Train strikes

[mrblackbat]

So the only thing that's good about being ill this week is not having to get the shitty strike action affected sobworse than nornal Northern Fail train service into work.

Frankly sick to the back teeth of both the train companies (Northern are "proud" to have beaten their customer satisfaction target of 65%. That's right, sixty five percent.... ) and RMT and their ridiculous mantra that Driver Operated Only trains are "unsafe", which is especially hilarious considering the rust bucket pacer trains they are in line to replace.

[Jim]

I do believe guardless trains are unsafe, mostly due to a experiencing a few unpleasant situations after football games where the guard has helped defuse a bad situation. I almost got a kicking by a group of Sunderland fans one time after a Rovers game for “looking at them” because they were being rowdy and abusive.

Another situation with a group of drunken fans pestering some young girls, again the guard stepped in and defused the situation. It’s not like a bus where the driver can pull up anywhere and order someone off or even physically remove them.

But however, I do agree with you that some of the trains are so horrifically old that the suggestion of a guard being more detrimental to safety than a converted bus on rails, is laughable.

But it all comes back to franchising and lack of investment in the northern railways. Failing Grayling has promised much but delivered virtually zero.

[mrblackbat]

I do believe guardless trains are unsafe, mostly due to a experiencing a few unpleasant situations after football games where the guard has helped defuse a bad situation. I almost got a kicking by a group of Sunderland fans one time after a Rovers game for “looking at them” because they were being rowdy and abusive.

Another situation with a group of drunken fans pestering some young girls, again the guard stepped in and defused the situation. It’s not like a bus where the driver can pull up anywhere and order someone off or even physically remove them.

But however, I do agree with you that some of the trains are so horrifically old that the suggestion of a guard being more detrimental to safety than a converted bus on rails, is laughable.

But it all comes back to franchising and lack of investment in the northern railways. Failing Grayling has promised much but delivered virtually zero.

There is no suggestion of introducing conductor-less trains though. All the rail companies involved have guaranteed that all services will have a conductor present to the end of their current operating contracts. They simply won't operate the doors.

This is why I have absolutely zero tolerance for the safety argument, it's not about that at all; it's really that the current trained guards are worried they'll lose their jobs lesser skilled conductor only staff members, who are cheaper to train and make running the trains cheaper. And mean services will less likely be late because there's no guard....