Posted 12th November 2009 | 5 Comments
Thameslink in tatters, as ASLEF ballots for strike and MD is replaced
First Capital Connect has halved the Thameslink service, as drivers continue to refuse overtime and rest day working in protest at the company's pay offer. ASLEF has announced a strike ballot, while FCC has warned that the emergency timetable will continue until further notice. FCC managing director Jim Morgan has been replaced by the head of the FirstGroup Rail Division, Mary Grant.
Drivers are angry that they have been offered a two year deal which would mean no increase at all from April 2009, and say that they have done their best to keep the service going over the summer in the face of staff shortages.
Railnews has been told that the number of Thameslink drivers is down by 30, or almost 10 per cent, and that normal services were only being maintained by a large amount of overtime and rest day working. The drivers started to refuse extra hours almost three weeks ago, and FCC services have been increasingly affected. There were almost no trains at all on the Great Northern routes from Peterborough and King's Lynn on Remembrance Sunday, triggering criticism of the drivers' stance from disappointed passengers.
First Capital Connect introduced an emergency timetable on Wednesday which effectively halves the Thameslink service. There are only two off-peak trains each hour from Bedford, and three from Luton. FCC has warned that even this timetable may not be maintained throughout.
In a statement, the company said: "We are disappointed that ASLEF has now decided to ballot its members for strike action and apologise to customers for the continued disruption. We have made what we believe to be a fair offer given the current economic climate and unprecedented duration of the recession. The offer is a two-year package and includes no increase for the first year from April 2009, a minimum increase of 3% for the second year starting April 2010 and a lump sum payment of £200 in April and other benefits.
"We are working to provide the best possible timetable each day and limit the disruption. Talks will continue and we hope for a speedy resolution."
Meanwhile, FCC managing director Jim Morgan has stepped down, to be replaced for the time being by the head of First Group Rail Division, Mary Grant. As Mary Dickson she launched the First ScotRail franchise in October 2004, which succeeded the National Express contract. She later moved to become head of the First Rail Division, and now has the task of negotiating a settlement and restoring full services on one of London's busiest commuter routes as soon as possible.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Tim Gray, St Albans, Hertfordshire
On the ground First Capital Connect's Thameslink service has ceased to exist for commuters. FCC's claims to be running a timetable does not bear scrutiny at any level, a situation that has persisted for weeks. Poor reporting and the lack of any tangible resolution to the problems of failed stock and infrastructure and staff shortages are now forcing hundreds of thousands of commuters to rethink their travel arrangements. It is strange to see a vital public utility mismanaged into the ground without any word from the regulator or government. Is there something we should be told?
notabanker, london, uk
I read elswhere comments made by First Capital Connect's "Integration and Partnership Manager" For me it says it all. !!!! By the way wasn't the whole franchising scheme originally an idea of the Conservatives but adopted by Labour?
All steam ahead lol!
A.Freind, St Albans
When Mary Grant takes the managing director position at FCC she'll be the 3rd MD since FCC took over the franchise which was 2006.At one of their drivers depots they are on their 7th drivers manager. At Heartford house (FCC head office) and across the network there have been so many managment reshuffles no sooner does the manager gets his/her teeth into the job then there moved to another position how can relationships be made on a structure like this. It's getting close to 4 years now since FCC took the franchise on and there no better at it now than when they first started.
JR, London
The sacking (or resignation) of key managers respected within the industry seem to be the acts of a despot in authority. Micromanagement at this level from Scotland breeds fear and impotence ai any replacement. The seemingly revolving doors of these offices are continually spinning with out going manager bodies stabbed in the back.
Simon Jones, Cardiff
Is First Group Rail Division in melt down? Firstly Andrew Haines steps down as Rail MD due to ill health to make a welcome recovery to land a new role at the CAA. This is followed by the departure from First Group of two of the men widely regarded as the architects of the growth of the rail division, Dean Finch and Paul Furze Waddock. Add to this the departure of Elaine Holt, Karen Boswell and Jim Morgan from FCC and you start to get the feeling that things are not well within the transport giant.