Coronavirus Implications For London's Transport

Yes, and LU is aware of that. But quite simply you can’t run a train without a driver plus the network of frontline and back-office staff which complete the chain. With staff dropping like flies isolating due to symptoms, shielding due to pre-existing health issues and no doubt shortly staff off due to childcare difficulties, there comes a point where it’s physically impossible to run a partocular train or open a particular station.

LU doesn’t have the option the mainline does of running a reduced service but with extended train lengths (I do realise many mainline services nowadays do run at maximum length).

I think manager availability may start to be a problem too. One depot I know has 3x crew managers off for 12 weeks due to shielding, 1 off self isolating due to symptoms, 1 off with childcare and 1 starting to develop a cough as we speak. On the plus side the current climate may make people more receptive to cancelling any annual leave booked, but do people particularly *want* to come to work in a city which is fast becoming a health hazard? Especially those at the older end of the age spectrum.

It’s always worth reiterating that loss of service control staff it also potentially terminal. A few unavailables might be coverable with overtime, and there’s a few people with the relevant expertise and licensed that can step in particularly on the signalling side, but lose a complete room of controllers and that railway will be in serious trouble.

I was absolutely meaning engineers too! Was trying to think of the most concise way - this equally applies to the schedulers working from home, the cleaners - all the people that might not immediately spring to mind. 




There are some locations that are rapidly reaching this point. There's also a pause on all training - including refresher training - which complicates matters.

There is significant disruption ahead purely in "operational" terms, no matter what the Govt. (local or national) might suggest. But every single one of us who is able to work is doing our absolute best to run as much as we can as reliably can. There's lots of staff who have offered to work extra shifts or cancel leave to keep London moving.

In terms of the minimum staffing levels for sub-surface stations, that's a legal requirement and cannot be waived. All legislation can of course be amended on a temporary or permanent basis if the right people do the right paperwork (which might mean MPs in some cases), but (iirc) these regulations emerged from the aftermath of the King's Cross fire, so I would be surprised if there was much desire to alter them, even temporarily.

In the immediate term, the pause of training will release staff back into the pool of those able to keep the system running. I would hope (but don't know) that refresher training would be scheduled in advance of licenses expiring (e.g. refreshing 1-3 months earlier than absolutely necessary) which would give a bit of flexibility for scenarios like this.

Could more drivers be made available if they closed the Circle line (and moved onto H&C, district if necessary)?

Lines (except Waterloo & City) will be gradually moving onto a maximum 15tph DAILY central area service, except later start/early finish Sundays, a plan which has been agreed with the Trade Unions.

The H&C Circle are the first to migrate onto a restricted service of 5tph on each, 27 train service. (Circle operating traditional circle service)

Absolutely. I've got a fair few friends who fall into this category. They're sensible people who want to stay at home for the health of themselves and others, but they can't afford to. If they don't work, they can't pay their bills, and it becomes a vicious cycle. For them, travelling is essential. There needs to be firmer assurances in place from the top level; I think it's very easy for us transport workers to forget we have it very good. Some companies are withdrawing sick pay or only offer SSP too, for instance.

On a lighter note, I've spent my last days of leave really productively and made a handy little tool for anybody with a burning transport question:

istempleopen.co.uk

Duty Schedulers are working from home to compile emergency schedules and timetables for all lines. I believe there’s 9 of them trying to combine 6+ months work into a matter of days. An uneviable task.

I would hope that changing of adverts on the network will be one of those tasks determined to be non-essential and thus deferred until better times. This means that some advertisers will not be getting their adverts displayed despite having paid for that which is just one more thing that might have financial implications for TfL.

I’ve heard it said that rolling stock depots are also suffering from staff availability issues, whilst it’s theoretically possible to dovetail crew and rolling stock cancellations, in reality it’s almost impossible to do on a large scale.

This would also tie in with some mainline operators sidelining fleets, as we’ve already seen with the GWR class 143s. Might see some other mainline non-core fleets stored.

I was watching the weather forecast today and noted that next week will be bright and sunny. Just the weather I wanted - as I've realised that I do not have any video footage of S stock trains at Kew Gardens and if I'm fortunate I might even see one passing a 378 - even better, one in the new revised livery.

Being spring this is a good time to go as the birds are singing and many of the trees either starting to open their leaves or still with blossom. Kew Gardens is one of a handful of stations where I still have some unseen 1990's video footage.

Alas, this virus problem means that it can't happen this spring - as my journey would not be for work or medical reasons it would be wrong for me to travel all that way at the present time. Instead I'm staying at home, hoping that it will be possible later this year or in 2021.




re: Redbridge/Snaresbrook, actually its Wanstead and Snaresbrook which are relatively close to each other. But still not *that* close as otherwise Wanstead is unlikely to have been built.

Something else that might affect our Underground railway - indeed all of our railways - is the possibility of a lockdown in which London is sealed off from the rest of the country.

A few days ago I thought that this was imminent, but so far it has not happened. The Central and Metropolitan lines both travel beyond the Greater London political boundary and the M25 motorway. Of course the mainline railways do too. How they would be affected remains to be seen. I am just aware of the possibility of highly unusual service disruption.

Yes, sps,  passports at Theydon Bois rather than Pimlico....

well now... no more congestion charge, low emission zone, etc... (at least for a while)








Although not directly related to London, in recent days I've seen tweets about the situation in Venice, Italy where less boat traffic means that the canals are becoming cleaner - with fish seen even in inner-city waters and somewhere there was even a dolphin!

Having seen what is possible, I would hope that once this virus emergency is over humankind makes a greater effort to reducing air / river / canal etc pollution

Seems a strange choice of stations to close. Lancaster Gate and Covent Garden yes because there is no social distancing in a lift. But Bow Road which is a pretty open station no.

GWR from Monday due to reduced passengers are cutting back to London - Plymouth every hour with a shuttle operating between Plymouth and Penzance. Paignton-Exmouth to hourly from half hourly. Barnstaple will only operate in the peaks and plenty more reductions.