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Post by superteacher on Apr 13, 2017 19:29:04 GMT
This thread is turning into the Aslefshrugged and Drainrat show! All very interesting though, so I've decided to rename and move the thread as it has naturally evolved from initial discussion about a bad morning on the Central!
Keep going guys, I'm learning a lot!
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Post by dpr on Apr 13, 2017 22:36:55 GMT
I think an interesting point to note here is that the physical set up of all the control rooms on LU is by no means standardised, and must have an impact on how all the controllers work.
For the line controllers on the sub surface lines, they have to make do with with pretty cramped rooms, and a lot of their important contacts (signalers etc) could be miles away and only reachable on the end of a phone. I think they also only get trackernet as a line diagram, which isn't always that reliable, so have to make use of the connect radio system to identify where trains might be.
In contrast, the modern rooms for the Northern, Victoria and Jubilee have pretty much everyone sat together in one spacious area. Even train doctors are about to diagnose problems with trains remotely I believe. It would seem this is probably a more efficient way of doing things I guess, happy for anyone to comment!
Here on the Bakerloo, we're a bit in between the two examples. Controllers and signalers are in the same room (apart from the NR sig who controls north of QPK) and we rotate between the roles day to day. Yet the technology is from the 80s, and the trains obviously even older. When a train has a defect, its up to a train maintainer to get to the train somehow.
There are probably more important things which impact how lines recover the service, but thought it was a good bit of context!
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Post by aslefshrugged on Apr 13, 2017 23:33:28 GMT
That is where engineering train drivers have the advantage over other drivers, they work several lines and they get to experience the various control rooms reaction to service suspensions etc. If it weren't for the Leytonstone knife incident I'd never have been stuck up White City west siding with an engineering train next door chatting to the driver and I wouldn't have any idea that the Central Line was any worse than other lines for recovery after incidents. Then again that was just his own opinion, maybe other engineering train drivers would disagree and rate the Central Line higher than second worst but we do seem to have trains still running late several hours after an incident has been sorted. A new annoying trend is Wood Lane giving us "platforms and hold" and not telling us what's going on, especially as we are required to make PAs to the punters every two minutes. "This train is being held due to an incident, as soon as someone tells me where it is and what's going on I'll tell you but for now your guess is as good as mine". do you mean engineering operator or test train operator? Engineer drivers know about as much about ops as we do about engineering, though, having been a test train driver myself (a good while back), the TTOs would know. When there were service disruptions, we'd generally not be sent out on the road. Thankfully, I don't suffer too much with all that palava on the Central line, it most certainly is annoying and it's just crept in. Must be the new SCM policy 🤔 SCM = Service Control Manager....the person in charge of controllers/signallers (or could be wrong) I have no idea what his exact job title was, he was on the front end of an engineering train on the eastbound into White City, I was up White City west siding, both being held on signals and we got chatting |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 14, 2017 20:10:56 GMT
I think an interesting point to note here is that the physical set up of all the control rooms on LU is by no means standardised, and must have an impact on how all the controllers work. For the line controllers on the sub surface lines, they have to make do with with pretty cramped rooms, and a lot of their important contacts (signalers etc) could be miles away and only reachable on the end of a phone. I think they also only get trackernet as a line diagram, which isn't always that reliable, so have to make use of the connect radio system to identify where trains might be. In contrast, the modern rooms for the Northern, Victoria and Jubilee have pretty much everyone sat together in one spacious area. Even train doctors are about to diagnose problems with trains remotely I believe. It would seem this is probably a more efficient way of doing things I guess, happy for anyone to comment! Here on the Bakerloo, we're a bit in between the two examples. Controllers and signalers are in the same room (apart from the NR sig who controls north of QPK) and we rotate between the roles day to day. Yet the technology is from the 80s, and the trains obviously even older. When a train has a defect, its up to a train maintainer to get to the train somehow. There are probably more important things which impact how lines recover the service, but thought it was a good bit of context! Wasn't the bakerloo line control room the first to go command and control? |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 15, 2017 8:49:04 GMT
It isn't really, much like comparing different football teams in different leagues across many countries. In almost 20 yrs on the Central line I would say they're not too bad, they have their moments, some unnecessary rudeness from a select few of them, but I talk to most of them regularly both in an official and unofficial capacity. The only control room I've ever believed acted vengefully (and I say that cause a friend was working there and told me so) was the Jubillee line in the late 90s. Not recovering a service generally comes back to bite them on backside when they don't have drivers in the right position or on short meal relief, never really had an issue with this on Central line, but seemed almost a weekly occurrence on the Jubilee. Neasden were in combat and the drivers were the enemy, which I believe, goes a long way in explaining the very militant nature of the drivers on the line, they weren't always a militant crew though, but having 2 reps on the functional council gives them a bit of clout 😉 I've never worked on the Jubilee but I have heard more people speaking about bad experiences they've had with Neasden than about every other control room put together. Cobourg Street was always a professional control room especially towards the end, their only flaw was they were a bit of a law un to themselves at times in never declaring staff errors, and one or two toxic personalities. Following the departure of a few unpleasant characters over the years and the move to Highgate I would speak very highly of Northern Line service control. Apart from the inevitable one or two bad apples Highgate is a lovely control room, and very good at their job too. I think nowadays the weak link if there is one is the LUCC. An empire which has rapidly built up almost overnight, and one which few people have a good word to say about. To be fair, this is not so much the ex-NOC side of things (most of whom are good as gold), but the SOO and even worse the NIRMs are what puts a sour taste in the mouth. NIRMS 😡😡😡😡😡😡 One incident springs to mind at Leyton couple years back, where one of them was on scene. What was no more than an incident where a couple of passengers reported smoke, turned into an international disaster, created by a person in said grade. The big "I AM", ERU were called, police, LFB, train was put on skids, emergency evacuation etc. etc. it wasn't using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, more like flying an A380 Airbus into said nut at a speed in excess of 500mph. When the dust settled and the powers that be realised the mess up, said grade person had conveniently disappeared, vanished from the scene, obviously to put the backside shield in place as the driver got the blame for the whole incident, the report was written as though the NIRM wasn't even on site 😕 |
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Post by superteacher on Apr 15, 2017 10:18:08 GMT
Abbreviation and acronym alert:
LUCC, SOO, NIRMS?
As has been requested previously, please explain the meaning of acronyms when they are first mentioned. We don't all work for LU (London Underground).
This thread is interesting, but will quickly cease to be so when most of the people reading it are unable to understand what on Earth is going on . . .
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Post by MoreToJack on Apr 15, 2017 10:32:29 GMT
LUCC = London Underground Control Centre
NOC = Network Operations Centre (previous incarnation)
SOO = Senior Operating Officer
NIRM = Network Incident Response Manager
DRM = Duty Reliavility Manager
I think that's it for what's been mentioned so far. I will add these to our regularly used abbreviations thread, but I echo the comments of superteacher above. If you think an abbreviation should be added to the thread, please PM the staff and we will arrange.
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Post by theblackferret on Apr 15, 2017 11:07:14 GMT
LUCC = London Underground Control Centre NOC = Network Operations Centre (previous incarnation) SOO = Senior Operating Officer NIRM = Network Incident Response Manager DRM = Duty Reliavility Manager I think that's it for what's been mentioned so far. I will add these to our regularly used abbreviations thread, but I echo the comments of superteacher above. If you think an abbreviation should be added to the thread, please PM the staff and we will arrange.Many thanks from the non-techs amongst us. And you nearly made my morning when I saw DRM explained-for one glorious moment I thought Einsteinian theory was alive and kicking in TfL. Now there's future-proofing with a vengeance-Tube trains able to travel backwards in time & hence the end of delays, in a relative sense, of course.  |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 15, 2017 12:14:19 GMT
ERU - Emergency Response Unit
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Post by MoreToJack on Apr 15, 2017 12:15:56 GMT
I admit it was a challenge to make sure I wrote the 'official' titles rather than ones used unofficially!
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Post by drainrat on Apr 15, 2017 12:44:51 GMT
LUCC = London Underground Control Centre NOC = Network Operations Centre (previous incarnation) SOO = Senior Operating Officer NIRM = Network Incident Response Manager DRM = Duty Reliavility Manager I think that's it for what's been mentioned so far. I will add these to our regularly used abbreviations thread, but I echo the comments of superteacher above. If you think an abbreviation should be added to the thread, please PM the staff and we will arrange.Many thanks from the non-techs amongst us. And you nearly made my morning when I saw DRM explained-for one glorious moment I thought Einsteinian theory was alive and kicking in TfL. Now there's future-proofing with a vengeance-Tube trains able to travel backwards in time & hence the end of delays, in a relative sense, of course. Though i'd suggest the DRM role is a throwback to the old DTMs (Duty Train Manager) and area managers, however, albeit a more approachable, happy clappy attitude for the role, ultimately, we've gone from area managers and SMs (Station Masters) to DTMs and DCMs (Duty Crew Managers) - via name change only - to the all encompassing DMT grade (Duty Manager - Trains) which comprised the desk (DCM) and blue light (DTM) roles, so managers rotated through the two roles, the desk role being T/op management, the blue light being incident management and investigations. This then progressed into what we now have which is DTSMs (Duty Train Service Managers), DRMs & TOSMs (Train Operations Standards Managers) whose role takes in the training standards, discipline, operational notices side. On the Central we have 8 of these TOSMs, a role that used to be done (adequately, imo) by just one person, the LSM (Line Standards Manager). So, we went from one grade, the DMT, back to what we had before (+1 other grade). Personally, I've never really understood where the 'reliability' comes from in DRM 🤔 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2017 19:21:09 GMT
And now they are merging the DTSM and TOSM roles into one "Trains Manager" role.
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Post by drainrat on Apr 15, 2017 19:49:09 GMT
And now they are merging the DTSM and TOSM roles into one "Trains Manager" role. Yep, but with the existing salaries retained for each grade, which will obviously be great for team work 🙄 The TOSM grade was what they were all scurrying around the dirt for when the killed off the DMTs, watching all these 'superior' beings vying for the 'alpha' position, so they could come into work wearing a suit, a grade with over inflated importance. The safest of the managers on trains was always going to be the DRM, it's the only position that hasn't been eroded over the years |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 15, 2017 19:52:09 GMT
......however, the TOSM grade was one created out of thin air, there's nothing really from their side to merge with the DTSM, all that will happen is network learning and operational standards will go back to how it was, TOSMs will just become desk managers..........again 😉
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DWS
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Post by DWS on Apr 16, 2017 7:28:01 GMT
And now they are merging the DTSM and TOSM roles into one "Trains Manager" role. Yep, but with the existing salaries retained for each grade, which will obviously be great for team work 🙄 The TOSM grade was what they were all scurrying around the dirt for when the killed off the DMTs, watching all these 'superior' beings vying for the 'alpha' position, so they could come into work wearing a suit, a grade with over inflated importance. The safest of the managers on trains was always going to be the DRM, it's the only position that hasn't been eroded over the years The DRM grade is not a "Trains" role, It's a Service Control role, the DRM is a shift job , reporting to the shift Service Manager on the line . Both are accountable to the Service Control Manager. |
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Post by North End on Apr 16, 2017 9:21:22 GMT
Yep, but with the existing salaries retained for each grade, which will obviously be great for team work 🙄 The TOSM grade was what they were all scurrying around the dirt for when the killed off the DMTs, watching all these 'superior' beings vying for the 'alpha' position, so they could come into work wearing a suit, a grade with over inflated importance. The safest of the managers on trains was always going to be the DRM, it's the only position that hasn't been eroded over the years The DRM grade is not a "Trains" role, It's a Service Control role, the DRM is a shift job , reporting to the shift Service Manager on the line . Both are accountable to the Service Control Manager. One can argue that service control is part of the trains side- they both come under the PM(T). The function sits better as part of trains, indeed it worked a lot better when part of the DMT role. The break-up of that role has proved to be a predictable failure, hence why we now have seen a reversal with the DTSM and TOSM roles. I think in a perfect world the company would reverse the DRM too, however logistically it's too difficult for various reasons. The London Underground revolving door of change continues to go round in its usual dysfunctional way... |
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DWS
every second count's
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Post by DWS on Apr 16, 2017 11:59:14 GMT
The DRM grade is not a "Trains" role, It's a Service Control role, the DRM is a shift job , reporting to the shift Service Manager on the line . Both are accountable to the Service Control Manager. One can argue that service control is part of the trains side- they both come under the PM(T). The function sits better as part of trains, indeed it worked a lot better when part of the DMT role. The break-up of that role has proved to be a predictable failure, hence why we now have seen a reversal with the DTSM and TOSM roles. I think in a perfect world the company would reverse the DRM too, however logistically it's too difficult for various reasons. The London Underground revolving door of change continues to go round in its usual dysfunctional way... Yes I agree with you things are now more dysfunctional, but try telling management that . |
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Post by PiccNT on Apr 16, 2017 14:35:24 GMT
......however, the TOSM grade was one created out of thin air, there's nothing really from their side to merge with the DTSM, all that will happen is network learning and operational standards will go back to how it was, TOSMs will just become desk managers..........again 😉 And I believe that any of the current DTSM's that arrived at that position other than through T/Op, will have to take a road test so that they can adequately assess their subordinates whilst out and about with them. |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 16, 2017 20:01:47 GMT
Yep, but with the existing salaries retained for each grade, which will obviously be great for team work 🙄 The TOSM grade was what they were all scurrying around the dirt for when the killed off the DMTs, watching all these 'superior' beings vying for the 'alpha' position, so they could come into work wearing a suit, a grade with over inflated importance. The safest of the managers on trains was always going to be the DRM, it's the only position that hasn't been eroded over the years The DRM grade is not a "Trains" role, It's a Service Control role, the DRM is a shift job , reporting to the shift Service Manager on the line . Both are accountable to the Service Control Manager. All depends on the location 😉 On the W&C line, they manage the train side operations, they sit in an office next to the drivers in the depot. |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 16, 2017 20:19:22 GMT
......however, the TOSM grade was one created out of thin air, there's nothing really from their side to merge with the DTSM, all that will happen is network learning and operational standards will go back to how it was, TOSMs will just become desk managers..........again 😉 And I believe that any of the current DTSM's that arrived at that position other than through T/Op, will have to take a road test so that they can adequately assess their subordinates whilst out and about with them. I agree, though on central line, can't remember the last road test carried out by a DTSM if there ever was any, the L&D trainers do them. Though historically, road tests have been carried out by DRM (and it's prior incarnations) grade. We do have an element of route knowledge being done on T/ops P&D (Performance & Development) sessions, think my last one they also threw in some train equipment questions too |
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Post by North End on Apr 16, 2017 23:06:15 GMT
And I believe that any of the current DTSM's that arrived at that position other than through T/Op, will have to take a road test so that they can adequately assess their subordinates whilst out and about with them. I agree, though on central line, can't remember the last road test carried out by a DTSM if there ever was any, the L&D trainers do them. Though historically, road tests have been carried out by DRM (and it's prior incarnations) grade. We do have an element of route knowledge being done on T/ops P&D (Performance & Development) sessions, think my last one they also threw in some train equipment questions too On the Northern it's all done by L and D. Having said that, others do get called upon if someone from L and D is unavailable. It's all a bit of a mess and has been since OSP and the breakup of DMT. I think the intention was that the TOSM would do it, but then at OSP we had the wonderful situation that many TOSMs were drawn from the DSM role and thus had no trains knowledge or experience, and worse still weren't given any. Likewise with the CMS it was a joke that we had some depots where not a single TOSM was able to do it. So we ended up with DRMs doing it, which is fine except they could be interrupted during an assessment (bad practice) and at the time many assessments required observing a terminus- so you ended up with DRMs at the extremes of the line, also not ideal. All this demonstrates the sheer incompetence of contemporary LU management and why any change programme they devise is always viewed with deep cynicism. The dysfunctional revolving door I mentioned elsewhere is so true, sadly. |
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Post by North End on Apr 16, 2017 23:21:33 GMT
......however, the TOSM grade was one created out of thin air, there's nothing really from their side to merge with the DTSM, all that will happen is network learning and operational standards will go back to how it was, TOSMs will just become desk managers..........again 😉 And I believe that any of the current DTSM's that arrived at that position other than through T/Op, will have to take a road test so that they can adequately assess their subordinates whilst out and about with them. In theory,anyone who is an ex DMT should have taken a road test as back in those days it was a requirement for the grade. Ironically where I am most of the DTSMs have a trains license, either being ex T/op or ex DMT. As an aside same with the DRMs- I'd say about 75% have a trains license, although how many keep it fully up to date is another matter. However with many TOSMs having come from DSM these are the ones who probably don't have one. I can't stress enough how much of a total mess the breakup of DMT has created with the trains management. Even LU has had to cut their losses and do a damage repair job, albeit after 6 years, and of course without acknowledging their messup. |
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Post by drainrat on Apr 17, 2017 7:41:31 GMT
And I believe that any of the current DTSM's that arrived at that position other than through T/Op, will have to take a road test so that they can adequately assess their subordinates whilst out and about with them. In theory,anyone who is an ex DMT should have taken a road test as back in those days it was a requirement for the grade. Ironically where I am most of the DTSMs have a trains license, either being ex T/op or ex DMT. As an aside same with the DRMs- I'd say about 75% have a trains license, although how many keep it fully up to date is another matter. However with many TOSMs having come from DSM these are the ones who probably don't have one. I can't stress enough how much of a total mess the breakup of DMT has created with the trains management. Even LU has had to cut their losses and do a damage repair job, albeit after 6 years, and of course without acknowledging their messup. And this is what they call 'progress', going back to yet another rehash of what came before. I know that they've been trying to make the desk manager a supervisory grade for about 11 years, I believe an ex General Manager was tasked with the 'project', but think he just kept it going till he retired, so he had something to do. LU are back in that mindset of the last century where no matter how much you mess up, don't acknowledge it, and if you have to, then use smoke and mirrors, utilise the press and blame the workers. They have to shield the enormous amount of money they use to pay consultants, and to do that, they protect the Projects office (what used to be the Chief Programmes Office - CPO). As much as I hate to say it, Kiley and O'Toole brought direction with them, and what you saw was what you got, there was transparency and whether they thought they could or couldn't do something, they'd say so. Now, it feels like we are working inside a dystopian corporation, with its dystopian press (OTM) presenting a utopian workforce working within a Utopian corporation. TfL is like an alpha predator at the top of its food chain, devouring everything with the greed of a fully fed animal that doesn't yet know it's full. Back to trains roles, yes, always baffled me as to why they employed ex duty station managers (with little to no trains experience) into a job that had a responsibility for the training standards of train drivers. I remember having a discussion with one of them about it, and was told no experience was necessary, it's a case of "computer says 'No/Yes'" and people in HR blindly follow the algorithms that set out the psychometric testing. |
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Post by North End on Apr 17, 2017 9:37:10 GMT
I admit it was a challenge to make sure I wrote the 'official' titles rather than ones used unofficially! Yes especially the NIRM. "Network Incident Response Messup" is my favourite, simply because there's a growing list of them - sadly. |
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Post by North End on Apr 17, 2017 10:00:19 GMT
In theory,anyone who is an ex DMT should have taken a road test as back in those days it was a requirement for the grade. Ironically where I am most of the DTSMs have a trains license, either being ex T/op or ex DMT. As an aside same with the DRMs- I'd say about 75% have a trains license, although how many keep it fully up to date is another matter. However with many TOSMs having come from DSM these are the ones who probably don't have one. I can't stress enough how much of a total mess the breakup of DMT has created with the trains management. Even LU has had to cut their losses and do a damage repair job, albeit after 6 years, and of course without acknowledging their messup. And this is what they call 'progress', going back to yet another rehash of what came before. I know that they've been trying to make the desk manager a supervisory grade for about 11 years, I believe an ex General Manager was tasked with the 'project', but think he just kept it going till he retired, so he had something to do. LU are back in that mindset of the last century where no matter how much you mess up, don't acknowledge it, and if you have to, then use smoke and mirrors, utilise the press and blame the workers. They have to shield the enormous amount of money they use to pay consultants, and to do that, they protect the Projects office (what used to be the Chief Programmes Office - CPO). As much as I hate to say it, Kiley and O'Toole brought direction with them, and what you saw was what you got, there was transparency and whether they thought they could or couldn't do something, they'd say so. Now, it feels like we are working inside a dystopian corporation, with its dystopian press (OTM) presenting a utopian workforce working within a Utopian corporation. TfL is like an alpha predator at the top of its food chain, devouring everything with the greed of a fully fed animal that doesn't yet know it's full. Back to trains roles, yes, always baffled me as to why they employed ex duty station managers (with little to no trains experience) into a job that had a responsibility for the training standards of train drivers. I remember having a discussion with one of them about it, and was told no experience was necessary, it's a case of "computer says 'No/Yes'" and people in HR blindly follow the algorithms that set out the psychometric testing. Fully agree with all this. I simply don't understand the logic of putting the ex DSMs on the trains side. At OSP some came into the DRM role and in many cases were utterly useless, although to be fair they weren't given much training, although in many cases this wouldn't actually have helped as they also came over with the wrong mindset and attitudes. Fast forward six years and many of them are still not very knowledgable, can't move a train, and heaven help if they're asked to cover a desk! On the subject of desks, the trouble is that the company as a whole fails to appreciate the value of the desk role. Sure there are some sleepy desks out there, the likes of the East Finchleys or West Ruislips, but for every sleepy desk there's a busy one like Golders Green or Wembley Park, and I'd imagine the likes of Seven Sisters are even busier. In many cases the desk plays more of a role in service recovery than either the controller or signaller. I'd say the company gets good value out of the role- they got even better value when it was DMT, and would have got even better value out of that role if the small proportion of deadwood had been properly managed. But no, the usual LU applies - allow issues to fester, then have a massive shake up which resolves a few issues but creates a massive new list of entirely predictable problems so things end up in a far worse place than they started. Sadly I don't see this culture changing - the problem is that the structure of the company is such that those making the decisions are far too far removed from knowing about running the railway, and all the decent people want to get on with running the railway rather than getting involved in all the political nonsense. Plus all the rot tends to gravitate towards the office jobs so they don't have to do such awful things like work shifts, work Christmas, work in an outlying location, or God-forbid have to deal directly with train operators! |
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Post by rheostar on Apr 17, 2017 18:16:42 GMT
I admit it was a challenge to make sure I wrote the 'official' titles rather than ones used unofficially! Yes especially the NIRM. "Network Incident Response Messup" is my favourite, simply because there's a growing list of them - sadly. That's not very fair. As in all grades, some people are better than others so there's always going to be the odd mistake. On the whole though, the NIRMs are a very useful resource and most very good at their job. |
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Post by North End on Apr 17, 2017 18:37:32 GMT
Yes especially the NIRM. "Network Incident Response Messup" is my favourite, simply because there's a growing list of them - sadly. That's not very fair. As in all grades, some people are better than others so there's always going to be the odd mistake. On the whole though, the NIRMs are a very useful resource and most very good at their job. Sorry but I simply can't agree with that. It's not appropriate to post specific details in public, however I can think of quite a number of incidents where they have added time, handled something badly, displayed a disgusting and counter-productive attitude, or tried to or actually have done something unsafe. The attitude of their management is similarly poor, where it seems the NIRM is wonderful and can do no wrong even when they have messed up. Yes there are times when they add value, it's a shame this seems to be the minority of incidents rather than the majority. With a better attitude the scales might just tip the other way, yet this is a lesson they simply don't seem able to grasp. |
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Post by scheduler on Oct 1, 2017 23:03:06 GMT
Each line has its own unique set of problems dealing with various incidents. The Bakerloo's biggest problem is a lack of refuge sidings - for instance. Whilst the Piccadilly's well supplied with refuge sidings and short-trip reversing places, but its problem is the length of a trip.....for both the train and its operator. It's a pretty high bet that if a driver starts east end of the line, the meal relief will probably be at the other end of the line, then vice versa for after meal break. So if the problem is in the pipe you have a massive crew relief problem. Also if you dump trains into sidings at the start of a problem it is going to be a couple of hours before their on time slot comes back round. Is it really a surprise that the Picc can take hours to get back together after an incident?
Or another way to look at the problem - the normal service suspension for person under train is in the region of 1 hour or less, but a train takes 90 minutes or so to get back around to where it was - in other words every train is displaced by half an hour, unless you reversed it short or stuck it in a siding. Whichever way you work it that's going to be VERY tricky to fix.
Bakerloo wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the NR interface. I don't think it is easy or fair to judge how well or not service's get back together when you aren't in the control room, seeing the whole picture.
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Post by snoggle on Oct 2, 2017 0:24:24 GMT
LU are back in that mindset of the last century where no matter how much you mess up, don't acknowledge it, and if you have to, then use smoke and mirrors, utilise the press and blame the workers. They have to shield the enormous amount of money they use to pay consultants, and to do that, they protect the Projects office (what used to be the Chief Programmes Office - CPO). As much as I hate to say it, Kiley and O'Toole brought direction with them, and what you saw was what you got, there was transparency and whether they thought they could or couldn't do something, they'd say so. Now, it feels like we are working inside a dystopian corporation, with its dystopian press (OTM) presenting a utopian workforce working within a Utopian corporation. TfL is like an alpha predator at the top of its food chain, devouring everything with the greed of a fully fed animal that doesn't yet know it's full. An interesting observation. Can't comment on any of train side detail as I've been gone 5+ years and was never on the operational side. I agree about O'Toole (never really saw Kiley) being straightforward in his approach. My perception, just from TfL's public face coupled with the inevitable headlines in the media, is that the "all is well, we are wonderful" facade is desperately trying to prevent the "this is all an absolute mess and borderline chaos" reality from emerging. There was always some level of internal conflict and politics in LT / TfL but it feels rather more serious now. |
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Post by stapler on Oct 2, 2017 7:11:23 GMT
Isn't the current fashion to remove turnback and refuge points...eg Mansion House, Holborn?
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