ScotRail cancelling services July 2024

[Blindtraveler]

What are you betting man? I'd be more likely to lose a fortune if it didn't happen
Seriously. Well done to all the staff attempting to keep this show on the rails and sorry if our comments appear derogatory towards you, they really aren't meant that way

 

[InvHst]

What could possibly go wrong? Utter madness stretching the fleet like that, especially with the lack of spares and general decline In the fleet.

19 Diagrams and 22 sets is tight don't get me wrong it's possible to do I think they may look at it being 18 diagrams to allow for 2 spares and 2 exams. The big reason behind why 169/128 have been repaired and are going into service.

 

[Retorus]

What are you betting man? I'd be more likely to lose a fortune if it didn't happen
Seriously. Well done to all the staff attempting to keep this show on the rails and sorry if our comments appear derogatory towards you, they really aren't meant that way

Who are you talking to?

 

[scotraildriver]

19 Diagrams and 22 sets is tight don't get me wrong it's possible to do I think they may look at it being 18 diagrams to allow for 2 spares and 2 exams. The big reason behind why 169/128 have been repaired and are going into service.

Is there not 23 sets now that HA23 is back from Doncaster?

 

[InvHst]

Is there not 23 sets now that HA23 is back from Doncaster?

Good point forgot about that

 

[Bikeman78]

This is off topic, but that’s a fascinating point about the North Electrics. Basically lack of available infrastructure (to be able to detach and stable units off peak) causes it to be such a loss making route. Yet there’s little alternative because it likely plays a considerable role in avoiding increased car use (and congestion) in Glasgow.

Most of the termini have more platforms than required to run the off peak service. You could stable two pairs at Helensburgh so four of the nine sets would run as singles off peak. There are also spare platforms at Larkhall, Milngavie and Springburn so a pair of units could stable at each of them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Sep 2024 ==

It would make sense to wait for the HST replacement to free up some 170s or East Kilbirde electrification to free up some 156s.

I don't think anyone at Edinburgh signs 156s anymore so they won't be much use unless retraining takes place.

 

[hux385]

Train Timetables

Departure times. Arrivals. Calling points. Everything you need.

www.scotrail.co.uk

Last updated: Friday, 20 September 2024

We've introduced a temporary timetable to provide greater certainty and reliability for customers until at least 6 October 2024

You can check your journey using Journey Planner for weekends and Saturdays up to and including Saturday, 05 October.

For Sundays up to and including 06 October, you are advised to check your journey on the day of travel. Whilst most reduced timetables are showing in Journey Planners, there may be some additional on the day of cancellations.

Website is showing as the timetable being extended a further week to 6th October.

 

[chuff chuff]

Train Timetables

Departure times. Arrivals. Calling points. Everything you need.

www.scotrail.co.uk

Website is showing as the timetable being extended a further week to 6th October.

Planned to go back to normal after that.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Planned to go back to normal after that.

Lets see...

 

[chuff chuff]

Pay deal accepted.

 

[najaB]

Pay deal accepted.

Excellent news.

 

[EMU303]

Pay deal accepted.

How soon before normal services resume or will SR pare back a little on the full timetable?

 

[chuff chuff]

As above supposed to return to normal 7th October.

 

[northscots]

Wording of an email sent to staff is curiously worded. It says work to "improve the timetable" rather than restore the timetable. Certainly suggests it wont be a full restoration.

 

[chuff chuff]

Haven't seen the email yet but talk from a reasonable level of management was the 7th.

 

[northscots]

Haven't seen the email yet but talk from a reasonable level of management was the 7th.

Let's hope that's correct

 

[Peter0124]

As long as we actually have a decent service in the evenings and on Sundays.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I'd be interested in their excuse for not restoring a full service if indeed this is the case

 

[dk1]

Another good news day on the railway.

 

[najaB]

I'd be interested in their excuse for not restoring a full service if indeed this is the case

Could be as simple as the timetable was intended to cover peak summer leisure travel season, but now we've past that it includes trains that makes less sense to run in the autumn.

 

[Bill57p9]

It would be refreshing for the GSW between Kilmarnock and Dumfries to improve from a 4 hourly service, with last trains around 1900.

 

[InOban]

They can't train new drivers fast enough to replace those retiring or leaving to other TOCs ( as aslef say is happening)

 

[scotraildriver]

I'd be interested in their excuse for not restoring a full service if indeed this is the case

Because there are ALOT of drivers retiring imminently and although they're working flat out to replace them returning to a full service will once again rely on large amounts of overtime. That leaves the service vulnerable if people decide to take their time off as is happening more and more, post COVID people would rather spend time with their families. Conductors in particular no longer work as much overdue to a decline in customer behaviour, virtually no one wants to work weekends nights or large sporting events any more due the appalling behaviour of passengers. It's just not worth the hassle and the levels of aggression have massively increased and there is no support from the police. Furthermore their are ALOT of very early morning and late night services which are barely used, and never have been, but it's now realised that saving money is perhaps more of a priority than running empty trains.

 

[Iamanoob]

Because there are ALOT of drivers retiring imminently and although they're working flat out to replace them returning to a full service will once again rely on large amounts of overtime. That leaves the service vulnerable if people decide to take their time off as is happening more and more, post COVID people would rather spend time with their families. Conductors in particular no longer work as much overdue to a decline in customer behaviour, virtually no one wants to work weekends nights or large sporting events any more due the appalling behaviour of passengers. It's just not worth the hassle and the levels of aggression have massively increased and there is no support from the police. Furthermore their are ALOT of very early morning and late night services which are barely used, and never have been, but it's now realised that saving money is perhaps more of a priority than running empty trains.

Rumour I heard they are saving close to a million £ with the reduced timetable.

 

[numtot12345]

Rumour I heard they are saving close to a million £ with the reduced timetable.

A million over what time period - a year?

 

[Iamanoob]

A million over what time period - a year?

Since the temp timetable was implemented.

 

[Bill57p9]

Rumour I heard they are saving close to a million £ with the reduced timetable.

Would be interesting to know whether that's just operating cost or whether lost revenue has been accounted for.
I would expect the temporary timetable to have reduced cost more than revenue lost, but the latter will certainly be more than zero.

 

[kkong]

Since the temp timetable was implemented.

I would expect the reduced operating costs in terms of track access, overtime payments etc will be WELL over £1m.

Consider how long the temporary timetable has been in operation (since 10 July 2024) and the scope of the service reductions (only 75% of normal services running Mon-Sat and an even fewer on Sun).

We are talking approximately 600 services per day that are not running, out of a normal total of 2,250 services per day.

Where did your figure of £1m come from?

 

[Cails27]

I would imagine the amount of back pay that ScotRail are going to have to pay out will wipe out any savings that may have been made in the last couple of months.

 

[kkong]

I would imagine the amount of back pay that ScotRail are going to have to pay out will wipe out any savings that may have been made in the last couple of months.

That is a bit of a strange way of looking at it.

Some back pay would have been considered in any case, but there is of course a difference between the % that ScotRail originally offered and the % now agreed.

For additional context on the "£1m saving": annual staff costs were £279m in the latest accounts (year to Apr 2023), out of total operating costs of £967m.

Averaging out, that is £764k staff costs per day.

The temporary timetable will have been in place for 3 months by the time the timetable is improved (to whatever extent).

It's highly likely that more than ~£11k per day will have been saved by not paying the overtime, track access and whatever other costs would have otherwise been incurred if the cancelled services ran.