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Post by PiccNT on Jul 29, 2021 9:13:28 GMT
I agree with AS on members of the union ignoring the strike. On the Picc, there seems to be quite a lot moving from RMT to ASLEF, especially in this case drivers that were PT Night Tube that got a full time position out of this (dis)agreement. The rumour mill suggests that many existing RMT members will be ignoring the strike. The grade consolidation has happened, there is not a cat in hells chance that LU will give way on this and there are far more important issues down the line that the TU's should concentrate their efforts on.
And as highlighted above, they only just scraped past the legal thresholds on ballots returned and those voting yes. Pick your fights!!
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Post by PiccNT on Jul 27, 2021 9:42:34 GMT
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Post by PiccNT on May 19, 2021 8:54:44 GMT
Here lies the problem from my point of view. The new timetable shows a reduction in need for 1-2 drivers, the new roster at Queen's Park has gone from 101 down to 90, a reduction of 11 drivers. That's quite a discrepancy that LU have refused to justify or even attempt to answer when questioned. 10% of drivers have lost their rostered position and have been put back into the pool, until such time that natural wastage brings the number down. Being in the pool certainly has is foibles and pool drivers are not permitted to be part of the Mafia, that on top of the hardest hit duties being in the 9am-5pm Range means anyone with caring responsibilities that used to preference this shifts have been totally shafted. The union, made up of those members quite rightly want serious discussion regarding such a number of job losses, so far the concerns raised have not been answered, the members are unhappy, the reps have not signed off on the new rosters. As of the 16th May they have been unilaterally imposed. Naturally this leads to a dispute arising between LU and RMT. On a lighter note, the new timetable certainly looks much better, although I haven't tested it in anger yet as we were special working on Sunday, Job went up the wall on Monday and I was Rest day on Tuesday (starting to sound like a Craig David song) We are back to a 5-6min 2 train step back at Elephant and it was catching people out yesterday, we got used to the 3 train 10min's of the last timetable. Have to decide between using the tea point or the toilet as we now don't have time for both. LU being prioritised above London Overground north of the Park? Maybe someone forgot to let Webley Suburban know as I haven't been prioritised ever, although my sample size of 1 is not meaningful statistically, the Bakerloo has always been at the bottom of the pecking order on NR metals! I book on soon so will get to see if it all works as planned. Hi Westinghouse. Certainly on my line, pool drivers can join the syndicate (Mafia) and section 3.3 of the "Syndicate Compliance and Guidance" confirms that pool drivers can join. Unless it's a local agreement on your line that overrides the standard agreement?
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Post by PiccNT on May 14, 2021 9:35:37 GMT
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Post by PiccNT on May 10, 2021 12:00:34 GMT
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Post by PiccNT on May 1, 2021 9:35:22 GMT
Back in 2015 management wanted Night Tube to be part of the "full-time roster", in July that year they offered a £500 bonus to all grades working on Night Tube lines plus Train Operators got a £200 bonus for every NT shift worked during the transition period which would have been a year or there abouts. If the unions had accepted that deal Night Tube would have started in September 2015 and we'd have been working Night Tube at the standard rate for the last five years. Instead they hired the part timers who will now have the opportunity to go full time and we'll be getting the equivalent of 3 days pay for working two night shifts. According to the proposal the Night Tube shifts will be roughly every 12 weeks on the roster but obviously those who don't want to work them are concerned that they won't be able to swap them through the Mafias, etc. ASLEF support the proposals but RMT wouldn't even attend the last Trains Functional Council meeting or provide any feedback from the proposals so the issue is being escalated to Company Council. Rumours that the reduced peak time service on W&C will have 14 duties, down from the current 20 so some of the Drain regulars are moaning that there won't be enough to go around and they'll have to do more work on the Main! The horror, the horror... And on the Picc, a number of Night Tube drivers that are RMT members are switching to ASLEF as they don't believe that the RMT are looking after their interests. There are a few questions not answered on the proposals. At my depot, we have "fixed linked" rosters, i.e. a separate roster for dead early duties, dead late duties and the main roster that's a mix of early and late turns. We currently don't have any night turn duties. Not quite sure where the Night Tube duties will fit in or whether we will also get weekday night duties. The current system with separate rosters for Night Tube and Day Tube had its own problems. An "oil and water" agreement whereby Night Tube staff couldn't drive a train that was on the day roster and vice versa and instructors not being able to work beyond 01:30 caused issues when NT staff required additional training. The new proposal makes sense and if there are sufficient volunteers, it should be easier to manage.
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Post by PiccNT on Apr 28, 2021 10:26:30 GMT
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Post by PiccNT on Jan 14, 2021 11:10:02 GMT
In cab training must be resuming soon as we've got trainees coming to the District line in a couple of weeks time. I can't see night tube returning until we can resume to in cab training without Covid protocols. There's no way we can train enough people at a sensible rate with Covid testing, slippage due to people isolating, train cancelations (making required moves impossible to complete), need to maintain bubbles with one I/O to one trainee, etc constantly getting in the way. On average its taking twice as long as a normal to get one person trained, so in cab training with Covid protocols added in is making training new drivers a challenge to say the least. I totally agree with all of this. We have plenty of vacancies on our roster so getting that filled plus releasing drivers to go to other lines is going to be a challenge and a half. Plus of course the steady flow of action plans takes us away from trainees. The upside to all of this is that SPaD's have reduced quite a bit for various reasons. I believe in-cab training is due to be discussed again any time now. Personally, I was happy with the mitigation put in place and would resume again when we get the green light. As far as Night Tube is concerned, that will most likely be a long way down the road. This and other things may of course change after the Mayoral election.
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Post by PiccNT on Jan 13, 2021 16:45:04 GMT
There was a working assumption that Night Tube would resume in Spring 2021. We knew some time ago that this wouldn't happen. We have been officially informed now that Night Tube will remain suspended but it remains a temporary suspension. It will return when there is a demand for the service and it can be staffed without affecting the regular day service. A lot of the staff have either been moved permanently to full time or seconded. This means that training of new staff will need to take place prior to the introduction but as in-cab training is suspended, this may take some time.
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Post by PiccNT on Dec 23, 2020 13:51:51 GMT
You can have as many or as few train side staff as you like, but with no control staff you’re not running anything. This is where the big problem is now occurring. The Bakerloo has no night Controller cover this week with early shut downs and late start ups occurring yesterday, today and tomorrow. Other control centres, signalling centres and signal cabins are at similar risk and it is largely down to staff good will that this has not yet occurred. I find it interesting how the same tub thumping is never head from control staff as it is from train side. Yes, that slipped my mind even though I was working last night and announcing no Bakerloo after 21:30. I'm no expert on control room personnel but I believe the Picc controller/signaller team are the same grade and swap between roles? That may make it easier to resource?
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Post by PiccNT on Dec 23, 2020 13:33:30 GMT
Coverage is starting to be an issue on the Central Line, with several Train Operators tested positive and others shielding yet again. I wonder how long LUL can run a full timetable? And in-cab training has been paused again with a review in the New Year. There are a fair number of trains cancelled every day but with the latest drop of passengers, it's not too much of an issue. We have engineering works on the Picc from tomorrow and offering a 3-4 minute service through town to Hammersmith and a 10 minute Northfields to Heathrow 5 service. Not sure how many will need to go to Heathrow and if BTP has upped their presence on the stations, I don't suppose we'll have too many anywhere! Back to training. At this rate, it will be about one year of no training. Our line is a big feeder to the other lines. We won't be able to release anyone as we'll be too short, we're using the majority of night tube drivers on the day service and if we do release anyone, they can't be trained anyway so it's a big problem all round. The only feasible way forward to stop the daily cancellation of trains is to reduce the service from what it is. But that takes months to plan and get agreed with the relevant parties. Cock up on the train front. Nightmare City Arizona (With credit to The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin).
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Post by PiccNT on Oct 31, 2020 16:07:34 GMT
A bulletin dated 30 October 2020 has gone up at West Ruislip. Seems this wasn't supposed to be displayed until Monday but an over-enthusiastic manager put it out two days early. Has a couple of typos but that doesn't mean much as a lot of the notices don't appear to be proof read!
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Post by PiccNT on Oct 21, 2020 8:51:54 GMT
Instructors plus whoever is with us on a weekly basis or if we have someone new within a week, an additional pair of tests required.
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Post by PiccNT on Oct 14, 2020 14:00:46 GMT
On Sunday 16 May 2021, there is an introduction of 5 new working timetables. Metropolitan, C&H and District to do with run-time and associated changes for SMA03.
Piccadilly WTT 59 will be introduced for new run-times. The major change is that the Night Tube service has been removed hence me posting in this section.
Bakerloo WTT47 to address reliability and turnaround time issues.
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Post by PiccNT on Aug 28, 2020 13:49:42 GMT
Well it's obvious that those assurances won't be forthcoming within 14 days or 14 years. It's also quite obvious that things will change. Quite how hard it hits us is anyone's guess but one thing's for sure, change is coming.
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Post by PiccNT on Aug 15, 2020 12:25:56 GMT
I have volunteered as part of the I/Op grade to take part in the trial. It was delayed due to a couple of lines jumping the gun with in-cab training and the TU's threw their toys out of the pram and refused to be a part of further discussions. I think that may have been resolved now and we are due to have another briefing session with the training team in the coming days.
The trial will start with drivers that require an action plan after an operational incident or for refresher training after being away from driving. We have a big issue as mentioned in an earlier post in terms of space in the '73 stock. Added to that, the AC just circulates the air so we will find out shortly what the mitigation plans are.
As others have mentioned, training needs to restart of we will seriously run short of drivers. The Picc over the past few years bore the brunt of the training due to both night tube and the constant exodus to other lines. There are a lot of I/Op's on our line as well that aren't interested in being part of the trial. That's a decision for them. The only outcome if we don't train is to reduce the service. It probably needs reducing anyway given the circumstances but writing new timetables and schedules is a time consuming job.
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Post by PiccNT on Jul 25, 2020 11:37:05 GMT
I thought the social distancing distance was now "1m+"; stay 1m apart plus wear PPE. Isn't the I/Op seat over 1m away from the T/Op seat? Without having measured, no I don’t think on most stocks it is. There shouldn’t really be a need for I/Os on the W&C as most drivers shouldn’t have exceeded the 6 months threshold, so a trip on their own should suffice, unless some agreement has been made to the contrary, and I don’t see why that should need to be the case. Presumably this is the reason they’re doing this now, to avoid 6 months elapsing. Obviously there may well be a small number who have gone over 6 months for whatever reason, perhaps through having been off the handle back in March (eg sick). There are certainly discussions in place to come up with a method for how in-cab training can resume, with measures such as masks and even bubbles being considered, however last I knew nothing is yet finalised. I’ve been off for a couple of weeks so this may have progressed in the meantime. On the '73 stock, it's about 78cm between the driver and I/Op seat. There will be a trial initially for in-cab training. I've been off on leave this week but my colleagues have received the first of a series of briefings regarding the resumption of training. Whilst the majority of my colleagues are happy to resume, we have concerns about wearing masks/visors for long periods of time knowing how unpleasant that is, especially in a confined space. We have some ideas such as doing shorter trips initially but this will inevitably mean that we are withdrawn from our normal roster and will run either training trains or commandeer trains as required. Communicating with PPE on may be an issue especially with the usual noise we have so the trial will hopefully be an opportunity to iron out issues as they arise.
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Post by PiccNT on Jul 21, 2020 13:06:49 GMT
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Post by PiccNT on Jul 21, 2020 12:12:15 GMT
Blimey I opened a right can of worms here. In the days I am talking about pulling the handle stopped the train un-like now where it informs the driver a handle has been pulled and may prompt them to make an announcement if that has been overlooked in the heat of the moment That's not how it works (at least not on the 1992 stock) If you activate a passenger emergency alarm while the train is still within "platform limits" it will activate the emergency brake, it you pull it after it has left "platform limits" the train will continue to the next station and activate the brake once the doors are opened Either way the driver has to go back to reset it. If the train has reached the next station then its comparatively easy, the doors are open and the driver can walk down the platform. If the train is partway out the platform the doors can't be opened and the driver has to walk through the "saloons" which might not be so easy during the peak. And on the 1973 stock, the train will make an emergency brake application regardless of where it is.
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Post by PiccNT on Jul 1, 2020 14:44:41 GMT
Premature for Cockfosters. Not ready yet.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 30, 2020 12:56:45 GMT
Our depot have had a small number (I think four) Night Tube staff transferred to us permanently full time from this week and I fully expect more to follow. I also expect this has happened elsewhere on the combine. With the amount of NT staff now gone/going from the establishment, it's hard to see how this is ever going to get reintroduced. That's because Arnos has reduced the Night tube operators by 8 and Acton 7 with the new timetables coming in and with no training going on they cant transfer lines yet so when cross line training comes back not sure how many will be staying Yes, but if hypothetically night tube does return, it will presumably revert to the original schedule requiring the original resource. That's going to be a big ask to resource that with such a training backlog.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 30, 2020 12:22:10 GMT
As from Queens Park to Harrow & Wealdstone, the platform height is considerably higher than the rest of the line. The placement of the notices on 73 stock to make it visible to customers from those stations as well as the rest of the line makes sense. I hope not, as the ‘73 Stock still work the Piccadilly Just trying to work out how many wrong sticks that would take.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 30, 2020 12:16:22 GMT
And we have the 2 metre stickers on virtually every window. Doubt if there is the money to replace them with 1 metre + stickers. Still a good proportion of passengers not complying with the face covering law. Maybe it's just because I do lates and there are fewer people about. I wonder how long it will be until LU decide that the normal working timetables are providing a service that is way in excess of what's needed outside of the peaks. With more reports on car usage increasing rather than using the tube, it surely isn't sustainable to run virtually empty trains. The new normal maybe with us long term. Ultimately a massive shakeup is probably now inevitable. There’s already a massive hole in resourcing (just on the basis of no training having been going on for four months). I’d say expect night tube drivers to be offered full time or nothing, and massive cuts in back office functions. If there still aren’t enough staff to rosters then service cuts are likely to be inevitable, though redeploying night tube drivers may mitigate this. I can’t see night tube returning - with a training backlog it just won’t prove efficient to train people for two days of productive work. Perhaps we’ll see later last trains on the two nights plus weekday startup times on Sundays. Our depot have had a small number (I think four) Night Tube staff transferred to us permanently full time from this week and I fully expect more to follow. I also expect this has happened elsewhere on the combine. With the amount of NT staff now gone/going from the establishment, it's hard to see how this is ever going to get reintroduced.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 30, 2020 10:47:20 GMT
And we have the 2 metre stickers on virtually every window. Doubt if there is the money to replace them with 1 metre + stickers. Still a good proportion of passengers not complying with the face covering law. Maybe it's just because I do lates and there are fewer people about.
I wonder how long it will be until LU decide that the normal working timetables are providing a service that is way in excess of what's needed outside of the peaks. With more reports on car usage increasing rather than using the tube, it surely isn't sustainable to run virtually empty trains. The new normal maybe with us long term.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 20, 2020 8:36:53 GMT
I'm surprised that so many people are disregarding the new legislation and not wearing a face covering. On Thursday I saw quite a few BTP officers about, didn't see one at all last night. I presume the fare evaders have taken the decision that as they don't pay, they also don't have to comply with the rules. Saw a bit of this whilst waiting for my train.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 15, 2020 17:29:36 GMT
We have been told that the expectation is that all staff will wear face coverings as an additional measure to further protect and provide reassurance to both our people and our customers.
Not sure what will happen if some refuse as it's only an expectation and not a rule.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 9, 2020 9:01:04 GMT
Yes, that's correct, however on the Northern line, Highgate NB was always a favourite given the length of the platform.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 8, 2020 11:38:05 GMT
Yes, as mentioned in the Corona thread. I wonder what will happen with all those externals that have passed their assessments and are awaiting start dates? On hold until further notice I guess.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 8, 2020 10:03:30 GMT
Here's a video of the floodgates in operation.
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Post by PiccNT on Jun 7, 2020 19:07:26 GMT
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