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Boxing Day Rail Service Failure 'Hypocrisy'

Transport Failures

First Posted: 26/12/11 07:54 GMT Updated: 26/12/11 08:18 GMT   PA

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Labour accused the coalition Government today of "hypocrisy" for failing to ensure a rail service on Boxing Day.

Transport spokesman John Woodcock said that in opposition the Conservatives routinely attacked Labour for forcing families and sports fans on to the roads by failing to provide trains the day after Christmas.

But he said that ministers had done "nothing" in office to encourage operators to run a Boxing Day service.

Mr Woodcock's comments come as travellers in London face disruption from a planned strike by Tube drivers today.

He highlighted Boxing Day comments from then Conservative transport spokesman Stephen Hammond in both 2008 and 2009 lambasting Labour for "condemning sports fans and families... to misery on our clogged-up motorways".

Mr Woodcock said: "This is total hypocrisy from the Tories. Year after year in opposition, the Tories attacked the Boxing Day rail shutdown.

"But in government they have done nothing to encourage rail operators to run a Boxing Day service, and this Boxing Day most trains are not running.

"This is typical of the Conservative Party's opportunism - making promises they never had any intention of keeping.

"Transport Secretary Justine Greening should tell us what she plans to do to ensure that Boxing Day services do run in future, or else admit that her party was simply chasing headlines in opposition by raising this issue, and had no real intention of doing anything about it."

Last week a High Court judge concluded that a planned strike by Tube drivers embroiled in a pay dispute was lawful and could go ahead.

Drivers belonging to the union Aslef are to stage a 24-hour strike over the union's demand for extra pay for its members working on the public holiday.

London Underground said Tube services were likely to be "significantly disrupted", but vowed to run as many as possible.

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Labour accused the coalition Government today of "hypocrisy" for failing to ensure a rail service on Boxing Day. Transport spokesman John Woodcock said that in opposition the Conservatives routinel...
Labour accused the coalition Government today of "hypocrisy" for failing to ensure a rail service on Boxing Day. Transport spokesman John Woodcock said that in opposition the Conservatives routinel...
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chinchcliffe
0 Fans
11:11 AM on 12/27/2011
Remember it can take up to 15 weeks to train a new Tube driver, you might like to do the job if you don't mind getting up at 2pm for an early shift or finish at 1pm from a late shift, work nights, weekends and public holidays. A rush hour Tube has as many people as 3 jumbo Jets. If you do not mind being stopped between stations with no staff on the train then go fully automatic. The Victoria line has been automaticly driven since it opened.

So no drivers should not get extra money for working on Boxing day it is included in there pay but do not belittle the public service that all Tube staff provide 364 days a year.
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clarkeianr
5 Fans
09:15 PM on 12/27/2011
For £45k for a 4 day week, 15 weeks "training" is nothing. Compare the 3 years a nurse requires for £25k, and you can't replace a nurse with a machine. The sooner tube drivers are replaced the better.
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chinchcliffe
0 Fans
08:57 AM on 12/29/2011
Train operators were certainly not on £45K when I retired after 35 years service with London Transport in 2006 and they were not working a 4 day week at that time. I have contacted senior management to see if this is now the case. I fully agree that nurses deserve more money but that is a matter for there union. DLR trains have been automatic since the system opened. However they still have a staff member on board to close the doors and tell the train to start as well as drive the train when required.

I do not think there are many people who would like to be stuck 80m underground between stations with no staff on the train. You also seem to have forgotten the fantastic job done by many staff during the terrorist attacks, including staff who were off duty.

The main problem seems to have been a breakdown of staff management relations in the recent past.
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chinchcliffe
0 Fans
11:10 AM on 12/27/2011
I will be the first to say I do not agree with strikes in the public sector. I worked for 35 years for London Transport as a member of a union and only went on strike for 1 day in 35 years.

If you are a public Service then you should not be on strike but you should be well paid and expect to have a good pension (Underground staff pay into there pension so it should be good). The issue here is a breakdown of trust between the management and the work force.

Also money and social issues are involved. I drove Tube trains for 14 years and when I started trains ran on Christmas Day as did buses, Boxing day was a reduced Sunday service (British Rail also operated on Boxing day). But then the powers that be said these services cost to much to operate and service was stopped on Christmas day and reduced on Boxing day (most of the main line rail network was closed on Boxing days after privatisation) .

Once you have closed a service for some years (given staff the day off) it is very hard to restart the service.

Also all the staff on the Tube network are highly trained not just at pushing a handle forward and backwards but in Rules and Regulations, what to do if the train brakes down and for example on the northern line there are as many signals between Morden and Edgware as Euston to Glasgow.
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Nicolo Macchiavelli
35 Fans
09:30 AM on 12/27/2011
To all those British electors who left comments yesterday 26/12/11 regarding the fact that MPSs should only be elected if they obtain 50.1% of the total votes have actually not understood the essence of the comments. Some of these electors are so entrenched in their antiquated view of how a modern electoral sysstem that works well in Europe, Unitest states, Canada, Australia, and other democratic countriess arounds the world cannot be made to work in this small island" UNITED KINGDOM"
Why? Because some of you hang on to obsolete view do not want change, are not prepared to even try or can not be bothered to vote and therefore express your democratic view of who should govern this country based on proportional representation. If you do not turn up to cast your vote, you all are letting yourself, yourr family, your community and finally your country down. Voting is a sacrosant democratic right that can not exercised in many countries around the world where election are held but the results have been orchestrated in such a way that it is always the same old politicians who get elected. If You all who have commented do not get the meaning of this message, then revel in your ignorance.
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ideaville
I have sexdaily, I mean dyslexia, Danm!
250 Fans
09:29 AM on 12/27/2011
Unions have been allowed to hold this country for ransom for far too long.
The way to sort things out is to recruit and train new drivers on normal contracts and when they are trained and ready, use them to replace drivers that are on strike or have been on strike before. It's cheaper to put them on the dole than keep losing money paying them huge wages and crippling the economy every time they strike.
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Trenchfoot
76 Fans
09:38 PM on 12/26/2011
Good old Labour! Ever the pot calling the kettle black! Good old Unions! Always in a hole and still digging!
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alan king
51 Fans
07:48 PM on 12/26/2011
you have to realize its not rocket science driving trains, and thats why its attracts the staff iit does,
never use them live in london never travelled by bus or tube, there just not clean enough or on time enough, very poor service very poorand lazy staff, get rid of the lot of them employ those on min wage
they will be pleased of the increase and will offer a far better service, was that big fat oaf behind this one, can"t even think of his name the worthless piece of meat, the union guy bob someone
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Arkleson
100 Fans
09:27 PM on 12/26/2011
If you never use them, how can you know what they're like to travel on or how the staff work? I may be against the drivers striking over something comparitively trivial in the present economic crisis, but I wouldn't say that the majority are lazy. Why? Because I travel by the Underground every working day and have not witnessed laziness and only had late trains occassionally. The trains and buses are dirty, usually, but when one considers they are active for many hours continuously, that's hardly surprising.
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alan king
51 Fans
09:49 PM on 12/26/2011
I never use them thank god, but on seeing the state of stations the sloppyness of the staff, the general unkept apperance of the staff, numerous T V reports of the state of service and trains, and the vast majority of people who i know use this so called service,
the stress that it causes them, i think my comments are justified If your happy with the service provided good for you, some people are easily pleased, some have low expectations it takes all sorts
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New Labour Legacy
10 Fans
06:44 PM on 12/26/2011
The more strikes called by the rail unions the better!

Rail workers will lose and taxpayers will gain!

We simply cannot afford to pay footballer wages to semi skilled train drivers who's only skill is to push a handle "on" and pull a handle "off".

Real brains required for that job!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
NOSHER
66 Fans
06:15 PM on 12/26/2011
my reply thats what the tories have done to this generation brainwashed them enough said goodnite
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New Labour Legacy
10 Fans
06:36 PM on 12/26/2011
Red Ken Livingstone today said on LBC that he would reduce the number of days lost through strikes if he was (God forbid) ever elected again as Mayor of London.

Fortunately we have Boris who will eliminate all days lost through strikes by allowing strikes to go ahead. That way the Union Members who go on strike will lose money for days not worked.

Eventually they will realise that they will not get anywhere apart from their own bankruptcy through strikes and will do as they are told.

Indeed I would not be surprised if this threat of strike action will simply backfire and new contracts would come into being paying train drivers what they actually deserve which is about half of what they are earning now!
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lourich
1 Fans
06:07 PM on 12/26/2011
Why SHOULD they get treble time? I work in retail for minimum wage - £6.08/hour - and we get SINGLE time for bank holidays including Boxing Day and New Years Day. We do get an extra days holiday for each Bank Holiday but I'd rather have the extra money! Strike? don't think so....would be looking for another job if we did go on strike! They should think themselves lucky that they have a job that pays a wage. If they don't want the job, there's plenty other people who would happily go to work instead of them!
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cosa200
3 Fans
06:04 PM on 12/26/2011
I work for the rail industry, as i write this, im on triple time and a day off banked as well, im sat in my office(i work for a toc) i have not done a thing, bring it on! 12hrs as well, bank holiday payment for today and tomorrow, fantastic! 84hrs pay for just two days work. PMSL!!!
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lourich
1 Fans
06:08 PM on 12/26/2011
This is disgraceful and totally unfair towards workers who work for single pay and minimum wage.
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Sickofpoliticians2
243 Fans
08:07 PM on 12/26/2011
Not really, "workers who work for single pay" will be those who won't join or support the unions, "UNITY IS STRENGTH" and why these workers get the wage they do, the time off or double/triple time pay. Decrying any worker because it inconveniences other people if they strike or whatever is ridiculous, why is it you think these workers "owe" you their service, workers want and need decent wages, I don't see any bankers/politicians or any other inconvenienced party queuing to pull the on/off handle on these trains, so get over it, join a union or be another selfish Tory
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johhnywhite
0 Fans
10:13 PM on 12/26/2011
cosa, i doubt u work in rail, bet u clean streets
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cosa200
3 Fans
11:19 PM on 12/26/2011
I do work for the railway, im a team leader on the PWay, 17 years now on the job, started with BR, then amey, gtrm then NR.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
NOSHER
66 Fans
05:53 PM on 12/26/2011
why shouldnt they get treble time would the bosses or the mp s work boxing day and not get well payed or day off dont think so thats the trouble with this country they take more notice of maggie thatcher rules the unions are right but the government took all there rights away when thatcher got in arthur scargill was right she went out to ruin the unions and the country thats the tories for u im glad im retired
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thereiver
49 Fans
06:00 PM on 12/26/2011
several points, many people working to day get nothing extra , including some that earn less than a quarter of these greedy rail workers.
second they signed a contract a few years ago which gave them a huge pay rise and additional benefits if they agreed to work on several holidays including boxing day. the union now want out of this. a senior union chap on the news today actually said that the agreement was now wrong, as when they agreed to it they hadn't expected that so many of his members would have to work. they had thought they would get the rise and the day off !
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New Labour Legacy
10 Fans
06:48 PM on 12/26/2011
NOSHER I suggest that you must be from the Tony Blair education education education era as neither your spelling of grammar are correct.

Perhaps you should enrol on some after school / evening courses . . . . . . . .
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Sickofpoliticians2
243 Fans
08:15 PM on 12/26/2011
Well if Nosher is retired he's from the Winston era and absolutely correct with the facts, regardless his punctuation or grammar. Perhaps you should take a few real "life" lessons and try surviving on a workers wage before condemning someone who most probably would wipe the floor with you in any line of work not pushing a pen
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sunderland71
24 Fans
05:31 PM on 12/26/2011
45000 a year, you should hang your heads in shame, you greedy greedy bar stewards
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wixies
42 Fans
05:01 PM on 12/26/2011
They will get their come uppance eventually. Driverless trains are the way forward.
They work well at airports and in other countries..
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hdsarth712
0 Fans
03:38 PM on 12/26/2011
Whatever union members pay has got to be a waste of good money if its any more than 10 pence.
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New Labour Legacy
10 Fans
06:50 PM on 12/26/2011
Agreed however that sum I would suggest should be before tax is deducted!
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