Types of driver

Not so relevant to LUL due to the frequency of service. A driver who either hangs back or pushes forward unnecessarily would not get very far.
I find today's NR drivers much less concerned with making up lost time in comparison to old time BR drivers for whom keeping to the timetable was a priority.
I used to get the 01:15 Newcastle/Edinburgh train from Kings Cross as far as Retford (03:58) to change to the 04:12 milk train to Grimsby. On one occasion, the 01:15 didn't get away from Kings Cross until 01:50 but we still made the connection at Retford thanks to the driver who really pulled out all the stops to get back on time. Just 2 minutes late at Retford, therefore a whole 33 minutes made up.
Even if the 01:15 still ran today, such making up of time could not happen whether because of driver attitude to his job or more rigid restrictions on speed.

Whilst not quite in the terms listed, there is certainly a fair bit of variety in terms of driving styles on London Underground.

They vary from the very fast to the very slow.

A few drivers seem well practiced in the art of loosing time, they motor the train up to about 25mph and then allow it to coast along occassionally if rarely giving it a little more power on the way, they brake needlessly early, for the speed, creep to a halt and then dwell an unnecessasairly long time at each platform.

This type of driver, certainly gets a reputation amongst the other crews and is generally condemmed for it as are management for failing to do anything about it. There have a been a few occassions where there has been a "heated exchange" when the following driver "has words" !! ;D

Some drivers fail to put up the relevant "Weak Field" or "Coasting Control" flags and thus never exceed 30mph. They like to run under green signals, they even out their running time so they have lost their timetabled dwell time at certain regulating points. in effect they arrive at regulating points late but depart on time.

Both the above generate an increased SPAD risk behind them as signals remain at danger longer than they really should.

Some drivers run at an average speed brake early, but only allow a minimal dwell in platforms.

Some drivers are mid range on everything.

Some drivers drive the train fast but dwell longer in the platforms.

Quite a few drivers drive the train as fast as it will go, subject to limits, use a fast platform approach and minimal dwell time. These drivers can often get a late train back on time given a clear road and rarely claim overtime.

Generally WTTs used to require driving as per the last listed method and indeed ATO works in this way. It maximises your carrying capacity and minimises journey time. However recent WTTs tend to have added more "recovery time" which seems to accommodate the slower runners, though at a cost. It does however help service recovery following disruption, albeit for a slower run when there is no disruption.

Service Controllers have been a touch more proactive in spotting these trains loosing time, though nothing much ultimately seems to be done about it. Ocassionally a driver will call the controller to complain about the one in front.

As a driver you soon know if you have a dawdling driver in front of you as the home signals, inparticular, do not clear at the rate you expect.

Contrary to popular myth, faster drivers seem less likely to have SPADs you have to be alert when chasing along. slower drivers tend to "doze" slightly and tend to rarely come accross certain signals at danger which may catch them out when they encounter one unexpectedly.

So yes, there are all sorts and most staff (managers included) tend to know who falls into which categories, it is a source of staff room banter!

Is there any sort of peer pressure where drivers will have a friendly word with their dawdling colleagues politely informing them they're putting them under an increased risk of SPADs, etc.?

I remember a post on here from a couple of years ago with someone recounting the fact that a Northern line driver told him how s/he never pulled up to signals for fear of spadding them herself, unaware of the fact that they were screwing up the service and putting their colleagues at an increased risk of SPADs themselves.

Yes

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This a difficult one, particularly on the District at the moment with the current WTT (Working Timetable). We had more running time added last December even though, IMO, the running time was already generous.

I put myself in the fast driver category, however I don't like constantly chasing red signals, so I've had to modify my driving.

Despite appreciating the idea behind stand time at regulating points, it is very badly managed on the District, so much so that I now drive to the style whereby I'll loose a bit of time and and arrive at the regulating point pretty much at the departure time. Quite often I don't even have to try though as the slower drivers seem to be more prevalent at the moment (or I'm just unlucky at getting behind them).

I can see aspect sat at his PC shaking his head, but what's the point of chasing reds and getting yourself all worked up and stressed out at the driver in front? It won't get you there any quicker!!

And yes, I fully appreciate the more reds behind you argument - I pushed it quite a lot myself in November/December/January, but again, it won't get you anywhere and you'll just feel like bashing your head against a brick wall. I come to work to get paid, not get stressed over something I can't control.

The good news is management know the current WTT needs to change, and it will in December; so let's hope they've listened to reason and take out all the unnecessary extra running time....

Did LT not have something very similar in times past?

We had one Driver who, even post-privatisation, ran at not much more than 50mph on any freight train and made a fortune in overtime! These days performance is strictly monitored. On the passenger side I know that times are slower anyway due to the wonders of modern technology. In the slam door days we had 20 seconds to perform a station stop at most stations regardless of the length of train. Even so, it was possible to pick time up. In my Guard days I managed to claw back 10 minutes of a 40 minute late start on a Portsmouth to Southampton all stations DEMU purely by running up and down shutting doors quickly!

These days it is a different story. Modern trains arrive at a station, the Conductor releases his own door, it opens, he checks that no-one has fallen underneath, he releases the doors on the rest of the train, the passengers (or customers) then press their own door open buttons, the doors open, the passengers (or customers) get in, the Conductor blows his whistle (mandatory even if there is no-one on the platform), he presses his 'doors close' buttons, the bleep sounds, the doors close, the Conductor then closes his door and presses two on the buzzer for the Driver to reply before the train pulls out. This process takes close on a minute and a half on a good day. It is no wonder that train times for stopping trains from Portsmouth to Southampton and Eastleigh are slower than when the service ran with an Adams Radial and three LSWR coaches in the Great War!

We are closely monitored for performance now. Even though we get 'please explains' for losing a few minutes here and there with 1500-odd tonnes we are still expected not to use full power in order to save fuel! A couple of years ane of our Drivers got a 'please explain' for losing 10 minutes between Winchester and Basingstoke early one October morning with a liner. His response ran to six words. 'Heavy train, greasy rails, s*** loco'! He didn't hear any more after that......

One other example of Driver types I remember was when I and two collegues learned the route between Salisbury to Exeter in 1998. We had five days on a 'light engine', a class 37 for most of the week, leaving Eastleigh at 8am and heading west. On the first day (Monday) we followed our booked pathway exactly as our instructor Driver did the driving while pointing out the route to us. On the second day 'R' drove. He was (and is) a steady Driver who doesn't rush about but does the job well and competantly without panic. I was elected to drive on the wednesday which was lucky for me as we had two class 73s for our transport (result!). I am not exactly known for rushing about either and when you are that many miles away from the third rail you don't push 73s too much anyway!

On the thursday 'M' drove. He was a huge fan of class 37s, in particular the noise they made under full power. He also likes to 'get a move on'. We should have guessed what was coming when he left the depot exit signal at Eastleigh in full power, braked to 15mph to enter the 'down' (Pompey) loop, opened up again for the duration of the loop and braked sharply to do 15mph at the end of it. He drove like this all the way to Exeter and back and, guess what, we gained no time and were held in all of the same places that we had been pathed into all week! If ever there was an illustration that rushing about achieves nothing when driving then that was it!

Personally, I like to have a few minutes in hand as, with container trains, there is always some location (usually on the Western) where you will get shafted by over-zealous regulation. Following stoppers along the GW main line from Didcot to Reading used to wind me up but not now. Some of the Drivers on the stoppers used go like stink between stations and then sit at Tilehurst for four minutes or so as, should they have arrived at Reading early, they would have been reported. If I am following one now I do no more than 35mph as, no matter how many green signals I come across, I know that the Pangbourne 'home' signal will be a yellow!

I'm afraid that phrase gives more credence to a culture of neatly finding an excuse.

The entire premise of a signalling system is built on two guiding principles:

1. stop the trains when necessary.
2. never ever trust the operator.

Never, ever assume that a signal will be at proceed; if it were not for trainstops there would be an awful lot more 'ding, ding and away' type accidents.

However, detailed SPAD analysis and T/Op inattentiveness belongs quite properly in another thread.

It is all to easy to start up against a red, but it is another thing entirely to blame the person in front.

we now have a new type of driver - the PA avoidance driver , which is probably a dawdling driver , but a dawdling driver with a motive.

Surely the correct term for 'loosing' is actually 'loosening'?

Anyway, back on topic, had a District driver a while ago who would probably class under (iii) in the OP, but was probably behind schedule - from Upminister through to Aldgate East opened the doors before the train was at a complete stop, then close them almost immediately. I don't travel on the District that late that often, and usually heading East rather than West; is this a 'usual' occurrence?

That's even happening on heritage railways nowadays. No more trips like 'City of Truro' +7 going at 50mph UP Washford Bank, more's the pity.

Headway clock ('Izmailovskaya' station, Moscow).