A bit of a rant...

I've had some long shifts this week, upto 8 1/2 Hours on some of them, so today was a welcome break at only 4 1/2. Yesterday was my rest day but I didn't rest much. I found it hard to relax on a weekday. Which I may regret as my next one is on Wednesday. This could be a long week of late turns (5pm ish till 1am) coming up.

It truly sucked not having anytime with my OH and now I wont be around in the evenings it will be even harder still. I'm not in the best of spirits at the min and shift work is taking it's toll on me.
I would go as far as saying I am depressed with everything but I am still positive and enjoying my job. This contradiction is screwing with my head.

Back to Today... A quick visit to T5 again but this time I slowed down enough to see the intervention and evacuation points dotted around the T5 extension. I also had my photo taken so I'll see if they turned out later. Mum & dad have been wanting one of me in uniform for a while now.
Back to Cockfosters before lunch, we were the only ones there which is unusual (although more common under the new timetable it seems), maybe it was just me driving slowly but as we left T5 2 mins late and arrived at Cockfosters still 2 mins late I think I did alright in keeping my speed up. I still don't believe the speed I can go into a platform and still stop. It scares me.

Anyway the highlight of the day... The Arnos Grove Team Talk...this was very interesting from my viewpoint as it is a time where the Duty manager talks to the Train Ops about current issues and upcoming events. Leaf fall and a Valuing time course were the main topics for discussion (more information than discussion) but the Safety Critical Communications piece sparked a few comments about how poor the controllers radio etiquette is. I have to agree, sometimes it is impossible to hear the words, they come out as one long jumble of syllables and make no sense to anybody. Other times the information is just insanely vague.

"There are delays due to a train being investigated at Acton Town"

They say....
Delays where?
What train?
What is it being investigated for exactly?

Should I bother telling my customers this useless piece of information (if it can be called that?)??

Another time I heard "Good Service. Out"

Again...
Where?
Which lines?
Who the hell are you?

I am going to put in a request to visit the control room for a few days to see how things look from their point of view but it doesn't look good.

Anyway, rant over, well nearly. Back in the Team Talk it gets to an information session on the Piccadilly line upgrade package. This is due to be rolled out over the next decade really. Aiming to have new stock in use by end of 2011 and new signalling (yes allowing for Automatic Train Operation) by 2014. From an engineering view point I'm all for progress and I want to be a part of the upgrade team in the next year so I might be back to Arnos to get some views on progress. I'm drifting today, can't stay on topic. Anyway I have never seen a more hostile and aggressive workforce. This is direct to their manager!? The atmosphere in the room notably changed. I would say about half the room were completely against the upgrade, I don't yet understand why as they also complained the trains were developing faults not seen before which is a sure sign of their age. The need for new stock is undeniable. I will investigate this, although I best be careful and not start any fights.

The upgrade will lead to around 60 new jobs and 5 additional peak services. Which is good.
The upgrade will lead to around ??? old jobs to be de-skilled (a swear word I'm told for Train Ops)

I understand no one likes to have their job dummed down but this is progress. Only a fool stands firm in the path of progress. The half of the room that remained quiet either were about to retire or had already accepted the fact they would be deskilled. In my mind I was asking why are these drivers getting so annoyed with their manager. He was only the messenger. ATO has been around over 20 years now. It clearly has been chosen as the way forward, if drivers took the opportunity to talk to the upgrade teams and discuss the future rather than kick up a fight about deskilling they might find the process easier to accept.
I fully expect to get a hurl of abuse on this post from Train Ops across the land. I am still talking to people about this topic and I am very open to discussion. I stand awaiting a punch with the expectation of correcting myself in a few days time after speaking to other members of staff. I think I'm too young to take on the Unions by myself. That would be a short career.