Local rail services run by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have been subject to huge disruption in recent weeks, resulting in GTR’s decision to implement an emergency timetable in late July due to operational factors resulting from COVID and the shortage of operational staff.
This has caused much inconvenience to rail users, especially on the Tattenham Corner line, where direct London services have been temporarily suspended, and also for passengers using intermediate stations such as Salfords and Earlswood, but also for those whose plans are disrupted by last-minute delays and cancellations, sometimes requiring them to transfer to over-crowded carriages to complete their journeys.
The timing of this disruption has been most unfortunate as it has happened at the very time when many commuters are beginning to start travelling to work in their offices.
During this period, I and my team have been in regular contact with GTR and Redhill and Reigate District Rail Users Association (RRDRUA) about the situation, passing on specific rail-user concerns and pressing for improvements as soon as is feasible.
GTR has advised us that a new timetable will be implemented as of early September which will be similar to the timetable that was in place in April of this year, including the resumption of services on the Tattenham Corner line and with more services stopping at intermediate stations. A further timetable change is then scheduled for December 2021.
For those passengers using the Tattenham Corner line, we have been assured that there is not, and never has been any intention to withdraw this service on a permanent basis.
This has been a difficult period for rail users, but I hope that things are set to improve in the near future.
For reference, I have listed below an explanation for the disruption, provided by GTR:
GTR -Why is coronavirus affecting train services?
We have seen an increase in short-notice cancellations, which are very frustrating for customers and make it increasingly difficult to plan journeys. This has been driven by the impact of COVID on our people, disruption to our business since the start of the pandemic and a significant recent rise in isolations.
We know that a reduced timetable will make some journeys more difficult, but by reducing services on a planned basis, we expect to be able to strengthen services across the network, creating greater certainty for our customers.
There are a couple of factors why fewer critical staff, such as platform dispatchers, drivers and signallers are available this summer. The first is the direct effect of coronavirus, in terms of infections and the need to self-isolate through test and trace.
While absence in other parts of the railway can sometimes be covered by redeploying staff from other roles, it is not something we can do with certain roles because of the specialised training required.
The second factor is how coronavirus has disrupted the railway over the past eighteen months. In particular, this has had a knock-on impact on training, which now means fewer staff are available.
For example, the pandemic has had a major impact on our ability to deliver driver training over the last year both for new drivers and for drivers needing refresher training. This is because of the challenges of absence from the workplace given coronavirus and the difficulties of social distancing and “bubbles” in terms of practicalities around the number of drivers that can work in a bubble group with an instructor and in the cramped confines of a driver cab.
While we have done everything we can to keep training crew during the pandemic, it has been less efficient, and as a result over 150 qualified drivers have been unable to complete all refresher training, needed by some as they return to the workplace after shielding. At the same time, 28 of our new trainees have been unable to progress through our training academy as planned. The training of 50 more has been delayed while we developed and agreed training “bubbles” with our instructors.
We have seen a similar impact on other critical roles such as our engineering teams, on-board train crew, platform dispatchers and our colleagues at Network Rail.
This does mean that while our depots are fully staffed, the number of qualified crew that are available on a day-by-day basis is fewer than before coronavirus.
Third, critical staff availability can vary generally with training, sickness, holiday demand, home emergencies and anything else that could cause someone to temporarily be away from the workplace. While in normal circumstances we would cover small gaps through overtime, the number of people that are both available and have the right training is far smaller due to the disruption of coronavirus.
We know that reducing the timetable on a planned basis will affect your journey and we are very sorry.