why the guards are taking a taxi when it's a ten minute walk at most. The reason is clear- they're carrying ticket machines and cash and mugging is a real issue- but Metro don't like that reason. Just wait until they find out about the taxis used between Wigan Wallgate and North Western

Metro is, of course, owned and published by the Daily Mail.

 

[causton]

Just wait until they find out about the taxis used between Wigan Wallgate and North Western

Is that... is that a true sentence?

 

[Tetchytyke]

I was reliably informed they used taxis for the late night staff transfers between the two stations. Don't know if they still do/if I was having my leg pulled, but I don't think I was.

 

[175001]

I can assure you that your leg is being pulled on that one mate

 

[SS4]

The metro makes it's money by biting the hand that feeds it. Commuters and travellers in general do not remember every time the bus or train is on time but manage to remember almost every single time it's late or cancelled. In essence this means the metro will get more publicity (hence more money) if it feeds these selective memories.

I think I read somewhere (can't remember where) that anger suppresses rational thought and critical thinking which is why ever headline ever will attempt to make its target angry - it's part the reason the Daily Mail does so well. The Metro of course has done it here too: the headline is not Train cancelled due to mugging risk

Something tells me the staff would rather have worked the service because now they'll be stuck in Birmingham until either their service was scheduled to return or they get put elsewhere. I've not got much else to say about the story that hasn't been said

 

[Philip Elliott]

I can assure you that your leg is being pulled on that one mate

Back in the day VXC staff did demand a taxi.

 

[the sniper]

I was reliably informed they used taxis for the late night staff transfers between the two stations. Don't know if they still do/if I was having my leg pulled, but I don't think I was.

There used to be service cars even during the day which ferried Guards and Drivers between the stations (New Street and Snow Hill), depots (Soho and Tyseley) and the staff car park for New Street. Central Trains ran down the service cars and now LM just use taxis for ferrying drivers to Soho and Tyseley. There's one service car (van) left which ferries New Street men to & from the staff car park at night. Cross Country do this too but with hired Taxis.

Moves between Snow Hill and New Street are pretty rare nowadays as no New Street men (Guards or Drivers) sign the routes out of Snow Hill. The only people who sign both are Worcester men, and TBH, I didn't know they had a regular booked transfer between the two.

As others have said, its fairy obvious why Guards in particular are taxied between the two stations. Unlike Cross Country, LM Guards aren't even allowed to take their machines across a public road from New Street station to their mess room. They have to book them in before leaving railway property...