It has never been necessary that, say, a coach driver learns the position of every traffic light they will pass. But even if the equivalent is somehow thought essential on rail, the network, as so often, underuses new technology, though it would be safer.
Well... that's because a coach can stop in a few metres. Also, traffic lights tend to apply to all lanes of traffic, not separate traffic lights for each lane, so read across risk is less. Oh, and another thing is that a good coach driver will do, is anticipate a green changing to amber and then red and be prepared to stop at any traffic light, whereas a train at 70mph or 100mph can't do that can they?
Consequences of a SPAD in a coach: Both coach driver and other road uses are able to take evasive action.
The railway is are rather more limited in this regard. If you actually think it through...
Many TOCs make little or no use of simulators for training.
They aren't using simulators for route learning. They use them for simulating degraded situations.
I don't think many simulate a real route in great detail.
And for driving in service, all TOCs could use incab electronic aids which flag each feature of a route as it arises, reduce the need to learn every gradient sign by heart, and cut the driver’s chances of forgetting one. There is already, of course, a system on every train which stops it automatically if a signal is passed at danger - rendering the need for year-long route learning still more moot.
Oh of course there is! Fitted to every signal as well, and is guaranteed to stop a train safely within the overlap at the maximum permitted approach speed as well.
Oh hang on, that's not true though is it?
Poor Lara doesn't seem to have got the hang of the fact that if you make Sundays part of the working week - you need more drivers!
Also, that "most" drivers voluntarily work Sundays doesn't really convey that TPE, LNER, Island Line, SWR, South Eastern, Elizabeth Line, London Overground, Heathrow Express, and the Eastern part of Northern all have Sundays as part of the working week, and Southern, Gatwick Express, Cross Country, and Avanti West Coast all have committed enforced overtime for Sundays.
Someone without a degree could've written that absolute garbage. They are overpaying for her efforts.
Although... I suppose that it's a report written by someone with a degree gives it credence, and so therefore it does it's job at union bashing, and the notion that it is easy to drive a train, amongst the right wing politicians.
Do you know what I find the most ironic thing about this report?
When I started as a Trainee Driver, some of my colleagues on my course completed their training and were fully productive (including the two main types of traction) on the route between Sheffield/Derby/Leicester/St Pancras, Nottingham to Leicester, and the diversionary routes via the Erewash Vally from Trent Junction to Clay Cross Junction, and Nottingham to where it joins that line as well, in.... 9 months.
Nine months is perfectly possible, providing the training is well organised, and doesn't have hold-ups waiting for Instructors to do practical handling (so isn't a huge influx all at once!). But this is the railway, where at least one TOC reached the end of its tenure and found it cheaper to pay the fine for a Driver resource shortfall on handing back the keys, than to train enough drivers that they were supposed to!
£100,000 is what they put on their tax return, including all the paperclips and staples. I don't believe it actually costs that much.
Edited to add most Drivers at East Midlands Railway also have Sundays in the working week.
