1810 from London bridge to east dulwich (keeps getting cancelled

[Monkey]

For the past two weeks trains from London bridge to east Dulwich (the 1810 in particular) keep getting cancelled due to staff shortages.

I have just sent an irate email to Southern: [email protected]

If you're being affected, please complain loudly so we can hope to try and avoid a repeat of the shamble from last year and early this year.

[Lowlander]

Email address looks a bit suspect. You may have better luck on Twitter or [email protected]

1810 does look like one of the poor performers http://www.recenttraintimes.co.uk/Home/Search?Op=Srch&Fr=London+Bridge+%28LBG%29&To=East+Dulwich+%28EDW%29&TimTyp=A&TimDay=4p&Days=Wk&TimPer=4w&dtFr=04%2F08%2F2015&dtTo=01%2F09%2F2015&ShwTim=AvAr&TOC=All&ArrSta=5&MetAvg=Mea&MetSpr=RT&MxScDu=&MxSvAg=10&MnScCt=2&MxArCl=5

But only actually cancelled once in the last five days..

[Monkey]

Email address is correct and gets results. Also emailed [email protected] and a bunch of other people.

Thanks for the very useful link. I wasn't aware of it. I got some cancellations and delays last week but not been organised enough to keep a record. Looks like I have to aim for the earlier train.

[traveler2]

Monkey, I agree. The train service in/out of London Bridge is disgraceful. Last week the 18.10 was cancelled Monday, Tues and Wed.and its the rare day when a service actually leaves LB on time.

[Monkey]

traveler2, I have sent you the details of their managing director. Please write a short email if you have a minute. I used to work in a retail bank, dealing with lots of complaints - it does make a difference!

Was away abroad on Wednesday last week. Apparently the train did run according to the website but was 16mns late arriving in ED. in any event, that's poor!

[bonaome]

A couple of weeks back the 18:10 wasn't cancelled, but it was only calling at West Croyden - i.e. it was running from LBG direct, non-stop to W Croyden. I asked for an explanation and was told it was because "he's a new driver and he doesn't know the route".

[Monkey]

Bonaome, they might just as well have told you to get lost. I would complain if I were you.

[Lowlander]

Monkey Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Bonaome, they might just as well have told you to

> get lost. I would complain if I were you.

The driver probably did not know the route via Peckham and was told to drive it straight via New Cross instead.

Better to get the train out of the platform rather than leaving it blocking incoming services (and leave the train where it should ultimately have been - i.e. West Croydon).

Still crap but the best they could do in the circumstances.

[JimH]

cylcle in if you can. I have not caught a train since the January experiences at London Bridge and could not be happier!

[Monkey]

Here's the answer I have had from Charles Horton's assistant. Horton is CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway.

Thank you for your emails dated 01st September 2015 and 03rd September 2015 to Charles Horton, CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway. Charles has reviewed your complaint and asked me to reply.

I am sorry to hear that you have noticed a down turn in the performance of your regular service and I can understand this is deeply frustrating. To offer some background, we have had some challenges with our Driver numbers, and we still have some work to do in terms of recruiting to establishment levels across all our depots and then getting Driver?s fully productive across a range of routes. By April 2016 we expect to be over establishment at all depots in the metro area taking into account forecasted attrition and planned recruitment. Currently we have 76 Driver?s in training - however because Driver's take 18 months to train, there is no quicker fix to this.

In addition to this we have experienced some very short notice sickness in both Driver and Conductor grades. On a daily basis our operations team are working to mitigate the impact of any known gaps in the roster, for example daily conference calls are held to identify duties that are not covered, the impact of this and then solutions are identified. This approach enables us to reduce the number of cancellations through a range of approaches.

We do expect the situation to improve as we move out of the holiday season when there are a higher number of staff on annual leave. We are committed to improving our performance for customers.

[bensam]

This was happening a lot over the winter months. I was told on a number of occassions that Southern relied on drivers doing a certain amount of overtime. In other words they have no fixed contract for drivers to cover a significant amount of the route and Southern just cross their fingers and hope drivers will put their hands up for overtime. It is an absolute disgrace to run an essential public service like this. Imagine if your ambulance never showed up because they had no drivers who volunteered for overtime! How they can be allowed by law to run a train service this way is just shocking. The government should step in and make this pratice illegal. All trains should have drivers allocated to them.

[LJC56]

Monkey Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Here's the answer I have had from Charles Horton's

> assistant. Horton is CEO of Govia Thameslink

> Railway.

>

> Thank you for your emails dated 01st September

> 2015 and 03rd September 2015 to Charles Horton,

> CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway. Charles has

> reviewed your complaint and asked me to reply.

>

> I am sorry to hear that you have noticed a down

> turn in the performance of your regular service

> and I can understand this is deeply frustrating.

> To offer some background, we have had some

> challenges with our Driver numbers, and we still

> have some work to do in terms of recruiting to

> establishment levels across all our depots and

> then getting Driver?s fully productive across a

> range of routes. By April 2016 we expect to be

> over establishment at all depots in the metro area

> taking into account forecasted attrition and

> planned recruitment. Currently we have 76 Driver?s

> in training - however because Driver's take 18

> months to train, there is no quicker fix to this.

>

>

> In addition to this we have experienced some very

> short notice sickness in both Driver and Conductor

> grades. On a daily basis our operations team are

> working to mitigate the impact of any known gaps

> in the roster, for example daily conference calls

> are held to identify duties that are not covered,

> the impact of this and then solutions are

> identified. This approach enables us to reduce the

> number of cancellations through a range of

> approaches.

>

> We do expect the situation to improve as we move

> out of the holiday season when there are a higher

> number of staff on annual leave. We are committed

> to improving our performance for customers.

This is exactly the same response I got when I posed the question about the ED services to one of the managers at the meet the managers session last year. He said then that they were short of drivers, so many in training etc, etc (see above). He expected things to be better by this year. We are still all waiting! This reply incidentally, doesn't explain why it's often the same services that get cancelled, and why stopping services suddenly become nonstop services.

[Monkey]

Interesting LJC56!

[Lowlander]

If Charles can't get the basics right (correct use of exclamation marks and syntax) how can you trust him to run a railway?

[Monkey]

It's actually written by a the commercial innovations and projects manager but I do agree with you, Lowlander.

[dulwichquine]

Two trains were cancelled this morning at North Dulwich station this morning due to "staff shortage". Almost a forty minute gap in rush hour.

[Monkey]

Please do complain: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[landsberger]

Actually, the reality is

i) they employ as few drivers as possible (basically as many as they need to run the service)

ii) they rely on "rest day working" (i.e. overtime) to cover absences due to holiday or sick leave

iii) they blame "driver absence" when it is actually insufficient number of drivers in the first place

iv) they ALWAYS claim there are lots of drivers in training. Even Thameslink and Great Northern customersa have been told that for years

v) the fines for not running the services are pathetically small compared to the amount they get paid to run them. They have no incentive to change

vi) they are using LBG problems to a) cover their driver absence stories and b) their poor performance

vii) the government will never take on a group like Govia. Connex were turfed off the franchise, not because of poor performance (which was the story leaked to the press) but because they used money from the franchise to prop up other parts of the business outside the UK.

[rodneybewes]

landsberger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Actually, the reality is

>

> i) they employ as few drivers as possible

> (basically as many as they need to run the

> service)

> ii) they rely on "rest day working" (i.e.

> overtime) to cover absences due to holiday or sick

> leave

> iii) they blame "driver absence" when it is

> actually insufficient number of drivers in the

> first place

> iv) they ALWAYS claim there are lots of drivers in

> training. Even Thameslink and Great Northern

> customersa have been told that for years

> v) the fines for not running the services are

> pathetically small compared to the amount they get

> paid to run them. They have no incentive to

> change

> vi) they are using LBG problems to a) cover their

> driver absence stories and b) their poor

> performance

> vii) the government will never take on a group

> like Govia. Connex were turfed off the franchise,

> not because of poor performance (which was the

> story leaked to the press) but because they used

> money from the franchise to prop up other parts of

> the business outside the UK.

This. In spades.

[Concerned motorist]

Why will the government never take on a group like Govia? What's so special about them?

landsberger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Actually, the reality is

>

> i) they employ as few drivers as possible

> (basically as many as they need to run the

> service)

> ii) they rely on "rest day working" (i.e.

> overtime) to cover absences due to holiday or sick

> leave

> iii) they blame "driver absence" when it is

> actually insufficient number of drivers in the

> first place

> iv) they ALWAYS claim there are lots of drivers in

> training. Even Thameslink and Great Northern

> customersa have been told that for years

> v) the fines for not running the services are

> pathetically small compared to the amount they get

> paid to run them. They have no incentive to

> change

> vi) they are using LBG problems to a) cover their

> driver absence stories and b) their poor

> performance

> vii) the government will never take on a group

> like Govia. Connex were turfed off the franchise,

> not because of poor performance (which was the

> story leaked to the press) but because they used

> money from the franchise to prop up other parts of

> the business outside the UK.

[landsberger]

Because it would mean admitting that privatisation and franchising doesn't work ?

Because "the City wouldn't like it" ?

Because it's the triumph of ideology over common sense ?

[kibris]

Well thats not hard get the one before or the one after 1810

[Monkey]

Yes, actually for me it is difficult! You don't know my life so keep your uninformed opinions to yourself.

[Shaggy]

Using commas and full stops isn't hard either.

kibris Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well thats not hard get the one before or the one

> after 1810

[Zebedee Tring]

Just have a look at kibris' posting history. You will see a series of smart arse negative comments.