I work on the railway AMA

[StationManager]

As my name change suggests, I work in the stations function, but can try and answer questions about any rail-related matters. Happy to discuss strikes, industry reform, disruption!

My DS age 4 is train and bus mad. Can you recommend anything that I might not think of that he would enjoy? He likes looking at all the different models, especially things like differences in how the doors work etc. We live in Europe but I'll probably bring him to UK next year and would love to take him on some bus and train adventures.

The U.K. aviation industry, both passenger and cargo, thrives in the private sector. Safety is exemplary, as it should be. Ferocious competition between carriers & airports makes fares affordable for everyone. Market segmentation ensures that premium travel products & experiences are available for those who are prepared to pay.

Why can’t the railways do the same?

Really! Oh maybe I should look into it.

@BertieBotts

That’s so lovely. Part of the reason I joined the railway was my son’s love of trains, he inspired me!

There is no shortage of fab places to go. National Railway Museum in York and London Transport Museum are both brilliant.

More off the beaten track I’d recommend the Postal Museum in London which is all about the Mail train and includes an underground train ride. If he likes models, the Hornby museum in Kent is fab.

@BarelyLiterate

This is such a good question!!

I’ll be honest and say I really don’t know the answer. If anyone does know, they should be the next rail minister.

I think a lot of it is to do with three things: investment, the relationship between train operators and infrastructure, and culture.

There just isn’t enough investment in the railway, and what there is isn’t being directed in the right places. Look at HS2. Could that money have been better spent on improving existing infrastructure or modernising processes rather than reducing the travel time from Birmingham to London by 20 minutes, especially in a post-Covid world?

Train operators run services while Network Rail manage the infrastructure. And nobody communicated with each other properly, everyone works in silos. This is where Great British Railways might improve things, if it’s done properly.

Many of my colleagues have joined us from the airlines since Covid. They speak of an entirely different workplace culture. Less adversarial between staff and managers, more progressive, more embracing of new technologies. Cultural change across a whole industry is a huge ask.

Interested to hear others thoughts on this.

Are there legally enforcable safe operating capacities for train carriages in the same way that there are for buses?

@ThreeB

To the best of my knowledge, no. There’s no way to accurately count people on and off like there is on a bus.
When I’ve worked at big events, we’ve just allowed people to board until no-one can physically fit anymore.
Someone with more knowledge might correct me on this but I have asked this question myself when I first started and the answer was no.

@BarelyLiterate I'd also say it's because there isn't fierce competition.

The government basically dish out the franchises and that company runs that route.

A huge part of the Midlands/Southern route is operated by one company. They have no competition- it's them or nothing.

And in the case of that franchise the government paid the train operator upfront and the government then keep the ticket sale profits. So once you've had your money, where is the incentive to invest etc.

Realistically you aren't going to have lots of different companies working over the same route in rail as you are in aviation. There isn't the capacity for a start.

@BarelyLiterate

@Chesneyhawkes1 makes a really valid point. If you want to travel from London to Paris by air, you’ve probably got at least 3 or 4 carriers to choose from. If you want to go from London to Cardiff, it’s GWR or nothing. There are some operators who serve the same stations, but they use different routes to get there so the journeys aren’t usually comparable. So yes, there really is no genuine completion.
Unless you now consider working from home as direct competition to travelling by rail. This is the kind of competition the railway is facing. Commuter numbers are only at about 70% of what they were pre-Covid.

Thanks for the interesting replies, @StationManager @Chesneyhawkes1.

I agrée that lack of competition seems to be part of the problem. Also, when TOC franchises fail, they are simply taken into public control, the trains are re-painted, the staff get new uniforms, the website is re-branded and everything & everyone continues exactly as before.
In aviation, when airports fail, they close (eg Doncaster / Sheffield). When airlines fail, they are either swallowed by their competitors (eg BMI was bought by BA) or they go bust (eg Thomas Cook, Flybe) and they are replaced by better run competitors, (eg Jet2, Loganair).

@BarelyLiterate yes I'm on my third uniform now!

Although I'd say the first franchise didn't fail - someone else just bid higher or offered the government a bigger slice of the pie 🥧

Thanks for the microwave confirmation . The media said it was an outdated rule from the 80's and that unions are fighting to keep it in their contracts/conditions.

It did sound like batshit because everyone uses microwave ovens everywhere now, so why would you need it in your contract.