<http://news.scotsman.com/glasgow.cfm?id=1950532005>

SHAN ROSS

RAIL passengers have heard every excuse in the book for late trains,
from leaves on the line to the wrong kind of snow, but commuters in
Glasgow were given a new one this week - the driver's seat was too
high.

It happened after a 6ft 4in driver starting his shift at Glasgow
Central station on Wednesday climbed into his cab to find his head was
nearer the roof than the recommended visual safety zone for driving a
train.

Undeterred, he tried to adjust the seat, which had been set at the
correct height for the previous driver.

However, his attempts failed and passengers on the 7:37am East
Kilbride service were told the train would not be leaving.

The incident had the knock-on effect of forcing the cancellation of
the incoming 8:11am train from East Kilbride.

A spokeswoman for train operator First ScotRail said: "It was not that
the seat was too small - all cab seats are a standard size. However,
they can be adjusted to allow drivers of different heights to access
the train's controls.

"The problem occurred because the driver's seat was defective. The
driver couldn't adjust it from where it had been in position. The seat
and the front unit of the class 156 diesel train have been sent to be
investigated. "This particular fault prevented the driver from
operating the train safely and the services were cancelled as a
result. We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience."

Kevin Lindsay, the Scottish district secretary of ASLEF, the train
drivers' union, said: "We would support any driver who refused to take
a train out on grounds of health and safety.

"We will be making demands on the company to make sure all drivers
have the proper equipment to do the job."

The Rail Passengers Council, the new independent UK-wide passengers'
watchdog, said rail operators should give passengers detailed
explanations of reasons for delays.

A spokesman said: "Sometimes the reasons given may sound ridiculous or
trivial, but actually they mask a serious problem. The 'leaves on the
line' explanation was based on a safety issue but sounded a bit silly
the way it was put.

"There is no doubt it is frustrating to a passenger to get these half
explanations. The onus is on train companies to explain exactly what
is causing the delay. In this case, the driver made the right
decision. If he couldn't see out of the window properly, then it was
not safe for him to drive the train."


Neil Sunderland
-- 
Braunton, Devon
Please observe the Reply-To address.

NP: Peter Green - Dark End Of The Street (from the album 'Splinter Group')

Neil Sunderland wrote:

> The Rail Passengers Council, the new independent UK-wide passengers'
> watchdog, said rail operators should give passengers detailed
> explanations of reasons for delays.
> 
> A spokesman said: "Sometimes the reasons given may sound ridiculous or
> trivial, but actually they mask a serious problem. The 'leaves on the
> line' explanation was based on a safety issue but sounded a bit silly
> the way it was put.
> 
> "There is no doubt it is frustrating to a passenger to get these half
> explanations. The onus is on train companies to explain exactly what
> is causing the delay. In this case, the driver made the right
> decision. If he couldn't see out of the window properly, then it was
> not safe for him to drive the train."


That's a very good point.

At Doncaster last Saturday morning people were being bustituted to 
Wakefield and travellers to Leeds were being sent via York but no one 
was told why.  (The line between Leeds and Doncaster was flooded I found 
out).

Not everybody's going to be placated, of course, but if only one person 
who was inconvenienced and vowed never to travel by rail again is given 
a decent explanation and it leads to to change their attitude, then it's 
a worthwhile job.

"Neil Sunderland"  wrote in message
news:d9kni1h3kvb205lg2e9rk0qmmeqramfnm6@4ax.com...

> <http://news.scotsman.com/glasgow.cfm?id=1950532005>

>
> The Rail Passengers Council, the new independent UK-wide passengers'
> watchdog, said rail operators should give passengers detailed
> explanations of reasons for delays.
>
> A spokesman said: "Sometimes the reasons given may sound ridiculous or
> trivial, but actually they mask a serious problem. The 'leaves on the
> line' explanation was based on a safety issue but sounded a bit silly
> the way it was put.
>
> "There is no doubt it is frustrating to a passenger to get these half
> explanations. The onus is on train companies to explain exactly what
> is causing the delay. In this case, the driver made the right
> decision. If he couldn't see out of the window properly, then it was
> not safe for him to drive the train."
>

I sympathise with the driver and agree with the reasoning. Being of the same
height I have had trouble finding cars I can drive safely in comfort without
my neck being contorted out of fashion or my legs being cramped under the
steering wheel. Ten years ago my first car was nearly a Fiat Uno until I
tried it for size...

Nick

On Sun, 18 Sep 2005 19:31:47 +0100, "Nick Pedley"
 wrote:


>I sympathise with the driver and agree with the reasoning. Being of the same
>height I have had trouble finding cars I can drive safely in comfort without
>my neck being contorted out of fashion or my legs being cramped under the
>steering wheel. Ten years ago my first car was nearly a Fiat Uno until I
>tried it for size...


Van-style MPVs (or actual vans) tend to solve that problem.  My old
Vauxhall Agila was good for space, and my new Berlingo is even better.

In general, if the term "car-style driving position" is mentioned,
OTOH, I've not even got a chance.

Neil

-- 
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.