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Post by naughtyfox on Dec 16, 2016 16:22:23 GMT
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Post by lollygagger on Dec 16, 2016 16:49:27 GMT
Same old same old. Man against automation. Automate a few things someone skilled did and halve his pay He still has to be their but his life is ruined by crap pay and working life ruined by lack of responsibility. Some twat who doesn't need it gets a bonus instead for cuntyness.
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Post by twbm2 on Dec 16, 2016 17:24:24 GMT
London Underground, anyone?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2016 17:37:40 GMT
DLR has a "passenger service agent" who controls the doors and keeps an eye on safety. The train is controlled by the electric tracks which are switched by other units so that they can not collide. Quite a modern system but yes its slow.
We use it quite often (last time was half an hour ago). Children love it.
London underground usually has a driver and a person on platform during busy times.
I suspect it would be feasible to automate the driver's job on trains but its necessary to have someone on the platform to check the doors.
I suppose in theory there could be no staff on the actual train and one person on platform for safety. That's the ultimate way it will go eventually.
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Post by Clinton Cool on Dec 16, 2016 20:48:38 GMT
I wonder, when all trains become driverless, whether the unions will call a 'mega strike' in the name of safety? This would be good for Britain eh, keep us in the Victorian era at the same time as other, seemingly wiser countries, move with the times.
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Post by smileypete on Dec 17, 2016 19:25:59 GMT
Not much mention of the rail ticket buying public in all of this.
If they want a conductor and are willing to pay extra for it in their ticket price as they do now, then why not?
What I don't agree is with Southern making more profit merely for providing a reduced service, while ticket prices remain the same.
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Post by tonyb on Dec 18, 2016 8:16:15 GMT
Not much mention of the rail ticket buying public in all of this. If they want a conductor and are willing to pay extra for it in their ticket price as they do now, then why not? What I don't agree is with Southern making more profit merely for providing a reduced service, while ticket prices remain the same. Me neither but it looks very much like government corruption to me - of whichever side negotiated the franchise. Oh, and hard political dogma because no one had wanted the franchise on the terms offered it could have been run like the West Coats st line was for a while. Instead we get the situation where the management can foul up the industrial relations and the government pays the compensation. I wonder how much of a political donation will be forthcoming? I bet it will make a Caroline Lucas one look very small beer.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 10:57:04 GMT
Me neither but it looks very much like government corruption to me - of whichever side negotiated the franchise. ...snip... I don't think it is corruption, maybe a bit of incompetence by the DfT though. I've worked on both sides of the Franchise/Concession agreements (not in a senior role though). A couple of my opinions that might inform thoughts (put as simply as I can); 1. Why is the Gov/tax payers and not Southern carrying the financial loss? - When the franchise was designed by the DfT it was done so in climate of a mixture of picking up the pieces from the West Coast franchise debacle and trying to come up with a better solution to franchises along with a major modernisation programme and the economic climate, part of the answer was for the DfT to take some of the financial risk otherwise there was a possibility no company would bid. The result was that bidders would not have to forecast fare revenue (so moving towards an RfL type concession type agreement such as London Overground) - a bold (but fairly widely within the industry) considered to be a good move at the time. 2. Why can't the DfT penalise Southern for the poor performance during strikes/unofficial action? - This comes down to the Force Majeure provision in the franchise agreement that allows Southern (and most other franchise holders) to claim a Force Majeure clause. This clause covers a variety of reasons and without it no company would take on the risk of a franchise, it also ensures that the Unions don't have ultimate control i.e. without it a series of targeted fairly short strikes would destroy the whole rail franchise/concession system. In my opinion whilst mistakes might have been made there is no corruption (manipulation of the process by companies yes - such as in the WCML franchise). Parliament seem to be holding everyone to account through sub-committees/inquiries etc, although I do think there needs to be a review of the Force Majeure clause if in the future a franchise is to be let on a 'no fare revenue' basis.
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Post by naughtyfox on Dec 18, 2016 11:07:05 GMT
London Underground, anyone?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 11:18:20 GMT
London Underground, anyone? I don't know - they even missed of the river fleet! This is more overground than underground.
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Post by naughtyfox on Dec 18, 2016 11:20:44 GMT
Well, if you must rummage in the sewers...
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Post by naughtyfox on Dec 18, 2016 11:23:46 GMT
RICCO'S FAVOURITE STATION ON DISTRICT LINE - EASTERN SIDE! (geddit??!!)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2017 18:24:25 GMT
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Post by naughtyfox on Jan 25, 2017 18:50:03 GMT
Similar but different: roads in Finland have been in very bad condition this Winter, partly because this January has to be the warmest ever - results, of course, after Jan 31st. Even I had enough slippin' & slidin' and wrote to the 'ELY-centre' which is responsible for roads. They have handed their contract to sub-contractors, and we know where that leads, don't we? Take the money and give as little as possible in return. I wrote again a week later, last Thursday, asking for the name of the person in the ELY-centre in charge of traffic safety, suggesting that, if my bus ends up off the road in a ditch with dead school kids aboard, he/she would be coming to Court with me for doing bugger all about no sand on the roads. The snow has not been cleared away properly and cars have made grooves in the snow which has turned to ice with the every day freeze-thaw. Funnily enough, last Friday, the next morning, a bus did end up in the ditch, with school kids on board! This was 120km north of us. Another bus, same company I work for, 20km from us, slipped off the road, smashed 4 windows against trees, school kids on board. Two truck drivers have died on Road 8 in the Pietarsaari area, an hour south of us. So many people have made complaints to the ELY-centre, that they have now finally decided to show the public they are 'doing something' and given warnings to three of their sub-contractors (blame the slaves!) and today finally I see a tractor going round scraping the ice a bit, around Lohtaja. I would see Nationalisation back on the cards, and managers to be held personally responsible for everything that happens below their command. Privatisation is just siphoning public money into the Jersey Islands and Isle of Man bank accounts of the profiteers. In other Finnish News, 3 days ago a Finnish man caught humping a (male) pig. Seems he was 'at it' already last November after which CCTV was installed to nab him, and: result! Found naked with a 250-kilo pig. Done for 'disturbance of the peace', as making a pig squeal is legal in Finland. Finns like to eat a lot of pork, and I always tell them: "You are what you eat!" Remember this next time you fly to Lapland and put your child on Santa's lap! www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/201701232200057945_uu.shtmlStill, you can't say that David Cameron hasn't set the example.
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Post by naughtyfox on Jan 26, 2017 9:24:13 GMT
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