Re: First train to Airport [Sydney,NSW]

[craigd@lios.apana.org.au (C. Dewick)]

Eric Cartman <erk_cartman@yahoo.com> writes:

>That was an interesting message and I have a couple of questions.

>* This signal ID course you speak of, is this specific to the NSR or
>system wide?

It's a generic course - all train crew have to do it - even very experienced
staff who are highly competent and don't feel the need to do such a course
(there are many who think this). I presume it's a reaction to cover
management's ass in relation to all the recent incidents, not all of which
were caused by SPAD's (Signals Passed At Danger).

In other words, because a lot of the new staff can't do the job properly
(either by not doing staff selection properly, or inadequate training, or
both), and because the spate of recent incidents seems to co-relate to the
influx of new, sometimes ill selected and very definitely ill trained staff,
we're all having to do this course.

The legal implications of making everyone do the course are interesting,
because it will give State Rail more of a lever to absolve themselves of any
responsibility where it's alleged a SPAD incident has occured regardless of
the true circumstances simply by saying the person knew the regulations and
willingly broke them.

Sure, it's good to do this sort of course from the simple point of view of
refreshing our knowledge and bringing us up to speed on the current
regulations (which nobody is every 100 percent conversant in, despite what
management might care to tell the media, government or general public), but
it should not be used as a way to manipulate the outcome of accident
investigations, and the timing of the course has all the hallmarks of a tool
to help reduce staff numbers and reduce the need to consider more
considerate ways of shedding staff such as offering redundancies, etc.

Perhaps I'm being too cynical, but as a person who sees the inner workings
of the 'regulations', I know all too well that any opportunity to push more
legal responsibility onto train crew staff, and commensurately reduce that
of management, is usually never passed up.

>* Do you really expect you (and your depot) to be qualified to work OP?
>I have been reading for months about how long Waterfall and Cronulla
>have been waiting.

Well, a few of our people (at Watefall) have done the two days to learn
Olympic Park, etc. but I'm on annual leave now, so I expect they'll either
forget to roster me for it when I come back, or it'll be on the roster for
me as soon as I get back to work. 8-)

I don't know about Cronulla since I haven't really asked anyone from there.

However I do know that with a few exceptions, Cronulla and Waterfall depots
are both not qualified for about the same list of sections that I posted
several months back (around 10+ in total). 

That's not to say that every other ETR depot is fully-qualified for all
lines, since a lot of the other depots are in the same position, but not
quite as restrictive.

Regards,

Craig.
--
            Craig Ian Dewick            |       Stand clear - jaws closing
 Send email to craigd@lios.apana.org.au |  Visit my Australian rail transport
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