Pakenhamtrain Posted April 27, 2011 Share #1 Posted April 27, 2011 From the Herald Sun: Metro investigates drivers amid suspicions timetable is being derailed Ashley Gardiner, Anne Wright From: Herald Sun April 27, 2011 12:00AM UPDATE 8.15am: ALLEGATIONS of train drivers travelling slowly on purpose to wreak havoc with the timetable have been denied by the rail union. Metro has launched an unprecedented investigation into every unexplained late train amid fears that drivers are secretly derailing the timetable. The Herald Sun today revealed that one in four trains were late, affecting 100,000 commuters every day. Just 77 per cent of trains were on time in the past month, the lowest on record and well below the 88 per cent minimum requirement. Punctuality has plummeted since mid-March, with the Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham, Sandringham and Werribee lines worst hit. Terry Sheedy, president of the locomotive division of the Rail Tram and Bus Union, this morning said Metro was looking to shift the blame on to drivers to disguise their own "incompetence". "They’ve been blaming their drivers for the last 12 months," he said. "We won’t be taking any action, just let them waffle on to the media and make all these allegations, they can’t prove them." Mr Sheedy said new timetables to be enforced next month on the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sandringham lines would show actual travel times, meaning the journeys would take longer. He said drivers went at the correct speed and "sat on the speed limit", but the current schedules were impossible to meet. "Drivers travel at the correct speed and they are always late. "We’re not going slow, we’re sitting on the speed limit." The suspected "go-slow" follows two derailments blamed on excessive speed. During April, about 450 trains a day were behind schedule, a jump on last month's average of 310. Metro chief executive Andrew Lezala last night confirmed investigations had been launched. "Our customers expect a service that runs on time, so when we have poor performance that can't be explained by incidents across the network they want to know why," Mr Lezala said. "And we are investigating the services that run late for no apparent reason to get to the bottom of it." The Herald Sun has been told some drivers have deliberately operated their trains at 5km/h below the limit, throwing timetables into chaos. This follows rumours circulating among drivers that they will be disciplined if they travel at 1km/h above the limit. "It is simply not true," Mr Lezala said. Metro has questioned 10 drivers suspected of deliberately running their trains late. Of those, one has been sacked, one has resigned and six have been issued with a final warning. Cases that have been investigated include: A DRIVER who claimed his service was delayed by a number of passengers using wheelchairs. His story was found to be untrue. ANOTHER who reported more than 10 faults with his train, which could not be substantiated. CLAIMS that a train had faulty brakes, later found to be not the case. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union locomotive division was ordered by Fair Work Australia not to engage in industrial action on March 9. That evening two speeding trains derailed, one at Pakenham and one that ploughed into a bank branch at Sandringham station. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/metro-investigates-drivers-amid-suspicions-timetable-is-being-derailed/story-fn7x8me2-1226045260566 It would not suprise me one bit the drivers have been doing it. It would just be another chapter in the war between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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