Last year in Britain around half a million working days were lost to industrial action, with Bob Crow and his RMT union particularly culpable. Lets look at some of the things he's done this year alone.
- Rejected a pay deal that would see rail workers get a 4% pay rise in the first year and inflation + 0.25% in subsequent years.
- Overseen 6 days of strikes this summer over the dismissal of two rail workers.
- After the initial pay deal was rejected he then managed to negotiate a pay rise of 10% over two years, with a £500 lump sum payment for anyone working on the Olympics, during which time not one rail worker can be dismissed.
- Extended that deal to cover tube workers as well after threats of strike action during the Games, with the eventual deal being for them to get a cash lump sum of £1,200 during the Games!
It should be said that this is a time when all rail companies are planning to massively increase prices, with the average cost rise hitting 8%. Clearly the man is doing a fantastic job at getting ridiculous pay deals for his members, but for the rest of us he's a royal pain in the arse.
Thank God for the French
It seems really rather unusual to be cheering on the French for managing to overcome trade unions in the name of common sense given the countries own history of being bullied by their unions, but that I very much going to do. For you see the French rail network has launched headlong into rolling out driverless trains.
The Economist reported this week that driverless trains are now running on Line One, from La Défense to the Château de Vincennes. This just so happens to be the busiest line on the entire network and follows the succesful running of driverless trains on Line 14 for a while. The major difference is that where Line 14 was custom built to allow this, Line One had to be retrofitted. That it has been achieved sends a very clear signal to British transport chiefs over just what can be achieved.
Of course we can expect Bob Crow to kick up an almighty stink and suggest all manner of concerns about such a move. After all, back in October when plans were leaked for improvements to the London network, including plans for driverless trains on Bakerloo and Picadilly lines, Crow suggested this would lead to massive reductions in safety on the network.
"drivers would be thrown out of their cabs without a single thought for passenger safety." Bob Crow
This is despite Line 14 in Paris having not one accident since opening in 1998 and the Docklands Light Railway having zero accidents in the nearly 25 years of its service.
So thank you France. Thank you for showing what can be achieved with courage and foresight. Hopefully your actions will give our transport chiefs the courage to do what is right for the millions of customers that use our transport system every day, for they are the most important people in all of this, not the rail workers, and certainly not Bob bloody Crow.
Well done France. There's simply no need for trains to have human drivers. There are lots of driverless train systems around the world not and their safety record is fantastic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_driverless_t…
More widespread than we think isn't it Marco. Good info.
Hmm, I don't know about this. I mean I'm all for technology, but what if something goes wrong? Can't imagine a computer being much use in an emergency?
Like what though? Services that have these trains running have perfect safety records.
The Victoria Line used automatic operation right from the off back in 1967 – the train crew on that tube line are there as a "manual over-ride" just in case, as well as being in charge of door operation.
Good info Wayne, thanks for sharing.
Fairly sure the Central Line is also automated. The 'driver' only operates the doors.
Begs the question why on earth they're paid so much money to do such a menial job doesn't it?
Quite. Nice work if you can get it.
I didn't know that Nigel, thanks for sharing. Do you know how long it's been automated for?
It was first introduced in 1996.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_line#Current…
We used to have operators on elevators too…
Quite. I can see a future where cars are driven automatically too. There are already some competitions to develop on this idea and the results are getting better all the time.
Apparently Bob Crow is pushing ferry staff to go on strike over Christmas Eve and Boxing Day down here, so it'll be a bloody nuisance to get on and off the Island over Christmas. It's a disgrace it really is.
Yeah mum was saying that on the phone last night. Might have to get home via Southampton if that is the case. Shameful given how much the ferries cost as it is.
Exactly, makes me so mad, especially over Christmas. The man has no shame.
http://www.uship.com/fr/ Transport en France
Je suis un opérateur ferroviaire, nous gagnons un salaire décent vaut chaque centime! Récemment, lorsque le train est resté coincé entre les stations de 70 minutes sur une circonstance hors de notre contrôle, près de 300 passagers s'est échoué. Comme on resposible personne sur ce train que j'ai pris la pleine charge du train et les gens sur elle. Train sans conducteur sont une excellente idée si nous continuons robots! Le point est de garder les coûts bas et être safe.bridgeencouragement
77 dead in an accident in Spain, caused apparently by the driver going 3x over the speed limit. Pretty good case for driverless trains if ever there was one.
I dont like the idea , to have driveless trains. What if the whole system crashes …
Matty
I see that the driverless train network in Paris is being extended by another 6km. Driverless operation increases a subway line's capacity by up to 50 percent, because the trains can travel at shorter intervals. In Paris, the fully automatic operation enables the trains to run every 85 seconds. Additional trains can be deployed whenever larger numbers of passengers are expected – during major events, for example. The trains, which automatically go into operation at the push of a button, can also be inserted into gaps in the schedule at short notice.
Moreover, the subway's automatic energy-saving operation enables Line 14 to consume up to 15 percent less energy. The system's intelligent anticipatory driving style ensures that travel times are always optimally scheduled. As a result, trains don't arrive ahead of schedule, because they automatically adjust their speed to avoid unnecessary energy consumption.
Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing Paul.