Coronavirus Implications For London's Transport

S stock can only be driven in restricted mode with cab doors open.

**it is possible to get full speed with the cab doors open but that involves cutting out safety circuits so cannot be done in passenger service**

Yes. I know the driver. All they could get him on was being in CM when he should have been in auto.

Latest idea being talked about on LBC is removing seats from train carriages to enforce social distancing. All this will mean is that passengers will stand near to each other instead!

How are they going to remove the seats with equipment underneath?

I suspect the suggestion of removing seats has been made by people who have conducted extensive trials with their Hornby set...

Surely the idea of removing seats is being taken a little too literally? It would be quite feasible to mark certain seats as out of use, although unless a robust way of doing it is found then they would probably just find themselves used again.

We’ve already seen platform seating taken out of use with hazard tape, although this seems to be local initiative rather than laid-down policy.

I hear on the grapevine (I’m still on leave) that it looks like there’s going to be an attempt to restore normal timetables from Monday, on some lines at least. It’s fair to say the general view in my neck of the woods is that there’s still nothing like the number of staff required to run the normal timetable without a very high number of cancellations. Unless it’s possible to do a *lot* of juggling between now and then, this will deliver a highly erratic service due to the numbers of trains going out of and in to service as a result of duties being uncovered.

It’s rather sad to reflect that TfL doesn’t come out of all this with its head held high, it should have been quite possible to have implemented viable timetable notices by this point. The service has in reality only been kept going thanks to expertise from staff at the front line, the level of support from the back-of-house managerial functions has been literally zero. Going forward some serious questions need to be asked IMO.

I'm not so sure! They sounded quite serious. I hasten to add, they weren't a transport worker.

Have they not considered booking on by phone / text?

We already book people on remotely and have done for years as we have two locations but only 1 manager on at any one time.

It becomes a more of a pain if doing sickness return to works or any other sort of issue as either we go to them or they come to us, which usually happens.

Yes D&A comes into play with this but they claim you can tell if someone ain't right over the telephone or you rely on someone telling you from that location who is there colleague.

Three words - Eltham Well Hall...

It’s a particular issue with drivers as once they’re on their trains it’s quite possible no one will see them closely for the remainder of the shift. There’s been at least two cases in the last few years of LU drivers intoxicated on duty - one who got as far as being on the train (well publicised) and another who was identified at booking on.

If you'd signed in at my company with Elton John playing in the backround you'd have been fired......

That certainly applies to the Picc although I haven't heard about the weekend as yet. I've also heard that night tube drivers are being asked if they want to be seconded to full time so this could possibly be the end of night tube for the foreseeable. As Colin stated, this is the plan, it's a long time between now and Monday and any number of decisions can be taken and reversed in that time!

This has been rumbling for a while now. Despite the advice to avoid using public transport where possible, there is no way that London could cope without it, even with the current reduced level of demand.