Bakerloo Line Elephant drivers tier 1 meeting. 6.3.2009

At the recent Tier 1 we had the opportunity to raise some issues with Bakerloo Line Managers. This is a brief outline of what discussions took place;

Route Proving.

Management seem to have got themselves into a bit of a 2 and 8 over this. They state Tier 2 reps have been consulted, and that validates their responsibilities to consult with us prior to new procedures being adopted. They then say Tier 1 reps were offered and declined consultation. Then they say Tier 1 reps were consulted at the Line Supplement review, where reps said they cannot discuss Route Proving because it is still at Tier 2. The truth is; Route Proving remains at Tier 2 until after the Hazop on March 17. Tier 1 Reps were consulted on the line supplement , but because route proving was still at Tier 2 they were unable to talk about it.The rest of the Line Supplement was reviewd. This is LUL`s own procedure of not discussing the same thing simultaneously at 2 different places. We are minded to refer this back up the machinery to see if THSC agree proper consultation took place.

Connect II

Various issues on Connect were discussed but truth is Connect reduces the risk to drivers from having to get down to use SPT etc, so in its own way is a good thing for us. We asked for clarification as to why OPO alarm tests are not carried out north of QPK and the answer was surprisingly that in the event of a T/Op collapsing they would eventually be seen or contacted from the other line be it Up or Down. We asked for the simple safe procedure of OPO alarm test be adopted so uniformity was transparent across the whole line. However the managers then headed off down the line of getting rid of the OPO alarm test altogether. Discussion aborted. We also asked if the Station supervisor was required when we apply the rule at a station starter. The consensus from managers was that they were not. We are of the opinion they should still have staff available on the platform to assist dispatch. We will refer to Tier 2 for clarification. The concerns over the delay of switching between cells and bleed over from other lines is being sent to Alistair Montgomery of the Connect project team to be sorted.

Excessive Wheel Screech

Apparently our GM , Lance Ramsey is in contact with senior engineers at Metronet and Fleet to try and resolve the issue. There is another entry on the website dedicated to this issue.